Don Callis was interviewed recently and commented on his attempts to bring Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho to Impact Wrestling.

According to Callis, Impact would have signed both Jericho and Omega had AEW not come on the scene.

“Obviously I have a relationship that goes back a long time with both,” Callis said. “We made an offer to Chris that was a real good offer. If you could go back in time a year and it was us and WWE and NJPW, I think we would have had both of them but AEW has come on the scene and I think it’s great for the business. It is what it is. I just saw Kenny last week and I remain really good friends with both guys.”

Don Callis, Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega

Callis expressed interest in signing both Jericho and Omega to Impact at a press conference in Toronto to promote last year’s Slammiversary PPV.

“There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

• Don Callis On Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Potentially Going To Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling presented United We Stand from Rahway New Jersey on Thursday and a taped show from Windsor on Twitch and Pursuit last night.

Kenny Omega returned to the ring Saturday night from Winnipeg, Canada for Premier Championship Wrestling.

This was Kenny’s first in-ring contest since January 4th, when he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13. He left New Japan to accept a contract with the new All Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion, headed by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks.

Omega appeared in a 6-man tag match against a team headed by longtime friend Don Callis. The two have been building a rivalry in PCW, with Callis turning on Omega back in October of 2018.

This was Don Callis’ first match in 15 years. The former ECW personality shockingly defeated Omega with a Codebreaker. The fact that he won the bout with Chris Jericho’s finishing manoeuvre was of course quite apt.

Kenny Omega faces Chris Jericho at All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing PPV event on May 25 in Las Vegas.

Check out some highlights from the match below:

This Friday night, Impact Wrestling premieres on the Pursuit Channel, the show’s new home on cable television. Many fans of the product have been disgruntled about this news since Pursuit is not widely available on television providers throughout the United States. On Sunday night, Impact made an announcement that is good news for everybody.

In addition to new episodes of Impact premiering Friday nights at 10PM ET on Pursuit Channel, the shows will premiere concurrently on Impact Wrestling promotion’s Twitch online streaming channel for free. That’s right: No pursuit, no problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMRSO5WKoGo

Impact Wrestling Promises Edgier Product On Pursuit

Don Callis addressed a change in direction for the product with the move to the Pursuit channel on his podcast.

“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,” Callis said.

Judging by what we have seen on Impact Wrestling PPVs versus their television program, it’s possible more hardcore wrestling could be in store for the promotion.

“It’s a great strategic move for us,” Callis continued. “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.”

The first episode of Impact Wrestling on the Pursuit channel, and now also on their Twitch channel begins Friday, January 11th, 2019 at 10 PM est.

Impact Wrestling will hold a show tomorrow at the Asylum as well. Presumably, this is where they will be taping the next couple of episodes and the first with this new direction.

Don Callis, Impact Wrestling Executive Vice President, has commented on Impact moving to the Pursuit Channel next month. On the latest episode of his Killing the Town podcast, Callis put a positive spin on Impact leaving Pop TV and dropped some hints about what to expect from the promotion in 2019.

“This week we announced our move from Pop TV, which was a great partner for us,” Callis said. “A lot of fans thought, ‘wow, you guys should be on a different network with a different demographic,’ so we announced 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, so it’s a great strategic move for us.”

• Report: ALL ELITE Turned Down A Chance To Buy Impact Wrestling

With a new television home comes yet another adjustment to Impact’s approach to producing content. The Pursuit Channel caters to an audience that is interested in hunting, fishing and the outdoors. With that backdrop, Callis says the product will be “sexier” and edgier.

“I think people are gonna love to see a sexier, edgier, maybe a little more hardcore Impact Wrestling. I’m really really pumped about that, so I’m pretty excited.”

You can listen to the Killing the Town podcast over at PodcastOne.

Impact Wrestling returns to pay-per-view on Sunday, January 6th for Homecoming live from Nashville, TN.

Impact moves to the Pursuit Channel Friday night, January 11th at 10pm (Eastern). 

As Jim Ross’s contract with AXS TV comes to a close at the end of the year, AXS TV has announced that they will begin airing same-week coverage of NJPW events in 2019.

On this week’s Jim Ross Report, Ross congratulated Kevin Kelly and Don Callis on being named the new AXS TV broadcast team for NJPW, replacing himself and Josh Barnett.
Ross had nothing but kind words for the duo.

“Of course, congratulations to Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. They’ll do a good job, no doubt about it.”

AXS’s press release does not make clear whether or not Kelly and Callis will record specialized audio for the events, as Ross and Barnett have. Ross indicated Kelly and Callis will be using their audio from the original NJPW World live broadcasts.

Perhaps as a nod to criticism of not always being as knowledgeable of the NJPW product as fans might expect from a play-by-play announcer, Ross says that won’t be an issue with Kelly and Callis.

“They’re both conscientious guys, smart guys, and they know the brand very, very well,” Ross said. “Product knowledge is the key to what you’re doing.”

Ross began calling NJPW events for AXS in March 2016. His final show with the network should air on Friday, December 28.

The full episode of The Jim Ross Report can be found below. When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

?@davemeltzerWON? convo#LarryMatysik#Announcing#Creative

?@BeckyLynchWWE? ?@MsCharlotteWWE?
?@WWEAsuka?

SlobberKnocker Audio Awaits! ?

Pet Coon Goofy Award! https://t.co/RlgDtHP7Rw

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 30, 2018

Chris Jericho was in Toronto last night for a Fozzy concert at the Rockpile. While in town he evidently met with the Impact Wrestling management team of Scott D’Amore, Don Callis, and Ed Nordholm.

Jericho posted a photo of the four of them along with Jericho’s father (and former New York Ranger), Ted Irvine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq0GnsPlMV7/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1lg9vw9lennnt

Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s head office is located in Toronto.

Chris Jericho and Impact Wrestling

Jericho has been linked to Impact since his friend Don Callis was appointed co-Vice President. Callis takes credit for bringing Jericho into NJPW and setting up the WrestleKingdom match between Kenny Omega and Jericho last January. Jericho, Callis, and Omega are all from Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Jericho and Impact Wrestling worked together in October as well for the Chris Jericho Rock N Rager at Sea. He had originally booked just Ring of Honor wrestlers to appear on the cruise but Impact’s involvement was confirmed earlier this year as well.

Earlier this month, the Wrestling Observer printed the following regarding a potential Impact and NJPW talent-sharing arrangement.

“(NJPW) didn’t use guys like Brian Cage and John Morrison because they were Impact guys,” Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer. “And stopped some of their own talent from working Impact.”

Many things in wrestling seem destined to change in 2019, however. Jericho, Callis, D’Amore, and Nordholm may have touched upon that subject last night. 

Don Callis and Impact Wrestling would love to bring in some of the top-talent from NJPW to their promotion. While it’s likely some in-roads have been made with Callis serving as English color commentator, it appears NJPW still isn’t budging. NJPW has talent sharing agreements in place with ROH & CMLL and apparently, they aren’t adding more North American promotions to the fold.

“(NJPW) didn’t use guys like Brian Cage and John Morrison because they were Impact guys,” Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer. “And stopped some of their own talent from working Impact.”

There have been rumblings in the past that some members of the NJPW roster were upset they weren’t allowed to work for Impact but who those wrestlers are is unconfirmed. As for Brian Cage and Johnny Impact, they were both said to be interested in working for the promotion but NJPW decided against it due to their status with Impact.

Don Callis Wants Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho In Impact Wrestling

The new management regime for Impact has been working in 2018 to clear the bad name left by the previous one. This includes a botched excursion between NJPW and Impact which saw Kazuchika Okada largely wasted by the former TNA Wrestling.

At a Slammiversary press conference in Toronto earlier this year, Callis said to me he’d love to bring both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho to his promotion.

“There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

NJPW announced recently that they have reached a deal with Don Callis for him to return on commentary. Callis and NJPW were seemingly on the outs not long after King of Pro Wrestling. With Callis a senior management member with Impact, he’s not always available for NJPW shows and it appeared the company was moving forward without him.

Callis addressed the situation on his “Killin the Town Podcast” released today.

Don Callis NJPW

“I am going back to New Japan,” Callis said. “So, for all the people out there who were claiming I’d been fired and that they didn’t want to use me anymore, that sort of thing. There were some people who said that and had all sorts of reasons for it that they would speculate about. As I said before, I’m busy enough that it’s not that I didn’t notice I wasn’t going back but I hadn’t given it a lot of thought because I’d been so busy.”

Callis would then continued to talk about NJPW reaching out to him to bring him back to the commentary booth.

“They reached out to me and we had a discussion,” Callis continued. “I don’t think I’m telling any tales out of school but they were quite intent on getting me back and I love the company and I love the boys in the back and I like the product. So, once we were able to resolve everything to mutual satisfaction I made a deal to go back.”

He then announced he would be back with the company November 17th and 18th for the shows in Tokyo.

In recent weeks there have been reports that Don Callis was finished with NJPW. These reports came on the heels of Callis not being called to commentate for the King of Pro Wrestling event held earlier this month. NJPW has also been auditioning other English-language commentators at the moment. “The Genius” Lanny Poffo called the two shows from Korakuen Hall this weekend.

NJPW and Callis have announced they have struck a deal to bring Callis back to Japan for multiple major shows including WrestleKingdom 13.

#njpw is excited to welcome back @CyrusOverHuge to the commentary desk for multiple upcoming events as well as Wrestle Kingdom 13!

He'll be riding shotgun with @realkevinkelly!#welcomebackdon#njwtl #njwk13 pic.twitter.com/TOIOFuXMdN

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 26, 2018

“#njpw is excited to welcome back @CyrusOverHuge to the commentary desk for multiple upcoming events as well as Wrestle Kingdom 13! He’ll be riding shotgun with @realkevinkelly!”

Don Callis NJPW Commentary

Chris Jericho has said that Callis played a key role in bringing him into the promotion to face Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho posted the following to Twitter recently:

Not using @CyrusOverHuge over huge for ANY AND ALL commentary is a big mistake and just plain stupid. @njpw1972 https://t.co/uJBzsCnVJK

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 15, 2018

“Not using @CyrusOverHuge over huge for ANY AND ALL commentary is a big mistake and just plain stupid.”

Jericho then responded to NJPW’s post about Callis working multiple upcoming events as well as Wrestle Kingdom:

Smart move boys! https://t.co/V9PIaaUa9t

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 26, 2018

It’s not yet clear if Callis and Kelly will be working the commentary booth for the upcoming Power Struggle show. The event takes place on November 3rd from Osaka.

Don Callis addressed the Austin Aries-Johnny Impact situation from Bound For Glory recently on his podcast. Callis wouldn’t address Aries’ post-match antics but he did address the events leading to the PPV.

Callis’ comments convey that neither the Tweets between Aries and Johnny nor the pull apart during the press conference was planned. While he didn’t say so specifically, it’s assumed he would have said the same thing about Aries no-selling and flipping him off at the end of the show.

“Effectively we had an issue earlier in the week with some Tweets between talent. They were told to take those Tweets down,” Callis said. “Things got a little heated at the press conference. People said ‘Well, why didn’t this happen at the press conference if they were going to have a face-to-face?’ Well, because it wasn’t really planned. I’m just going to leave it at that.”

As for how Johnny Impact performed in the match, Callis offered up a lot of praise.

“You really felt the personal distaste there was between he and Austin Aries in that main event,” Callis continued. “I thought it was a great main event and a great win for Johnny.”

Callis continued to say one of his favorite matches was the Knockouts title bout between Taya Valkyrie and Tessa Blanchard. Based on Taya’s comments on Impact last week, we could get a rematch between the two in the not too distant future. He also said the tapings in New York was a breakout moment for Killer Kross. Brian Cage was also mentioned as someone fans are giving a rockstar reaction to wherever they go.

Austin Aries and Impact Wrestling

Just days before Bound For Glory, Aries was on Chris Jericho’s podcast and stated he’s never been happier than he has been with Impact Wrestling. Then at the PPV he is evidently so upset with management that he no-sells the finish, flips off Don Callis, and leaves. He was not at the following set of television tapings over the next two days either.

Last night in Winnipeg, Kenny Omega took part in a Premiere Championship Wrestling show. Following Omega’s match that night, Don Callis cut a promo running down the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He would later take a shot at Omega before the melee could be broken up. The events were filmed and posted online by the promotion which hosted the show.

https://twitter.com/Sneekycactus/status/1053665775616180227

Omega responded to Callis’ actions earlier this morning on Twitter. He Tweeted out only the words “See you on the cruise” indicating what happened last night will be settled on Chris Jericho’s upcoming Rock N Rager At Sea.

See you on the cruise. https://t.co/2etaLBy2g6

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) October 20, 2018

Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager At Sea

While originally Jericho said the matches on the cruise would not air anywhere, it’s since been announced they will air on the Fite App shortly after the cruise is over.

“Ever since we announced Chris Jericho’s Rock N Wrestling Rager At Sea, everybody who couldn’t make it onboard the cruise have been asking me if we are streaming the event,” said Jericho in a press release sent in to SEScoops.com. “Now, after months of pondering, planning and probing, I can proudly say the answer is YES!! Preorder “Streaming for Vengeance” now to see the biggest main event of the year, The ALPHA CLUB vs The BULLET CLUB, and the entire Sea Of Honor Tournament on FITE TV! Stream it in, Maaan!”

Don Callis’ current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is certainly an interesting one. Callis recently missed the last three days of the G-1 card due to his obligations with IMPACT Wrestling. He was even left off the “King Of Pro Wrestling” pay-per-view (PPV) and reportedly hasn’t been called for any future NJPW shows.

In Japan, it’s believed that Callis’ duties with IMPACT will prevent him from returning. All of this could simply be a miscommunication, however. It’s possible Callis works several big shows a year while maintaining his responsibilities with IMPACT. With that being said, the entire ordeal seems to be bothering IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho.

Callis and Jericho are great friends, as Callis was the man responsible for setting up “Y2J’s” feud with Kenny Omega last year. Jericho took to Twitter recently to comment on the matter. Here’s what he had to say:

“Not using @CyrusOverHuge over huge for ANY AND ALL commentary is a big mistake and just plain stupid. @njpw1972”

Not using @CyrusOverHuge over huge for ANY AND ALL commentary is a big mistake and just plain stupid. @njpw1972 https://t.co/uJBzsCnVJK

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 15, 2018

What do you think about Jericho’s comments regarding Callis and NJPW?

There have been numerous rumors for weeks now regarding the status of commentator Don Callis for New Japan Pro Wrestling, with Meltzer having previously said that “[Callis] is likely done as an announcer with NJPW.”

Apparently, Callis wasn’t called for the King Of Pro Wrestling show which went down on October 8th. Additionally, he hasn’t been contacted about working any future dates for the company. Despite not being contacted, he hasn’t been told that “he’s no longer being used.”

Things have taken an interesting turn with this situation as it appears that NJPW is openly auditioning new commentators that could fill Callis’ spot.

A name that’s come to the forefront: ‘The Genius’ Lanny Poffy.

“It’s Just An Audition”

Whilst speaking on his podcast, ‘The Genius Cast,’ Lanny Poffo was initially reticent in divulging any details or adding to the speculation before opening up, admitting:

“[…] Michael Craven from New Japan, I met him September 1st at All In. He asked me if I would be interested in holding the microphone as a color commentator [for New Japan] and I responded, ‘Wow, that would be great!’

Poffo went on to say, “I love New Japan. I’ve never been to Japan. Can you imagine that? Of all the countries I’ve been, I’ve never been to Japan. That is on my bucket list!”

When questioned further about the role itself, he admitted that “it’s just an audition,” before highlighting that he would be “flying out October 23rd and […] coming back November 4th.”

It’s worth noting that Meltzer’s initial statement also mentioned that, “The idea right now is to have a rotation of color commentators through the end of the year. The feeling is that if he’s [Callis] brought back, it may just be for select big shows that fit his schedule.”

A Genius Poem

Clearly in high spirits, Lanny Poffo channeled The Genius once more, creating the following poem about his next adventure:

“The Genius comes to New Japan
So let your hearts rejoice
And bathe in the luxury
Of my poetic voice

My grooming is impeccable
My outfit is brand-new
Ichi, ni, san, shi, go,
Roku, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu!”

Poffo stated that “they [NJPW] bought me a ticket to Tokyo from Tampa and I’m going to get on that plane and do my very best to be an asset and not a liability. New Japan is a very exciting group of people and I feel very lucky to be invited. In the meantime, I’m retired, but I like to keep flexible and open for exciting opportunities like this!”

https://audioboom.com/posts/7045531-sean-oliver-of-kayfabe-commentaries-plus-lanny-to-commentate-for-new-japan

What do you think? Are you going to miss Callis’ calls with Kevin Kelly or do you believe The Genius can bring something new to the NJPW announce table?

There is growing speculation Chris Jericho could make an appearance at tonight’s Bound For Glory event in New York City. Jericho was asked on Twitter if he might be at the event and he didn’t deny it was possible.

Hmmmm.. https://t.co/7IUB3yPXCP

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 14, 2018

He then responded to another fan who feels this would be a terrific birthday gift for Jericho’s longtime friend and Impact Vice President, Don Callis.

Haha Amazing! https://t.co/KDc9VQt3SL

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 14, 2018

Chris Jericho Bound For Glory?

Jericho’s band Fozzy isn’t on tour at the moment. A Fozzy tour didn’t stop him from appearing at All In last month, however.

Rumors regarding Jericho’s involvement with Impact Wrestling began shortly after Don Callis was named to the promotion’s management team. Callis told me this spring he was interested in bringing both Jericho and Kenny Omega into the promotion.

One possible way for Jericho to appear on tonight’s PPV is if he was to answer Eli Drake’s Open Challenge. On the most recent episode of Impact Wrestling, Drake said he was bringing his Open Challenge to New York. He added the stipulation, however, that the person who answers his Open Challenge at Bound For Glory has to be from New York. Chris Jericho was born in New York in 1970.

Bound For Glory takes place tonight at 8 PM from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. It will be available for purchase via the FITE app. The Chris Jericho Rock N Rager at Sea sets sail on October 27th as well.

It should come as no surprise that Don Callis and Impact Wrestling are hoping to make a talent-sharing arrangement with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Callis would likely love to bring Kenny Omega and others into Impact for a show or two.

Taiji Ishimori competes for both promotions but according to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, we shouldn’t expect many more to do the same.

“At least one NJPW wrestler asked about going to Impact and got a very negative reaction,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Impact officials have met with NJPW officials and even apologized for Kazuchika Okada’s negative excursion experience under a different Impact management. It appears NJPW is still not ready to do business with them again, however.

Impact Wrestling and NJPW Talent Sharing

It should be noted that the report is not clear on who the one wrestler in question is, who they got the reaction from, or if it is reflective of a general attitude the promotion still carries. Still, the report makes it clear that a wrestler from NJPW contacted Dave Meltzer and said NJPW didn’t want them wrestling for Impact Wrestling. That’s a significant development considering how badly Impact likely wants to strike a deal for NJPW talent.

NJPW has a long-standing talent-sharing agreement with Ring of Honor. Even though Impact’s television and live event markets are international, NJPW likely feels Impact is a competitor of ROHs similar to the relationship between CMLL and AAA.

Don Callis offered his thoughts on All In weekend in the latest episode of his podcast, Killing The Town. Callis is the executive vice president for IMPACT Wrestling and a commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

Callis served as a commentator for the All In pay-per-view (PPV) this past Saturday. He revealed The Young Bucks asked him to do so back at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka, Japan in June. Callis said he enjoyed All In weekend and visiting with some of his old wrestling buddies.

Stay In Character

He did, however, note one thing he wasn’t too big a fan of. Kayfabe is dead in today’s era of wrestling. However, Callis doesn’t believe “monster heels” should be getting chummy with fans at events such as autograph signings. He’d prefer they stay in character:

“I think there’s too much familiarity, in my opinion, between fans and wrestlers,” said Callis. “But I also see why it’s good for business, so I don’t have a quote-unquote ‘problem’ with it.

“I’ll tell you one of the things I don’t like, and it’s not anyone specifically, but I think there are characters in wrestling.

“Like if you’re a heel, if you’re a strong heel, if you’re a monster heel, like a Su Yung or an Undertaker, or those sorts of characters, I don’t think you should be out selling gimmicks, signing autographs without your gimmick on.

“Your facepaint, or your hair, or whatever you do to yourself to get in this monster heel gimmick, I don’t think you should be out there signing autographs and being nice to the fans.

“Because, I think now the fans will like it, but you’re actually doing them a disservice, because if you’ve protected your gimmick as a heel properly…if you are an actual heel and you have actual heat, why would you want to screw that up by meeting [fans].

“Like if you meet 100 fans over the course of a weekend, why would you want to spoil all the hard work that you’ve done and spoil what the fans have been enjoying about you by being a babyface to them? I just don’t understand that.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Last year, it was revealed that Chris Jericho served as a reference for Don Callis to Anthem Sports and Entertainment in reference to the job of Vice President of Impact Wrestling. Jericho and Callis have each discussed the events on their respective podcasts.

Jericho and Callis have been friends since their early days in wrestling and Callis helped arrange for Jericho to face Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome earlier this year. Now it appears, many are of the belief Jericho will end up working for Callis’ promotion.

“While nobody will say anything,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “There is a lot of belief within the business than Jericho is destined to be here (Impact Wrestling) and the not wanting to do anything that would get Vince mad doctrine isn’t nearly as strong as it was months ago.”

Of course! https://t.co/MfRvVkNgCK

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) July 24, 2018

Don Callis told me in June that bringing in Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho was a goal of his. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him,” Callis said at the Slammiversary press conference. “His name is Kenny Omega. Another is Chris Jericho.”

Watchin #Slammiversary & its a GREAT show so far! #LAXvsOGz, #TommyDreamerVsEddieEdwards & @Tess_Blanchard are highlights! @IMPACTWRESTLING

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) July 23, 2018

Chris Jericho at Bound For Glory?

More speculation holds Jericho making an appearance at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view in October. The event takes place just two weeks before Chris Jericho’s cruise sets sail and an appearance at the event could be a last-minute move to increase sales.

Did you notice any of our hidden messages in the #BoundForGlory promo? pic.twitter.com/Kg28MR5Ilz

— Kevin Sullivan (@KevinSullyTV) July 28, 2018

Impact Wrestling producer, Kevin Sullivan (not that Kevin Sullivan), Tweeted that the company placed hidden Easter Eggs in their Bound for Glory advertising. Some are saying the advertising points to Chris Jericho’s involvement in the pay-per-view.

Chris Jericho and WWE Relationship

Jericho has said previously he’d never wrestle for a company other than WWE in the United States. There is some reason to believe Jericho may have loosened his stance on this, however. He said as much recently in response to a fan on Twitter.

People change their minds… https://t.co/TXTOGICf0c

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) July 20, 2018

Jericho is the current IWGP Intercontinental Champion in NJPW and has now wrestled in Japan for the promotion twice. He has not wrestled on any of the NJPW shows to take place in the United States, however.

On August 19th, 2018, WWE will present SummerSlam. Just hours beforehand, however, Impact Wrestling will team up with Next Generation Wrestling and present a live show from Knoxville, TN to air on Twitch.

The SummerSlam preshow will likely get underway at 6 pm whereas bell-time in Knoxville is 4 pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YOqbnjhpUg&frags=pl%2Cwn

NGW: Tennessee “The UnCivil War” Lineup

• Hoodrich vs Moose (provided Moose is medically cleared after suffering a concussion at Slammiversary)
• Joey Ryan vs Eli Drake
• Matt Cross vs Sami Callihan
• Menace & AR Fox vs Rich Swann & Matt Sydal
• Nicole Pain vs Knockouts Champion, Su Yung
• Lenny Stratton vs Eddie Edwards
• Trevor Lee vs Myron Reed

Impact Wrestling Twitch Specials

Uncivil War will take place just days after Impact will film 4 episodes over the course of 2 nights in Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub on the 12th and 13th. Following Uncivil War, Impact will head to Binghamton New York for a One Night Only show titled “Night of the Dummies” on August 25th.

Also on the 25th of August, many of Impact Wrestling’s stars will be in Mississauga, ON for a joint-show with Anthony Carelli’s Destiny Wrestling. Sami Callihan and Josh Alexander are being advertised for the show in Mississauga whereas Moose and Eli Drake are the featured stars for the show in Binghamton.

Finally, Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view takes place October 14th in the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY. Several members of Impact’s roster will then set sail on Chris Jericho’s cruise not long after.

Vice President of Impact Wrestling, Don Calls, recently addressed some controversy concerning a recently debuted Impact Knockout. Scarlett Bordeaux made her Impact debut last week. Some fans see the character as a fitting heel for today’s modern women’s wrestling divisions. Others feel the character is a regression to an era of women’s wrestling they would rather not return to, however.

Callis addressed the matter during on a recent edition of his podcast.

“What (Scarlett Bordeaux) is doing she’s basically saying, ‘Hey, I am not going to be told how to dress and how to look and that I shouldn’t look how God made me and I’m not gonna cover up because some man or whatever thinks it’s politically correct for me to cover up,” Callis explained. “I thought that was an empowering message from her. But some people, they look for things to be offended about. I’m unclear as to why anything she said was offensive.”

Callis continued to say there is more character development to come with Scarlett.

“I think that people will be pleasantly surprised as we move forward,” he continued. “She’s actually a very good wrestler and I think it got people talking in a good way.”

Scarlett Bordeaux in Impact Wrestling

Scarlett Bordeaux: “I want to be remembered as the greatest women’s activist of all time.”

Alicia Atout: “Like Susan B Anthony?”

Scarlett Bordeaux: “Ew. Like Marylyn Monroe. Or Cardi B.”

We covered Bordeaux’s debut in last week’s “Takeaways from Impact Wrestling 7/26” article. It seemed to me the character was playing up many of the aspects that have been removed from women’s wrestling for the purpose of getting heat.

Bordeaux is a Chicago-based indy wrestler who has competed for Women of Honor previously. She also worked as Matt Taven’s valet briefly in Ring of Honor. In 2016, Bordeaux appeared as enhancement talent on Raw in a losing effort to Nia Jax.

Impact Wrestling returns on Thursday night with the second show from their 2-nights of tapings from Rebel Nightclub following Slammiversary.

Austin Aries successfully defended his Impact World Championship against Moose at Slammiversary. Not long after, Aries sat down for an interview with Impact Vice President, Don Callis.

Callis hosts “Killin the Town” on the Podcast One Network and had the Impact Champion on as his guest this week. They discussed the reaction to Slammiversary, scripted promos, and Aries made some surprising comments about his time in WWE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf5F-wHdV8&t=15s&frags=pl%2Cwn

Austin Aries On His “Perfect” WWE Run

Aries mentioned that he hears from many fans who feel he was used poorly in WWE. He stated he doesn’t have the same opinion of his time in the company, however. According to him, it would have been unrealistic to expect his WWE run to have gone any different.

“Honestly, that was like the perfect run for me,” Aries said. “I don’t think anybody had any real plans for me, I came in on double-secret probation because of my attitude problems so everything was a test from day one, I don’t think they really saw me as anything much.”

While his time in the company was short, Aries did wrestle Neville for the Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania.

“I talked myself into WrestleMania on commentary because I got over with Vince doing that,” Aries continued. “He put me in WrestleMania. Then, you know, as things happen, sometimes you fall out of favor for different reasons…”

At this point, Callis chimed in to remind Aries he is aware of how these things sometimes work in WWE.

“I got in and got out and got exactly what I needed from it,” Aries said on his time in WWE. “It was a great experience, a great learning experience, I got those three letters on my resume which to some people means everything. I got my WrestleMania moment which cemented my legacy so to speak.”

Austin Aries and Don Callis on Slammiversary Reaction and Booking

Callis and Aries addressed comments by some who suggested the 3 hardcore matches on Slammiversary created a difficult scenario for the two men working the main event. Aries, however, feels that creative wrestling can always win over a crowd, even when that crowd has seen several high-spot or hardcore moves earlier in the show.

“Part of why it worked last night was creatively you guys allowed us to go out there and build this match using our own voice and our own story,” Aries said to Callis.

Aries and Callis also debated the decision to give Aries the clean victory on Sunday over Moose.

“When Scott and I came in here in January,” Callis said. “One of the things that we both felt very strongly about was clean finishes.”

“He’s the best wrestler in the world, he beat the guy with his finish,” Callis continued. “It’s an athletic contest, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

New episodes of Killin the Town are released every Tuesday through PodcastOne.

The color commentator for NJPW and the Vice-President of Impact Wrestling, Don Callis, recently shared his thoughts on Juice Robinson. Callis made the comments on his weekly podcast “Killin the Town”.

Callis mentioned that Juice’s reputation as a fun guy to party with exceeds almost anyone’s in the business. Not only that, however, Callis believes Juice is immensely talented. He would even say the 29-year-old former WWE developmental wrestler is the kind of guy you can build an entire company around.

“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said. “He definitely is a rock star.”

“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”

Callis and his co-host, Paul Lazenby, also mentioned that Juice is not online. He does not have a Twitter or social media account but mentions if you buy him a beer in a bar, he’ll talk your ear off. They also mentioned how Juice’s nickname is “the Pope of Roppongi”.

I read these before bed pic.twitter.com/UspdvnSWim

— The Invisible Hand (@TheDonCallis) July 1, 2018

Juice Robinson vs Jay White – G1 Special in San Francisco

The next big match for Juice Robinson will be this weekend at the Cow Palace. Robinson has a chance to win the IWGP United States championship from Jay White.

On the most recent NJPW tour, however, White has targetted Robinson’s injured arm. NJPW would state that Robinson has been allowed to wear a cast into the ring on his injured arm, however, he is not allowed to use the cast against his opponent. It is not yet known if Juice’s arm will still be in a cast by the time of the Cow Palace show.

Don Callis Bringing Talent To Impact Wrestling

Callis has continued to say he plans to break down barriers in wrestling. The management team at Impact Wrestling has been creating talent-sharing partnerships with other wrestling promotions.

“I agree with a lot of the conjecture online that talks about the fact that there are walls being broken down in the business right now,” Callis said. “I might just be the guy holding the hammer.”

Don Callis is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega match at the Tokyo Dome this year. All three are from Winnipeg and Callis also has his own podcast through the Chris Jericho podcast network.

At the Slammiversary press conference in Toronto recently, Callis indicated to me he’d love to bring Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Callis recently doubled-down on his comments during his appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.

Don Callis On Jim Ross Podcast

Callis explained his history with Omega. “I’ve been on this journey with Kenny Omega since he was a 16-year-old kid who I booked,” Callis explained.

“I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”

Callis On Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling

Callis continued to say the chances of Omega and Jericho appearing in an Impact Wrestling ring are less remote than they seemed not too long ago.

“I kind of say, ‘never say ‘never” and I think that one of the things that we’ve been doing under Ed Nordholm here at Impact is breaking some longstanding paradigms of pro wrestling,” Callis said.

“The intellectual property stuff that we’ve talked about before, but also we’ve been working with multiple people now and now recently announced by Chris Jericho and I know [Ross] will be on that cruise, so that’ll be cool, get to have a beer together. It’s going to be Impact and Ring Of Honor on the same cruise ship, so there’s some stuff that’s probably going to happen and I don’t think you can have those talents in a closed environment like that, so we are working, in a sense if you take that, with Ring Of Honor right now.

We’ve got Taiji Ishimori coming in for our pay-per-view and our TV in July. The Bone Soldier just started with New Japan, so we’ll see what happens. How many people would’ve thought that Chris Jericho would’ve headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan Pro-Wrestling? I was so sheepish when I pitched it to him because he always told me, ‘I will never work for anyone except Vince McMahon and I have a deep respect for Vince.’ Obviously, he took Vince into consideration. Vince is the first guy he told about it. Nevertheless, it shocked me that Chris was on a New Japan show, so I’ve learned to say, ‘never say ‘never” in this business.”

transcriptions via WrestlingInc

Impact Wrestling recently held a press conference in Toronto to promote their upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.

During the conference, I asked Callis about Canadian wrestling prospects he might be interested in signing. His answer surprised me. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Can’t wait to get to Osaka and hang out with @KennyOmegamanX . #WinnipegBiz

— The Invisible Hand (@TheDonCallis) June 6, 2018

Chris Jericho likely isn’t working for an English language-based company other than WWE anytime soon. The potential for Kenny Omega ending up in Impact Wrestling somewhere down the line, however, is far greater.

NJPW Stars To Impact Wrestling?

Impact recently announced Taiji Ishimori will be returning to the company. Following Ishimori’s debut in NJPW, it was believed he was done with Impact. Ishimori was recently announced as competing at Slammiversary, however, indicating a deal has been reached for him to work for both companies.

Ishimori working for NJPW and Impact Wrestling is an interesting development. NJPW has talent-sharing agreements with CMLL and ROH. Impact Wrestling, in TNA form, previously had such an agreement as well.  After Kazuchika Okada’s excursion to the company went poorly, however, there was said to be a falling out between the two companies.

While one bridge between Impact and NJPW had been burnt, NJPW’s color commentator being hired as Impact Wrestling’s new co-Vice President built another. The Ishimori signing indicates Impact has at least cracked the door open for a talent-sharing arrangement with the talent-rich promotion. If that door opens fully, Kenny Omega will be the first one Callis brings in.

While it’s unknown if ROH and NJPW’s talent-sharing agreement is exclusive in the United States and Canada, it has worked out that way ever since TNA and NJPW had a falling out. ROH and Impact Wrestling don’t seem to mind sharing talent, however. They have already done so with Austin Aries.

To make things even more interesting, Chris Jericho recently announced Impact Wrestling will be apart of his cruise later this fall.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjqRD0BFl_j/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

IMPACT Wrestling’s Executive Vice President Don Callis appeared on Busted Open Radio where he shared his thoughts on Tessa Blanchard, Eli Drake while also revealing who he is emotionally invested into as a fan. Here are some highlights they sent in:

Don Callis on Tessa Blanchard:

“Love her. I just think she’s… I’m not even going to say she’s a great Knockout but she’s a great wrestler. It’s always those gender issues with respect to wrestling. It’s the man’s match, the woman’s match. Sometimes when you start talking about matches in the context of just ‘No, that was my favourite match’ and I had that back in the day when Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were working together. That was my favourite match, not just my favourite Knockouts match, that was just my favourite match of the night. And I think Tessa has the potential to be one of those transformational performers where it’s not about Knockouts match, non-Knockouts match, it’s just about her being a great wrestler. I like everything about her. She’s just so polished, she’s got a great mean streak and she’s got something that’s rare in the business, she’s got a fifth gear that she could kick into.”

Don Callis on who he is emotionally invested into as a fan:

“I’m pretty emotionally invested as a fan in Brian Cage and what’s gonna happen with Brian Cage. I think we’ve just really scratched the surface of establishing him as a monster and people always say Goldberg and at the start of this, my reference in booking meetings was always 911. I was like, ‘This is how we need to bring this guy out. It needs to be a slow build etc.’ So I think what’s really interesting to me as a wrestling fan is I want to get to know more about Brian Cage. We’ve seen him destroy people, we’ve seen he’s not just a big muscle guy, now we’ve seen him flying around with the best of them. I want to get to know Brian Cage the personality, ’cause he hasn’t talked yet. And I think that makes him for me as a fan, those are the guys that I was always like, ‘I wanna know more about what’s going on behind the curtain here’.”

“That would be a guy I would be invested in and on the Knockout’s side, how can you not as a fan be fascinated by Su Yung. The look that she has, the presence, the stuff that she does, very Muta-esque, and I was a big Muta mark back in the day. So those would be the two if I were watching the product that I’d go, ‘I need to see more of this’.”

On Eli Drake:

“I remember talking to Paul Heyman one night at a Denny’s, and Bully may have even been there for this one. And I remember I didn’t get a lot of time with Paul because I was always flying in for a couple of days and flying out, and I just had the sense, ‘I need to pick this guy’s brain, he’s such a resource’ and I remember saying to him, ‘Who’s the greatest… you know we’re talking about managers, I think Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette are the two greatest managers of all time’ and he looked at me and he went, ‘Yeah?’, I go, ‘You don’t think so?’ and he goes, ‘Well the problem with those two is they’re too entertaining. So how are they heels?’. And Bobby Heenan was arguably one of the most talented people ever in the business, and I thought about that and I thought, ‘Yeah’. And I think that with Eli.”

“To use a baseball analogy, he’s a five tool player. But one of the things about Eli and I’ve said this to him, ‘You’re so damn entertaining on the mic that it’s easy for guys like that to slide into becoming a babyface. So it’s almost like you’re so good that maybe you need to be not quite that good and not quite that entertaining.'”

You can listen to the full interview here:

Impact Wrestling’s management and roster are in for a busy few days. The company is currently in Windsor, ON, Canada for the first of two nights of television tapings. Following the 3rd set of TV tapings under the new management, the promotion will head to Mississauga, ON, Canada for a One Night Only PPV on Sunday.

Impact co-Vice President, Don Callis, recently appeared on the Busted Open Radio show.

"Eliminate the stupid stuff and don't insult the fan's intelligence" @IMPACTWRESTLING EVP @CyrusOverHuge on the changes that needed to happen and his vision for the future of the company.@davidlagreca1 @bullyray5150 #IMPACTonPOP #UnderPressure pic.twitter.com/9N00uxDBdl

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) May 31, 2018

Don Callis Interview Highlights

For much of its existence, Impact Wrestling has been a poorly reviewed promotion. Callis was asked how he plans to rebuild a new reputation for Impact Wrestling.

“You’ve got to start making the small changes, the changes that make sense. For us, that meant eliminating the stupid stuff. Don’t insult the fans’ intelligence, and also getting the talent roster the way you want it,” Callis said. “I think that despite the fact that when I came in here with Scott [D’Amore] for the first tapings in January, people were flustered by the fact that ‘oh EC3 is leaving’ and this guy is leaving, but they would never say ‘but they just signed Brian Cage, they just signed Sami Callihan’, etc. I said it would take a couple of months to get the roster the way we wanted it.”

Callis was also asked what the company has to do to create a buzz.

“I think the way you create buzz— we’ve had a bit of a honeymoon period, as any kind of new coach or whatever does — is you get compelling talents in storylines that people are invested in, and you do a good job promoting it and you go from there.”

transcriptions courtesy of WrestleZone

Impact Wrestling’s Under Pressure aired last night. During the show, Austin Aries won back the Impact World Championship and Su Yung defeated Allie to win the Knockouts title.