Scott D'Amore Praises Don Callis For AEW/Impact Crossover

From December 2020 until October 2021, All Elite Wrestling and Impact Wrestling worked together to present a series of cross-promotional matches and stories. The first story centered around the newly crowned AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and his desire to collect titles from promotions outside of AEW. During this time, Omega was managed by Don Callis, who also served as an executive vice president for Impact. As former TNA/Impact President Scott D'Amore recalls, Callis also played a key role in forging the AEW-Impact partnership.

"The idea was to do something with Don and Kenny," D'Amore said on "Talk Is Jericho." "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," D'Amore continued. "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]"

In the spring of 2021, Callis stepped down from his position as an Impact EVP, though he remained with the company as the on-screen manager of Omega. Omega claimed the Impact World Championship at the 2021 Impact Rebellion pay-per-view. His reign would span four months, as he was later defeated by fellow AEW star Christian Cage on an August episode of "AEW Rampage." This loss to Cage also marked Omega's last appearance in the AEW-Impact collaboration, which later ended at that year's Impact Bound For Glory.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.