Impact Wrestling has been living up to its name, as in addition to turning heads with events like Slammiversary they’ve also brought in big talent and revealed a crossover with AEW. An integral part of that crossover is Impact Wrestling Executive Don Callis, who is close friends with Kenny Omega and has taken it upon himself to help Omega not just take over AEW and Impact but the entire wrestling world. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Callis ahead of Impact’s Hard to Kill Cell-Ebration and tonight’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view, and we talked all about the event, the Bullet Club reunion, The Good Brothers, and more. First though we had to start with his partnership with Omega, and since he’s already become AEW World Champion, we asked if there’s a point where he’s holding all of the gold AEW and Impact have to offer.
“You know, I think that Kenny and I don’t think just in terms of titles on that kind of a granular level,” Callis said. “We think more in terms of things that shift in our industry. So if that includes carrying some gold and leather that belongs to other companies, whether that’s Impact, New Japan, WWE, whoever, that’ll be one more trinket that Kenny Omega carries around to be a living manifestation of what he is, which is the greatest wrestler in the world, and second place is not close.” Callis added “I think that if you tie your happiness to title belts and positions and jobs and things like that, I think you end up being disappointed. So Kenny Omega looks inside himself, not to what’s around his face.”
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Omega reuniting with The Good Brothers on Impact was a delightful sight for fans of their work in New Japan, but things got even better on Dynamite when the Young Bucks got in on the action. So, was this an official reunion of The Bullet Club?
“I don’t know what official is. What I know is that what happened on Impact with the Good brothers and Kenny Omega, the main event, that’s Hard to Kill, what happened on Dynamite, all have one thing in common,” Callis said. “They’re all things people thought they’d never see and now they have. So people can call that a reunion if they want, we call it history.”
As for what’s next, Callis wasn’t giving up too much, but he was happy to give fans something they’ve wanted to see for some time.
“The Young Bucks had been friends with Kenny Omega for many, many years, and they’re nice young men, I have always liked Nick and Matt,” Callis said. “Tried to help them, whether it was in New Japan or Jericho Cruise or whatever else they’ve done. To me, if they’re friends to Kenny then they’re friends of mine. So I think having them back with Kenny was something that was important for Kenny. I think people were happy to have finally gotten to see it. And what the future holds, I guess we’ll see.”
Before Hard to Kill gets underway fans can take part in Cell-Ebration, a virtual fan-fest that kicks off at 11:00 AM EST on Zoom. Callis and The Good Brothers will be taking part in the event, so we had to ask if Omega would also be making an appearance.
“I don’t like to make predictions,” Callis said. “I know that The Good brothers and I have confirmed our participation. I like to get out and talk to the masses every once in a while. The Cell-Ebration’s interesting because it’s a kind of interactive kind of private party, and it gives you an opportunity to very much get into the spirit of Hard to Kill. It’s two hours, starts 11:00 Eastern, 11:00 AM Eastern, and it gives fans an opportunity to ask some direct questions to some of the Impact stars that they follow. And you can do that from around the world from the comfort of your home, on your mobile device, your laptop, what have you. And Good brothers and I will be there to have a little fun. And that’s a little early in the morning for The Good Brothers, but we’ll make sure they’re there. So I’m pretty excited about it.”
Speaking of The Good Brothers, it feels like they’ve really hit their stride since debuting on Impact and are being appreciated for how good they are once more, and Callis is happy fans are getting a reminder.
“I think The Good brothers are just great wrestlers,” Callis said. “I think they’re so full of personality that I think people forget what great wrestlers they are. Luke Gallows is one of the best big men in a long time in the business, and Carl Anderson is a wrestling machine. So I think that’s the part that people forget.”
The crossover with AEW hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows though, as Callis and AEW Owner Tony Khan have had some harsh words for each other, and the latest strike came from Khan buying more commercial time on Impact and sharing some choice words for Callis.
“Tony Khan, I have nothing personal against Tony,” Callis said. “I think Tony is probably a very good person. The reality is that sometimes you can’t tell people things, you have to show them. So I think Tony has had a lot of people around him who have been acting as yes men who have not tried to help him. They’ve tried to control him. And I think what I did by breaking the egg and showing people the real wrestling world and how it works, Tony learned a hard lesson that he never would have learned if it had been told to him. He had to live that lesson. Tony is choosing now to take it personally. But I think as Tony evolves, he’ll understand he doesn’t need to take it personally. He could just take it to heart.”
You can see Callis, The Good Brothers, and. more during Hard to Kill Cell-Ebration, and Hard to Kill kicks off on FITE TV at 8 PM EST.
You can check out live coverage of Hard to Kill right here on ComicBook.com and feel free to talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
