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Don Callis
Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager, color commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the on-screen manager and leader of The Don Callis Family; as well as working as a backstage consultant for the company. He also works for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) as a color commentator.
A former wrestler, Callis spent the majority of his career performing as either Cyrus (shortened from Cyrus the Virus) or Don Callis. He first gained international attention working under the name The Jackyl for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). While in the WWF, Callis managed a group known as The Truth Commission and later managed The Oddities and The Acolytes before being released in 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as a manager and commentator, during which he was portrayed as a fictional "network representative" who headed a group known as The Network. In 2003, Callis was introduced as an on-screen character for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and held that role until 2004. He returned to the company in 2017 (the company then-named Impact Wrestling) as an executive vice president and commentator for the promotion. While with Impact, Callis also worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he served as an English language commentator on NJPW World. In 2020, through Impact's relationship with AEW, Callis began appearing on AEW programming. The following year in 2021, Callis' time as Impact executive vice president came to an end, with Callis remaining in the company as an on-air talent until October 2021 when the AEW and Impact partnership ended, after which he fully transitioned to AEW.
Callis was trained by Manitoba wrestling promoter Tony Condello, debuting in 1989 in Condello's West Four Wrestling Alliance (WFWA) promotion under his birth name. Later that year, Callis adopted the ring name "The Natural". In May 1991, The Natural won the WFWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Between 1991 and 1994, he held the championship a total of four times. In 1994, the West Four Wrestling Alliance was renamed the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA). Callis held the IWA Heavyweight Championship twice in 1996.
In 1992, Callis wrestled for the Quebec-based Lutte Lanaudière as "The General", teaming with El Diablero as "The Jet Set Team". The Jet Set Team held the Lutte Lanaudière Tag Team Championship for eight months.
Callis received a try-out match with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996 and was eventually hired to form a tag team with Rick Martel, which was dubbed "The Models". When Martel officially departed from the WWF for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Callis was left without a gimmick and spot on WWF television. In a shoot interview with RF Video, Callis first revealed that he and Rick Martel were set to debut on WWF TV as "The Supermodels" in 1997, before he would eventually turn on Martel, turning Martel into a babyface for the first time since Martel walked out on his former teammate Tito Santana at WrestleMania V. Callis later reaffirmed that he and Martel were set to debut as a team during an interview with WWE.com in 2015.[citation needed]
On September 20, 1997, Callis debuted in the WWF as "The Jackyl", a member (and eventually leader) of a group of wrestlers known as "The Truth Commission" (a take on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission) replacing the Commandant for refusing to take bumps. An article in WWF Magazine claimed that he was a lower-level WWF employee during the early 1990s, and that he developed a messianic complex when he led a group of WWF wrestlers out of Kuwait when they were stranded there during the Gulf War. In an effort to play up The Jackyl's gimmick as a charismatic, power-hungry fanatic, commentator Jim Ross often referred to him as the "David Koresh of the World Wrestling Federation". The Jackyl, though mainly a manager, would sometimes compete in singles matches mainly on Shotgun Saturday Night and at house shows against Salvatore Sincere, Brakkus and Scott Taylor. Notably, The Jackyl fought in his hometown, Winnipeg, as "The General", against Jim Neidhart in a losing effort. Jackyl would frequently participate in tag team matches with The Interrogator (later known as Kurrgan). The Truth Commission stable was not particularly successful, with their biggest achievement being a victory over the Disciples of Apocalypse at Survivor Series 1997. At WrestleMania XIV, The Jackyl ordered Kurrgan to eliminate stablemates Recon and Sniper from the Tag Team Battle Royal, effectively disbanding the stable.
Callis returned to television in 1998, forming a stable known as "The Parade of Human Oddities" (later known as simply "The Oddities"). The group consisted of "freakish" wrestlers, including Golga (a masked Earthquake) and Kurrgan, among others. The group had entrance music performed by the Insane Clown Posse. The stable did not last long, and Callis eventually started managing the new tag team of Faarooq and Bradshaw, "The Acolytes", until he was released by the WWF. Callis claims he was released by Bruce Prichard for "getting himself over at the expense of the talent". Shortly after being released, Callis began writing weekly wrestling columns for the Sun Media Group and co-hosted a local Winnipeg radio show called "No Holds Barred" with Joe Aiello on CITI-FM.
In mid-1999, Callis debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as "Cyrus the Virus" (a name lifted from the 1997 movie Con Air), a commentator with a gimmick similar to that of his WWF persona. He would broadcast exclusively on pay-per-view along with Joey Styles. As the real-life issues between ECW and their network TNN heightened, Callis was then presented as working for the network, under the shortened moniker of "Cyrus". His character represented many of the real problems between ECW and TNN at that point, as he constantly criticized the violent nature of ECW programming. He would also display affection for RollerJam and Rockin' Bowl, two programs on the network that ECW fans alike despised, due to the network giving them preferential treatment despite poor ratings in comparison with ECW. He singled out Joel Gertner for disciplinary measures, among other things due to Gertner "getting himself over at the expense of the talent", which was the reason given to Callis by Bruce Prichard for his WWF release.
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Don Callis
Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager, color commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the on-screen manager and leader of The Don Callis Family; as well as working as a backstage consultant for the company. He also works for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) as a color commentator.
A former wrestler, Callis spent the majority of his career performing as either Cyrus (shortened from Cyrus the Virus) or Don Callis. He first gained international attention working under the name The Jackyl for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). While in the WWF, Callis managed a group known as The Truth Commission and later managed The Oddities and The Acolytes before being released in 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as a manager and commentator, during which he was portrayed as a fictional "network representative" who headed a group known as The Network. In 2003, Callis was introduced as an on-screen character for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and held that role until 2004. He returned to the company in 2017 (the company then-named Impact Wrestling) as an executive vice president and commentator for the promotion. While with Impact, Callis also worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he served as an English language commentator on NJPW World. In 2020, through Impact's relationship with AEW, Callis began appearing on AEW programming. The following year in 2021, Callis' time as Impact executive vice president came to an end, with Callis remaining in the company as an on-air talent until October 2021 when the AEW and Impact partnership ended, after which he fully transitioned to AEW.
Callis was trained by Manitoba wrestling promoter Tony Condello, debuting in 1989 in Condello's West Four Wrestling Alliance (WFWA) promotion under his birth name. Later that year, Callis adopted the ring name "The Natural". In May 1991, The Natural won the WFWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Between 1991 and 1994, he held the championship a total of four times. In 1994, the West Four Wrestling Alliance was renamed the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA). Callis held the IWA Heavyweight Championship twice in 1996.
In 1992, Callis wrestled for the Quebec-based Lutte Lanaudière as "The General", teaming with El Diablero as "The Jet Set Team". The Jet Set Team held the Lutte Lanaudière Tag Team Championship for eight months.
Callis received a try-out match with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996 and was eventually hired to form a tag team with Rick Martel, which was dubbed "The Models". When Martel officially departed from the WWF for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Callis was left without a gimmick and spot on WWF television. In a shoot interview with RF Video, Callis first revealed that he and Rick Martel were set to debut on WWF TV as "The Supermodels" in 1997, before he would eventually turn on Martel, turning Martel into a babyface for the first time since Martel walked out on his former teammate Tito Santana at WrestleMania V. Callis later reaffirmed that he and Martel were set to debut as a team during an interview with WWE.com in 2015.[citation needed]
On September 20, 1997, Callis debuted in the WWF as "The Jackyl", a member (and eventually leader) of a group of wrestlers known as "The Truth Commission" (a take on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission) replacing the Commandant for refusing to take bumps. An article in WWF Magazine claimed that he was a lower-level WWF employee during the early 1990s, and that he developed a messianic complex when he led a group of WWF wrestlers out of Kuwait when they were stranded there during the Gulf War. In an effort to play up The Jackyl's gimmick as a charismatic, power-hungry fanatic, commentator Jim Ross often referred to him as the "David Koresh of the World Wrestling Federation". The Jackyl, though mainly a manager, would sometimes compete in singles matches mainly on Shotgun Saturday Night and at house shows against Salvatore Sincere, Brakkus and Scott Taylor. Notably, The Jackyl fought in his hometown, Winnipeg, as "The General", against Jim Neidhart in a losing effort. Jackyl would frequently participate in tag team matches with The Interrogator (later known as Kurrgan). The Truth Commission stable was not particularly successful, with their biggest achievement being a victory over the Disciples of Apocalypse at Survivor Series 1997. At WrestleMania XIV, The Jackyl ordered Kurrgan to eliminate stablemates Recon and Sniper from the Tag Team Battle Royal, effectively disbanding the stable.
Callis returned to television in 1998, forming a stable known as "The Parade of Human Oddities" (later known as simply "The Oddities"). The group consisted of "freakish" wrestlers, including Golga (a masked Earthquake) and Kurrgan, among others. The group had entrance music performed by the Insane Clown Posse. The stable did not last long, and Callis eventually started managing the new tag team of Faarooq and Bradshaw, "The Acolytes", until he was released by the WWF. Callis claims he was released by Bruce Prichard for "getting himself over at the expense of the talent". Shortly after being released, Callis began writing weekly wrestling columns for the Sun Media Group and co-hosted a local Winnipeg radio show called "No Holds Barred" with Joe Aiello on CITI-FM.
In mid-1999, Callis debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as "Cyrus the Virus" (a name lifted from the 1997 movie Con Air), a commentator with a gimmick similar to that of his WWF persona. He would broadcast exclusively on pay-per-view along with Joey Styles. As the real-life issues between ECW and their network TNN heightened, Callis was then presented as working for the network, under the shortened moniker of "Cyrus". His character represented many of the real problems between ECW and TNN at that point, as he constantly criticized the violent nature of ECW programming. He would also display affection for RollerJam and Rockin' Bowl, two programs on the network that ECW fans alike despised, due to the network giving them preferential treatment despite poor ratings in comparison with ECW. He singled out Joel Gertner for disciplinary measures, among other things due to Gertner "getting himself over at the expense of the talent", which was the reason given to Callis by Bruce Prichard for his WWF release.