The crossover between AEW and Impact Wrestling may never have happened if not for Don Callis, according to former Impact President Scott D’Amore.
In 2021, the two promotions worked together with talent from both sides appearing for the other at TV events as well as at pay-per-views.
On a recent edition of the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, D’Amore shared how Callis played a pivotal role in the crossover between AEW and Impact. He said,
“The idea was to do something with Don and Kenny. Kenny was getting ready to turn heel. Don has always been underrated for his ability to generate true heat. You know that, I know that, Dr. Luther knows that, and others that have been around. I just think that’s been a forgotten thing in wrestling. And the idea was for Don to come in and be part of that.
“The discussions that I were part of is Kenny is so freaking good, how is he going to be booed? Because as Dutch Mantell would say, ‘You rub him up against that Don Callis, he’s going to have some heat.’ So there’s that. And that led into having Kenny crossover and come to Impact, win the [Impact World Championship], and have The Good Brothers go over there [to AEW].”
Omega captured the Impact World Championship in a winner-takes-all match at Rebellion against Rich Swann in a match that saw Omega’s AEW World Title also on the line.
Omega’s four-month reign was ended by Christian Cage, another AEW star, on an episode of Rampage. Cage lost the gold to Josh Alexander in October 2021.
This year, WWE has worked with Impact (now TNA) in a deal that TNA’s Moose has claimed is greatly more beneficial than the AEW-Impact partnership.
