Don Callis pulled one over on Tony Khan and AEW at Winter Is Coming when he masterminded a screwjob to get the AEW World Title on Kenny Omega.
Callis, a longtime friend of Omega, put the plan in action long ago and executed it at Winter Is Coming, kicking off a partnership between AEW and IMPACT.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Callis, further advancing the story between the two companies, weighed in on how he pulled things off and the buzz it created.
"There was always a plan and it was playing the long game. One of the side benefits of that has been buzz. Buzz is one of the things that is difficult to create. If everyone could create it, then everyone would have it. Everyone doesn't have it. I don't set out to try and make buzz, but I do set out with a grand plan. Don't come and talk to me about Wrestler X vs. Wrestler Y in the second match. Don't care. I care about what happens with history. The winners get to write the history and Kenny Omega and I are writing the history. We're the talk of the wrestling business and have not once, but twice, changed the entire wrestling business," he said.
Later in the interview, Callis was asked if he "took advantage" of AEW President Tony Khan in the storyline.
Callis replied, "Someone called me a 'manipulative carny,' and I tweeted back, 'you say that like it's a bad thing.' I might put it on my Linkden profile. What does that even mean? What it means is somebody got worked. People get worked all the time, not just in pro wrestling. Pro wrestling, we have a name for it. In other areas of life, it's just called being successful. If I 'work' someone, what I'm actually doing in the corporate parlance is out-maneuvering them. I'm smarter. You can call me a 'manipulative carny,' a 'worker,' 'old-school,' whatever you want to call it. At the end of the day, what I am is successful. Tony Khan is probably a very nice guy. It's nothing personal. When the bus is rolling, someone is going to get run over. Tony Khan understands the dynamic, he's in the pro sports business. If one team is substandard and you run into a juggernaut, you're probably taking an L. Tony Khan took an L last week. I would say, 'look at the upside, you get to be part of history. You get to be a footnote to an addendum to an appendix in the history that Don Callis and Kenny Omega are writing, on your own television show. You get to benefit from that.' Tony is a good guy. Obviously, very smart, very successful. People think on different levels. Some people make money, others make history."
Khan and AEW ran a "paid advertisement" on Tuesday's IMPACT Wrestling, taking shots at IMPACT and promoting AEW Dynamite. Omega and Callis appeared on both programs this past week.
If you missed anything from Omega's appearance on IMPACT Wrestling, check out Fightful's article on the appearance by clicking here.
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