AEW's Will Ospreay Makes 'Public Request' To United Empire Ahead Of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 21 Match

After nearly a year, the tension between United Empire stablemates Will Ospreay and Callum Newman exploded Tuesday morning, with the two brawling after Newman got disqualified during their IWGP Tag Team Title match against the Knockout Brothers. Newman proceeded to challenge Ospreay to a match at Wrestle Kingdom, and a few hours later on X, Ospreay accepted the challenge. At the same time, he admitted shame at how bad things had gotten between him and Newman, and made a request to his fellow United Empire stablemates.

"I sit here embarrassed about what took place in Hiroshima," Ospreay tweeted. "Having mine and Callum's frustrations come in the way of victory for the crUE and done so publicly in front of fans that supported us in the inception of this once powerful team. I can't fully say what lies in the future for myself, Callum or anyone in the United Empire.

"I've informed New Japan match makers that I've accepted Callum's request to fight one on one in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th '27. My public request to all UE players, allow myself and Callum to uphold the code we set when we first started. 'Seconds are welcomed, but no inferences.' We weren't there to fight each other's battles. We were there to make each other strong enough to win them. Although fractured, we will heal and bring UE back to the top of the wrestling world. Thank you for your time."

Seeds of dissension between Ospreay and Newman first appeared at New Years Dash in January, when Newman teased attacking Ospreay but was talked out of it by the rest of United Empire. Despite further friction caused by Ospreay's Death Riders association, the two maintained their friendship in the months after, with Newman and other United Empire members even appearing alongside Ospreay in AEW, but the tension resurfaced after Ospreay decided to create an AEW branch of United Empire, which Newman angrily questioned.