Don Callis Calls Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega ‘The Most Important Match Of The 21st Century’
Don Callis was the mind behind the idea and he fully believes he created the most important match of the 21st century.
Appearing on “Talk is Jericho” alongside his new protege Konosuke Takeshita, Callis discussed his lengthy history with Kenny Omega, and it wasn’t long before the topic of Omega’s Tokyo Dome match vs. Chris Jericho came up — with Callis having plenty to say on the importance of the bout.
“I think what is true, Chris, is — I think that might be the most important wrestling match of the 21st century, because of what it did,” Callis said. “It broke down a lot of barriers. It did create this incredible juggernaut that is All Elite Wrestling.” Jericho then pointed out that the match also helped NJPW, Omega, Jericho, and Callis himself.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say that I’m responsible for Kenny Omega being a great video gamer,” Callis continued. “I’m not. I’m not here to tell you that I’m responsible for Kenny Omega being kind to animals. I’m not, even though I support that. Here [are] the things I’m responsible for: [the] bottom line is he asked me to come to New Japan and help him to strategize. Even though I was an announcer, I helped him with strategy for the Okada match. He only wins the IWGP title when I’m with him in New Japan, because Kenny needs someone like me to make the difficult decisions.”
It is widely known that Callis played a crucial role in making the match a reality. Callis explained the series of events that led to its fruition.
“I’m glad we’re here with [Chris Jericho],” Callis said. “Because when I sit there and say I leveraged a 30-year friendship with you, Chris Jericho, maybe the greatest of all time, in order to help Kenny, people go, ‘Ah, yeah, bulls***,’ you know that’s true.”
According to Jericho, it was Callis who initiated the call and proposed the match idea. Callis presented his reasons why Omega was a worthy opponent for Jericho, and after their discussion, Jericho agreed to the match under the condition that Callis would negotiate the deal with NJPW.
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