Sami Callihan: Master of Puppets
Ever since Sami Callihan made his debut at Bound for Glory three years ago, Sami Callihan has been one of the most controversial members of the Impact roster. From his battles with Konnan and LAX alongside his brothers in OvE, his attacks on his old friend Rich Swann, the war raged with Eddie Edwards that left both men forever changed, his battles with former Impact World Champion Pentagon Jr, and even with his own title win on Impact’s AXS TV debut, the history of Callihan in Impact is a rough one. While Sami's offense and skills in the ring are a good part of his success, his mouth and attitude are his biggest weapons in Impact.
While Sami can fight with the rest of the roster, and put them down with the Cactus Special piledriver, Sami is best known for riling up his opponents before, after, and even during a match. Some of the talent he's faced off with have been on the receiving end of Sami's verbal abuse and got taken off their game because of it.
At Bound for Glory, two people who had their lives changed because of Sami Callihan will face off with each other, in Ken Shamrock will face Eddie Edwards. However, Sami Callihan has done more to push these two men against each other, while he laughs on the sidelines, like a puppet master would seeing his creations moves at his bidding.
Ken Shamrock had recently returned to Impact, thanks to Moose goading the Impact Legend for a match, leading to Shamrock sticking around on the roster. Soon, Shamrock was given news that he would be the 2020 Inductee into the Impact Hall of Fame, for his wrestling and MMA achievements and his role in the early days of NWA TNA. Shamrock’s moment of glory in the ring came to an abrupt end due to Sami Callihan turning his focus on him.
After a bit of mind games from Sami Callihan, Shamrock would get his chance for revenge on Night One of Rebellion. In a wild brawl that had the two fight all over the studio, Shamrock ended up locking Callihan into his trademark Ankle Lock. Sami fought and fought, but ended up passing out in the hold, and the match ended with Shamrock with the win. Still, Shamrock ended up giving Sami Callihan some respect for not tapping out in the match. The feud, for the moment, seemed over.
Shamrock then found himself in the sights of the former Impact Tag Team Champions, The North. Shamrock still had enough star power to make people talk, which didn’t sit well for the North, currently in the middle of their record breaking title reign. It culminated in a brutal beatdown on Shamrock by both Page and Alexander. Soon, Shamrock would get a shot at some revenge by taking on the North, with an unexpected partner.
Sami Callihan ended up siding with his former rival to challenge the North for the Impact Tag Team Championships at Slammiversary. The main crux of their tag team being the idea that their rivalry would strengthen their resolve as a team. However, the team of Shamrock and Callihan ended up on the losing end of the match, in no small part because the two of them could not get on the same page.
After Slammiversary, Ken Shamrock blamed himself for the loss of the match, and seemed to leave the company to think about what to do. Now, many weeks later, and in the shadow of the next big Impact PPV, Bound for Glory, Shamrock has returned, once again joined by his former rival and now seeming ally and set on a path of destruction.
The first target for Sami’s new project? Eddie Edwards.
The history between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan is a long and angry one. Eddie’s first fight with Sami Callihan ended with Eddie almost losing his eye. During a long and violent war, Eddie ended up getting dragged down to Sami’s level, forgoing his old wrestling style for a more violent, hardcore one. Eddie was focused on nothing more than making Sami’s life a living hell, and pushed his friends and trusted mentors out of the way to do it
This blood feud with Sami Callihan nearly ruined Eddie Edwards' life. However, he has recently been coming back to normalcy, with his recent Slammiversary title win, his open challenge matches, and a attempt to be the wrestling machine he was known as, before Sami. However, Sami re-entering his life threatens a huge relapse.
Eddie Edwards was assaulted at the end of an episode of Impact, with the Impact World Champion Eric Young as the most likely culprit. However, when Eddie Edwards went out to call out Young, Sami Callihan came out instead. Even though Sami Callihan had protested his innocence almost immediately, Eddie was ready to fight with his old rival at the sight of him. Sami Callihan, though, showed Eddie the true culprit in his own way, and revealed it as Ken Shamrock.
The Ken Shamrock that tried to snap Eddie’s ankle in the ring at the command of Sami Callihan was not the Ken Shamrock wrestling fans saw before. This was a new side to Shamrock, one that Sami used to both :reawaken" the old Ken Shamrock, as well as to get all of the social media attention he was accruing in views, likes and buzz. Since then, fans are left wondering what Ken Shamrock is doing, acting as Sami's personal; attack dog.
The answer to that, possibly, is in their match at Night 1 of Rebellion. The match ended with Sami Callihan passing out of the Ankle Lock, a move that made a ton of other wrestlers and martial artists tap out before. As mentioned, Shamrock and Callihan’s rivalry seemingly ended with Ken giving Sami respect for not tapping out.
That moment could be why Shamrock is putting himself in the hands of Sami Callihan. In truth, the story of that match is not that Sami Callihan didn’t tap out, it’s that Ken Shamrock couldn’t make Sami Callihan tap out.
Shamrock has had the moniker of “World’s Most Dangerous Man” for a reason, but since his return to Impact, it hasn't felt like it. Shamrock had an opportunity to shut up Moose for his attitude at last year's Bound for Glory, but he lost to Moose, something he was eager to bring up and even justified his future TNA title reign. A backstage beatdown robbed Shamrock of a shot at winning the Impact World Championship. The North attacked Shamrock in a cowardly attack, but his attempt to take the tag titles away were foiled, as he cost his team the match.
So, when Ken Shamrock left Impact for a moment, that had to be on his mind. The man who once faced off against wrestling legends and stood tall over them was now getting in his own way. Shamrock had lost that which made him the most dangerous, and he must have figured that the best way to get it back was under Sami Callihan.
On October 24th, Shamrock will go one on one with Eddie Edwards at Bound for Glory. A match that, under different circumstances, would be see as a future mat classic. However, this match is more about Shamrock trying to be the true "World's Most Dangerous Man", and Eddie Edwards is going into the match trying to get a measure of revenge on both Shamrock and Callihan at ringside. Sami Callihan, though, is just looking to take it all in, as he has one rival looking to destroy another, with Sami reaping the rewards on the sidelines.
-Michael
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