Sunday Night’s Main Event Radio’s Donnie DaSilva was joined by AEW’s Don Callis this week and they talk about growing up in Winnipeg, managing Kenny Omega, his high IQ, Swerve Strickland as a heel and so much more. Highlights from the conversation are below:
On meeting Guy Lafleur:
They asked me to do a live Off the Record and they were checking the lighting, and I was up there with Jason Williams from the New Jersey Nets just chatting with him. Then there was this old guy that came up to me and as they were checking his makeup, doing the lights, we had time to talk, and just kind of had a couple of laughs but I didn’t know who he was. Then they said, “Okay, you guys got 10 minutes.” So the old guy goes, “I’m gonna go out for a smoke you want to come?” And I’m like, “Yeah, sure, I’ll have a dart.” So me and this guy, go back outside and we’re having a smoke and we’re having a great chat, and I still don’t know who he is. I then realized I never introduced myself, so I said, “Excuse me, sir, I apologize. I’m Don Callis, World Wrestling Federation” and he goes, “Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens.”
On what he finds entertaining outside ofwrestling:
The biggest night of the year for me in terms of entertainment, other than only wrestling is the NFL draft. I told my my partner, “Don’t expect to hear from me for four hours,” because I am glued. like I study it, I watch tape and I get really pumped and the Minnesota Vikings are my team. So I was happy with that draft. I’m a big NFL guy. I don’t have time to watch entire games, that’s the only thing but I don’t really need to watch all of it to keep up with it. And of course, when you have the intellect that I have, it’s very easy to become expert in things at a very fast rate.
On Kenny Omega’s success:
All of his best success came, if not because of me, certainly when he was listening to me. The IWGP World title with Okada, even though I was on commentary, the worst kept secret in wrestling was that I was actually advising Kenny, and it was actually my idea for them to have a two of three no time limit match for the title. That was my idea. I don’t get credit for it, but it was. So Kenny and I had that IWGP title. The biggest one, of course, was when we won the AEW World Title. We also had the AAA Mega Championship, and we also had the Impact World Title. Everything I’ve touched with Kenny turned to gold. Then Kenny decided that different things were more important to him and he made other choices, and since then, Kenny has been on a downswing. And it’s sad to see because it’s the (Tom) Brady and (Bill) Belichick debate, but in reverse
On heels trying to pop the crowd:
People don’t understand how to control a crowd. Many people are controlled by the crowd. The day I’m ever controlled by a crowd it’s time to hang it up. So there are way less heels than babyfaces in the wrestling business. But I think that’s a conscious decision of the guys. I come from a different generation. I come from generation where we were encouraged not to be in the wrestling business. I trained under Bad News Allen for a period of time and that guy wasn’t pleasant. So you really figured out what you were about and how much you actually wanted to be in this business. So for me, you know, it’s tough because I think you’ll see people who are supposedly heels who will hit some great lines in their in their promos and they are dinging the babyface. But by hitting a line, that zinger, well, you’re not a heel anymore. If you’re doing that, you know, if you’re hitting great one liners, if you’re Don Rickles out there or Eddie Murphy and hitting these great jokes, Sorry, you’re entertaining the people and you can’t be too entertaining (as a heel). You can’t even worry about being entertaining and I just say just figure out who you are and be yourself. That’s what I’ve done. And that’s what I encourage people to do
On Scott D’Amore not being with TNA:
I don’t talk to Scott. So I don’t know. Scott D’Amore is five foot eight, but when he stands on his wallet he’s seven feet tall… I don’t shed a tear because I don’t shed a tear for multi-millionaires who now are now just going to play more golf. Scott’s a smart guy, but I mean, you know, no tears here.
You can listen to the entire interview with Don Callis by listening to the latest episode of Sunday Night’s Main Event here.
TOP PHOTO: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (C) Vs. Will Ospreay (with Don Callis) at AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, on Sunday, June 25, 2023. Photo by Steve Argintaru, Twitter: @stevetsn Instagram: @stevetsn
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