Mark Davis Fires Back At Callum Newman Over United Empire Comments

Mark Davis isn’t letting Callum Newman’s digs at the former United Empire contingent slide without a response. Davis, now aligned with the Aussie Open crew in All Elite Wrestling, addressed the fact that he and his fellow expats are no longer considered part of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling faction, and he made it clear he thinks Newman’s comments have been more personal than professional.

Over the last year, Newman has been vocal about the wrestlers who left United Empire behind to sign with AEW, needling them publicly at various points. Davis pushed back on that narrative, suggesting Newman’s repeated shots say more about his own feelings than anything else, essentially calling him out for being in his feelings over the group’s departure.

United Empire, of course, has been one of the defining factions in New Japan over the past several years, built around Will Ospreay before his own move to AEW reshaped the group’s membership and direction. Davis, alongside Kyle Fletcher as Aussie Open, was part of that original core before the mass exodus of talent to AEW left the stable to be rebuilt under new leadership in Japan. Newman, who remained behind, has since positioned himself as one of the voices carrying the United Empire banner forward — and clearly hasn’t been shy about drawing lines between who’s still ‘in’ and who isn’t.

This kind of cross-promotional beef, even when it’s mostly verbal sparring in interviews rather than anything on-screen, tends to matter because of how thin the line has become between AEW and New Japan storylines. With so much shared history — and so many former stablemates now working for direct competitors — comments like these carry real weight for fans who’ve followed United Empire’s evolution since its inception. It also underscores how much the group’s AEW-based alumni, Davis and Fletcher included, still feel tied to the story even after their formal split from the faction.

Whether this back-and-forth ever escalates beyond podcast and interview commentary remains to be seen, but it’s a reminder that the United Empire breakup is still an open wound for at least some of the parties involved. Don’t be shocked if Newman or others fire back the next time a microphone gets put in front of them.