“The greatest battles and wars in history weren’t won with the biggest weapons or the strongest soldiers, they were won with the greatest minds.” This past Wednesday night, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) launched The Road to All Out‘s first episode, that included a sit-down interview where Shawn Spears (formerly WWE Superstar Tye Dillinger) where he spoke those words to Jim Ross. As the words finished coming out of his mouth, in walked NWA legend Tully Blanchard.
Following a chairshot to Cody Rhodes‘ head (per the interview, Spears stated it was done due to the younger Rhodes brother referring to him as a “good hand” in a previous video), Spears decided it was time to show one of his bosses that he was much more than that. After challenging Rhodes to a showdown at All Out, he revealed that his new Executive Advisor was one of the original Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard.
Tully Blanchard enjoyed a 30-year career in the squared circle, starting off in 1975 with his father Joe Blanchard in San Antonio, that lead him to become one of the NWA’s biggest stars of the 1980s. Allied with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson (and later Barry Windham) in the Four Horsemen, Tully collected a lot of gold. A 3x NWA World Television Champion, NWA National Heavyweight Champion, and 2x NWA World Tag Team Champion alongside Arn Anderson. During a brief stint in WWF in the 1980s, he and Arn also captured the WWF World Tag Team titles under the guidance of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Between Heenan and James J. Dillon (the Horsemen’s manager), Blanchard learned first hand the power of a manager can bring to the table.
AEW confirmed the signing of Tully Blanchard in a press release on Thursday, stating that Blanchard, the father of current IMPACT star Tessa Blanchard, to a “multi show agreement” and mentioned the following:
“Shawn Spears’ new advisor Tully Blanchard is a legendary retired wrestler and a canny tactician known worldwide for his vicious streak and penchant for chicanery. Given the challenge that Shawn has issued to Cody for a match at ALL OUT as well as the long, bitter history between Tully and the Rhodes family, plus Shawn’s recent behavior in AEW, it appears that Tully Blanchard has a great deal of influence over Shawn’s intents and actions. This indicates that going forward Shawn Spears will be one of the most feared and unpredictable wrestlers in AEW.”
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