Guevara returned to AEW television on Wednesday, aligning himself with Chris Jericho again after turning on Don Callis and the Callis Family. Callis introduced Guevara and showcased a painting of him and the family with his new child. Guevara was hostile, accusing Callis and the family of not being there for him when he had his child or was out of action with a concussion. After Callis gave him an ultimatum and brought up his child negatively, Guevara attacked Callis, which led to the family attacking Guevara until Jericho made the save. Jericho extended his hand, but Guevara went in for a hug, reuniting the two.
The two were then jumped by Big Bill & Ricky Starks, Jericho’s former opponents for Worlds End before Kenny Omega was put out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis. The lights went out and when they came back on, Darby Allin and Sting were in the ring and made the save.
Later, an eight man tag team match was made for Worlds End where Guevara, Jericho, Allin, and Sting will team together to take on Starks,Bill, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita.
Guevara was last on television back at WrestleDream in October, teaming with Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay in a winning effort against Jericho, Omega, and Kota Ibushi. He has been out of action ever since due to suffering a concussion in the match. He’s also been out as Tay Melo, his wife, gave birth to a daughter back on November 28.
According to a report from Pwinsider, Don Callis was legitimately injured when he was “assaulted” backstage along with ‘Hangman’ Adam Page by the Blackpool Combat Club on Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
According to the report, ‘The Invisible Hand’ hit his head while he was going down following a punch thrown by Jon Moxley and ended up being busted open legitimately.
During Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States Championship defense against Jeff Cobb that followed immediately, the commentators noted that Callis was being checked out backstage which was legitimate.
No further details have yet been reported in regard to Don Callis’ injury.
Don Callis has hinted that his association with New Japan Pro Wrestling may be at an end as there’s nothing left for him to do there.
Callis addressed his NJPW business dealings on Sitting Ringside with David Penzer.
“I see my business with New Japan as being done,” he said. “When I went into New Japan in 2017, they were on one level. When I booked Jericho vs. Omega at the Tokyo Dome, their entire business model changed. Their revenue went up exponentially. They’ve been riding the Don Callis effect ever since,” he continued,
Callis then suggested that his time with New Japan is probably at an end.
“There is nothing left for me to do in New Japan,” he claimed. “Anything I could do in New Japan now would pale in comparison to the game-changing nature that I did three years ago,” he said.
Despite hinting at the end of his relationship with NJPW, Callis did recently tease a program between AEW Champion Kenny Omega and IWGP Champ Kota Ibushi.
“In order for Kota Ibushi to truly evolve into the Kota Ibushi he can be, he Kota needs to get on an airplane and he needs to come from Japan and defend that title around the world like Kenny Omega does,” he told TalkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy.
As you may recall, the dastardly Don Callis recently took on the role of Omega’s manager. Callis also instigated a Bullet Club reunion on Dynamite.
This past Wednesday night, AEW presented a special edition of Dynamite titled “Winter Is Coming”. On top of the surprise debut of Sting, the show ended with Kenny Omega defeating Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Omega was assisted by current Impact executive Don Callis for the win. Following the bout, Callis announced that Omega would be headed to Impact this coming Tuesday to discuss the title win.
According to Wrestling Inc., the relationship between Impact and AEW is not currently scheduled to be that intertwined. From what we have heard, Omega’s appearance on Impact will be a one-off and was largely done as a favor from Omega for Don Callis, who is a good friend of Omega’s. Omega also requested that Don work as the commentator for his big title win over Moxley.
Tony Khan apparently liked the idea and signed off on it. Beyond Omega making a one-off appearance on Impact, it was also relayed to us that The Good Brothers will likely be coming to AEW for one match as well. Omega’s appearance on Impact this Tuesday will likely be used to setup the Brothers coming to AEW to take on a team that was not disclosed to us, however, the Young Bucks would seem likely.
Furthermore, we have heard that Don Callis’ contract with Impact Wrestling may be coming up next month. Once Callis is done with Impact, it sounds like he would move to AEW full-time to work as Omega’s on-screen manager.
Kenny Omega is the new All Elite Wrestling World Champion after he defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of this week’s Dynamite … with a little help from Don Callis.
Callis was a special guest commentator for the match due to his association with Kenny Omega’s family (Kenny’s Uncle, The Golden Sheik, was Callis’ manager in Manitoba’s WFWA promotion).
But it seemed that Callis has no intention of staying at the commentary desk.
Omega was able to steal a win from Moxley after Callis distracted the ref with a mic … the same mic that Omega then used to bash the defending champ in the face with.
Omega covered Mox for the victory and was declared the new AEW World Champion. Callis then made a hasty exit from the building with the new champ in toe.
Before getting in a car, Callis said he would explain his actions on Tuesday night’s edition of Impact Wrestling, seemingly confirming a partnership between the two promotions.
Check out footage of Omega’s sneaky victory and subsequent escape below.
This past week, Executive Vice Presidents of Impact Wrestling Scott D’Amore and Don Callis spoke with Chris Jericho on his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, about their new deal with AXS TV and what they’re goals are going forward in October.
Now that the sky’s the limit for Impact, Callis believes that this new deal will not only increase viewership among fans, but it will also draw in wrestlers who are looking to work for a different promotion that is tied to a big cable network.
“I think that one of the things that’s been to our benefit so far has been that the talent that we talk to will say ‘hey I watch your show. I think it’s way better than what I see from WWE. I love your show. It’s one of my favorites shows on TV. I love how you guys book,'” Callis said. “We’ll also hear things like ‘I heard you guys have a great locker room,’ which we do. We’ll also hear I love the roaster and the talent. The one-piece I think that wasn’t really spoken about was that a lot of people thought yeah, but the platform. Yeah, but the stability situation. This past week, we solved both of those issues. I think now, there’s no holding back.”
Some are quite worried that Impact will steal the thunder of the already existing wrestling shows like WOW- Women of Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling that air during the weekends on AXS TV. D’ Amore assured those listening to the podcast that they will not steal the spotlight from the other promotions instead, they would like to work with these promotions in the future.
“Our philosophy has been very clear for two years now,” D’Amore begins. “We are willing to embrace an open market. We’re willing to partner and do business with a large variety of partners in the wrestling industry. NJPW and WOW are both properties on AXS. New Japan has a great following. WOW just started a new season and new episodes are being filmed next week out in California. I think it’s business as usual from a network’s perspective. But when you look at it from our perspective, certainly, there are some synergies that can be taken advantage of and explored with the other wrestling companies that share the same television platform.”
Jericho followed up the statement from D’Amore and asked Callis if he would still be working with New Japan Pro Wrestling on commentary after Impact moves over to AXS TV. Callis has been a part of the announce team for NJPW since 2017.
“I guess from my perspective, I never really formally stopped,” Callis answered. “I mean, a lot of it frankly in their defense has been based on my schedule, which has been busy. I know that clearly. You (Jericho) had tweeted about it last year that there was a period of time where they thought they could easily replace me on commentary, because I was expensive, and would only come in one day at a time. I know they tried a few guys and there was a tremendous backlash and then they asked me to come back for the Tokyo Dome, which I did partly because you (Jericho) were going to be on the show, and Kenny, and obviously we’re all very close. I’ve been back four times this year.
“I think for me the sweet spot in terms of going overseas is maybe five or six. I’m not really far off from that. With as busy as Scott and I have been, I haven’t given it a thought. So, I’d say, the old Sean Connery line ‘never say never.’ I won’t say that it’ll never happen, but it definitely has to be under the right circumstances, and it has to be the right situation for me announcing wise.”
It’s been rumored that Impact will begin airing their weekly show sometime after their big pay-per-view event Bound For Glory on October 20th. Jericho asked if there is a finalized date that is set in stone for Impact to officially air.
“No,” D’Amore answers. “So far, we’ve announced that this is coming up and that it’s going to premiere this fall. We’re finalizing the details. Obviously, there’s a lot of things to work through. We’re excited to make our debut this fall.”
You can listen to the full interview by clicking here.
Don Callis was on his Killing The Town podcast, thanks to Wrestling Inc. contributor Himanshu D. for sending this along: and talked about various topics related to IMPACT. You can listen to the podcast here:
Raven appearing on IMPACT:
“How awesome was it to have Raven on IMPACT television? I gotta tell you, I was like a kid in a candy store, came up with this idea to have Raven. I always love hanging out with him and I learnt so much even now just talking to him. I gotta tell you he was so great, my god just out there — no one scripted Raven. Raven just has great timing and he was great. Josh Mathews described him as the Keyser Söze of pro-wrestling and I think that’s right. I think that that is the ideal character for Raven at this point in his career it is to be Keyser Söze, the criminal, the ultimate master mind. I think that would be really cool. So that was a really awesome thing to see Raven.”
Working with IMPACT after being inactive from the business for many years:
“Being with IMPACT — you gotta understand, I was out of the business by my own choice for 13 years or more. To get back into the wrestling business and start tweaking those old scratches and itches and enjoying myself, it was just great. And people ask, ‘What was the best part? Is it the travel?’ Honestly, the best part for me is working with the talent. I always loved that. I always loved trying to play a role and passing on whatever knowledge I had, whether it was with the promos or how to get something over, get yourself over. Those are areas that I think I was pretty good at over my career. It’s just really cool. It’s hard work, it’s a grind, I have never been on the road this much. It’s really cool.”
Sami Callihan:
“Even a guy like Sami Callihan is effectively a psychotic. He is a functioning psychotic. Sami and I have had our ups and downs without a doubt. Sami has taken some liberties with me. If I were a wrestler, I probably would have something to say about it. But one thing I will say about Sami, Sami like I was is all about getting himself over. And some people don’t like that. Some people say, ‘God this selfish son of a b—h, he is just getting himself over’ and you know what I say to that? I say, ‘You’re an idiot’ because that’s the whole point of this business. If you are not constantly trying to get yourself over, and sometimes that means at the expense of other people — not everyone gets first prize, ladies and gentlemen. And if you think that you do then you are just never going to be over and Sami is a guy who is constantly trying to out wrestle, out fight, out talk, out do, out promote everybody else. And I love that about him.”
Jake and Dave Crist:
“I can’t stand The Crist brothers. That’s a redemption story too. I wanted to fire those guys when I first came into IMPACT. I’d seen them on TV a couple of times. I was like, ‘What?’ But this is the thing, people say, ‘Oh you like the Crists now. They are really cool. What they do, they are great heels. What did you do, Don?’ I didn’t change anything about the Crists. We didn’t change anything about the Crists. We let the Crists be the Crists. My thing was always I want Jake and Dave to have their time. Yeah, Sami is Ric Flair and those guys are Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson. That’s not a bad thing. Not everyone can be Ric Flair. That’s Sami Callihan. But that doesn’t mean that Tully and Arn don’t have their own thing. And I want Jake and Dave and we all want Jake and Dave to have their own thing. And man, I tell you they have really stepped up. Jay Crist doing the ‘mini draw’ thing to me is… man, I love that is just so ridiculous and crazy and awesome. Dave Crist has got some of the best facials in wrestling on these promos and Sami is Sami.”
Johnny IMPACT:
“You talk about guys like Johnny IMPACT. He’s our world champion and man, he’s been a pleasure as well. Such a good dude. You talk about the prototype world champion, that’s the guy.”
Brian Cage:
“Getting to work with Brian and I think that maybe my tone and my way of talking to Brian early on might have been a bit of a shock to him. And I’m not going to get into what was said, but if you listen to this podcast you kinda know. I wanna see aggressive, driven, selfish Brian Cage. GMSI stands for ‘Get My s–t In’, it doesn’t stand for ‘Get Your s–t In Too’. I love working with Brian and I think Brian has maybe the most untapped potential in the wrestling business, which is scary when you think about saying ‘untapped potential’ and all the stuff he already does. It’s the stuff he’s currently not doing, that’s the stuff that’s gonna make Brian Cage the biggest star in wrestling at some point.”
The Pursuit Channel deal:
“This week we announced our move from Pop TV which was a great partner for us. A lot of fans thought, ‘Wow, you guys should be on a different network with a different demographic’ so we announced this week we’re moving to Pursuit which is an exciting thing for me. When you talk about how you deal with your content as a company because our parent company Anthem owns not only the Fight Network and Game TV, they also own a significant stake in Pursuit. It’s a great strategic move for us, and I think people are going to love to see a sexier, edgier, maybe even a little more hardcore IMPACT Wrestling. I’m really, really pumped about that.”
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