Don Callis reveals how Kenny Omega allowed himself to be defeated
Don Callis and Kenny Omega have been friends for a long time and have worked together in many different capacities over their careers. Recently, at AEW: Full Gear, Don Callis even commented in Kenny Omega's match against 'Hangman' Page.
In a recent interview, Don Callis talked about working with Kenny Omega and revealed that in an indy show in Winnipeg, Kenny Omega even allowed Callis to defeat him.
“I asked him why he would possibly want to put me over? It doesn’t make any sense. He said, ‘I’m asking you as a favor as family, will you do this for me?’ What am I gonna say? I love the kid. ‘Fine. Let me find my boots.’ That was Kenny, and I having fun.”
Don Callis and Kenny Omega
The two met when Callis was a part of TNA and took it upon himself to be a guide to Kenny Omega. At that time, Omega was only 17 years old and had been wrestling with a mask in Winnipeg. Callis got Omega to ditch the mask and the two worked together.
“He was seventeen years old, green as grass, but he just moved differently than everyone else. He had an explosion and almost a poetry to the way he moved that just made him different. (I thought) this kid’s got something!”
Callis used to book his own shows in Winnipeg and started to use Kenny Omega in those shows, allowing for Omega to get a lot of experience.
“I remember treating those as my first huge goal to strive for—especially since he would only use a small crew, stars from ECW (who were the cool thing on Spike TV at the time), and featured what the local boys considered as the highest standard of wrestling we had in Canada. I remember getting called out by one of our local guys who never made the cut. ‘Why are you using the kid who’s greener than goose s**t?’"
At that time, Callis had even told the wrestler that he was looking for wrestlers who could 'bring it' and Kenny Omega fit that description.
Much later in their careers, Kenny Omega would help to get Don Callis hired as the commentator in NJPW where he would be the English commentator for Kenny Omega. Callis was brought to Japan because Omega vetted him, and worked with Kevin Kelly, quickly becoming one of the best commentary teams.