When news broke that Lance Anoa'i, the son of Headshrinkers standout Samu and the heir apparent to his Wild Samoans moniker from inside The Bloodline, had requested his release from MLW, it turned heads around the professional wrestling world.

Sure, on paper, the news that Anoa'i could sign anywhere shouldn't be that big a deal, as the biggest accomplishment of his career thus far has been holding the MLW Tag Team Champions with his cousin, Juicy Finau but any time a member of The Bloodline becomes available, even one who hasn't appeared on WWE television in years, it generates headlines if for no other reason than the palace intrigue surrounding Roman Reigns‘ extended family.

Discussing his request to be free from MLW with WrestlingNewsCo, Anoa'i revealed that he was requested for a spot at Tribal Cout in WWE but was ultimately rejected due to his contract status.

“So the Tribal Court, they wanted a lot of us. They asked for my grandfather, my dad, my uncles, me, Jacob, they wanted us all,” Lance Anoa'i said via Fightful. “Unfortunately, due to our contracts and everything, we weren’t able to. But that’s okay. We weren’t able to, and we just carried on. Now, we just don’t know. Time will tell. IMPACT looks very strong right now, or January, they become TNA again. AEW looks awesome. You just never know. That’s the life of the freedom.”

While appearing on SmackDown would have been unusual for an MLW talent, especially as the promotion was suing WWE, it would have served as fine promotion for the brand, right? You would think so, but apparently, Court Bauer felt otherwise.

“Very true, and we pitched that point, and we got shut down. We don’t know why. It is what it is. But we just ran with it,” Anoa'i noted. “They even did the A&E special, filming my whole family at our family reunions, and we weren’t allowed to be in any of it. So there was just a few missed opportunities, and hopefully, it just comes right back around, and everybody will be able to see how big our family is still growing. I’m not the only one left. There’s still a lot of guys. Jacob Fatu is my cousin. His brother, Journey. Solo’s already in there. Zilla Fatu, who’s Umaga’s son. We’re all going. We’re all young and hungry and ready to achieve and follow our family’s footsteps and just keep the Bloodline going.”

When Mickey James appeared in the Women's Royal Rumble with her Impact Knockouts Championship around her waist, fans thought it would lead to something that never happened, from WWE sending a star to the Impact Zone, to a major match for the wife of Nick Aldis that ultimately never came. If MLW rejected a deal with WWE because they foresaw similarly underwhelming results, who can blame them?

Lance Anoa'i wanted a clean slate amid The Bloodline hype.

Discussing his exit from MLW further, Lance Anoa'i explained his history with the promotion and how, for the most part, he enjoyed his time working matches at the 2300 Arena in South Philly.

“My experience with MLW was awesome,” Lance Anoa'i said via Fightful. “I always did one-offs since 2018. I was never under a contract, but I’d been with them on and off since 2018. My first match with them was against MJF in Orlando, Florida. Then I wrestled Rich Swann, [and] I wrestled Myron Reed. I enjoyed all the opportunities they gave. I have been the only MLW superstar to compete in every single Battle Riot. I held the MLW Tag Team Championships with my cousin Juicy Finau. Jacob [Fatu] was also there. Just being in the building with them, in the same company, it just livened it up. We brought the party to MLW. I loved every opportunity they gave me.”

So, if Anoa'i and his MLW Bloodline, Juicy Finau, and Jacob Fatu, were having a good time, why did the former two request their release from the promotion? Because, as it turns out, the promotion simply didn't have enough for the tag team to do, which, when coupled with being excluded from Bloodline activities, led to his request for a new home.

“So the release was asked for because I was traveling, I was in Japan. I told them when I was getting back from Japan. They had no dates for me, they had nothing for me. Nothing was planned. I knew once I dropped the tag straps, I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen. But since they didn’t give me no dates or anything, no vision, because at first, when we signed, the vision was The Samoans versus The Von Erichs, The Samoans versus 5150, the SATs. It was a big tag division, and then slowly it started chopping down. It was The Samoans versus FBI, who was a great tag team also. We still wrestled great tag teams. But they pitched a good selling looks to us when we were there, and then slowly everything just started dying off, and then we started dying off, and I said, ‘Hey, man, right now, I’m in Japan, but I don’t want my value to go down. I’m enjoying it, travel back and forth, I don’t want no conflicts with Japan and MLW,'” Anoa'i noted.

“They granted me as many tours as I want with Japan, and they granted that for me. But just more of the freedom. Maybe a possibility, man. We just be able to throw it up [makes Bloodline sign]. But who knows? [laughs] I just wanted that freedom, mainly for right now. Especially with my family being at the top of the best company there is. I missed a few opportunities being with MLW on A&E, I missed possibility of being on the Tribal Court they were doing, with bringing in the family. I missed that opportunity. Now, I can do it all. I can be at extra work, I can be at tryouts. Nothing’s stopping me now, so I’m just ready to go.”

Will Anoa'i ever actually make his way back to WWE, where he wrestled a match in 2014, 2017, and 2019? Or will his career take another path, forming his own Bloodline with Fatu, Finau, and maybe even Zilla Fatu? Fans will have to wait to find out.