SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
It’s clear after Impact tonight that AEW and Impact are going to share a dance more than once. Impact began with highlights of Kenny Omega beating Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship last week on Dynamite capped by Callis announcing he and Omega would be at Impact on Tuesday to tell the world all about Omega’s win.
After the introductory video package, Kenny Omega and Don Callis were shown arriving at Impact on a large tour bus you would expect to see a rock star arrive on. Josh Matthews narrated the footage and said he would interview Omega and Callis later in the show.
Going into the show, I didn’t have high expectations in terms of how newsworthy Impact would be and I didn’t think Impact and AEW would be doing much together beyond this episode, but AEW’s participation on Impact this week was extremely newsworthy.
Throughout the show Matthews said he was going to ask the hard questions of Callis and Omega about what went down on Dynamite last Wednesday. No matter what the outcome of the working relationship is between Impact and AEW, it’s a huge win for Impact to have a star on the level of Omega on their show.
The whole show was about building up to Matthews’s interview with Callis and Omega, but one of the most newsworthy segments in wrestling in quite some time took place during the first hour.
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone appeared on screen. Khan, who has been talked about on Dynamite TV, but has appeared in any kind of authoritarian role, was introduced as an authority figure in this segment on Impact. Casual fans watching Dynamite probably don’t know who Tony Khan is, but given the way this segment was shot with the old school graphics and backdrop, it felt like a throwback to when WCW began catering to insider fans in the 90s.
Khan was listed as AEW president, CEO, and GM. He stood next to Schivone and smiled and said it was great to be on Impact via this paid ad. Khan said he could stop Omega and Callis if he could, but he thought it would help fund the bottom line and the budget. He said he hoped it would promote AEW to have their champion on this show.
Khan said he hated the way Omega won the title, but he said he would welcome Omega and Callis to Dynamite on Wednesday. Khan foreshadowed Omega’s claim that he would arrive in something that would compare to the Lex Express in WWE in 1993 that he rode around to build up his feud with Yokozuna. Khan said he was more than happy to accommodate Omega.
Khan sounded very sarcastic in his delivery. He used the rest of his “paid” time to preview the matches on Dynamite tomorrow. Khan said he had investments in Nashville and said there are even rumors he might buy Impact wrestling after mentioning he was interested in seeing some of the talent in Impact.
There was a ton to unpack from Khan’s sarcastic tone to this being the official introduction as an authority figure against Omega and Callis. Khan was shown briefly yelling at Omega and Callis as they fled Dynamite last week.
There’s a ton of recent case studies to look at that suggest Khan being an on-air character in AEW is a bad idea, especially with the company only being on TV for just a little over a year at this point. WWE with the McMahon family and Impact with Dixie Carter in the past sacrificed building up stars in favor of members of management appearing in prominent roles on TV.
I am willing to give Khan the benefit of the doubt here and believe he will play his role in a way that isn’t self-serving. Khan is smart and wants Dyanamite to succeed. Khan has said he’s aiming for the top and I believe him. Time will tell if Khan putting himself on TV in this role was a good or bad decision.
At one point during the show, Tommy Dreamer, representing the talent to Scott D’Amore, said he was concerned about Don Callis and Kenny Omega on their show. He said he’s seen a situation like this always blows up behind the scenes with what it does to the talent. D’Amore told Dreamer not to worry about it and to go hit some retweets and sell some t-shirts. This segment set up the Impact side of the angle in that they need to worry about Callis and Omega taking over their program with whatever it is their agenda is.
One match that was teased during the second hour was Impact World Champion Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega. Throughout the night shots of Omega’s tour bus were shown and at one point, Swann tried to go to the parking lot and was told the champion had control of the parking lot. He was informed by a staffer who let him know he was not on the list. Josh Matthews then appeared and was given access to the parking lot.
The final segment of Impact saw Josh Matthews go into Kenny Omega’s tour bus. Don Callis and Kenny Omega came through a door to sit with Matthews.
Matthews was great playing it straight here, as Callis and Omega delivered an over-the-top promo about Omega’s win over Moxley for the AEW World Championship on Dynamite last week. Callis acted like it was a huge deal to change the nameplate. Omega made sound effects while Callis put his nameplate on the belt. Callis hilariously called Matthews a Stamford stooge and flipped Moxley’s nameplate out of the frame.
Omega had more jewelry on than usual wearing a ring and beads on his wrist. Callis narrated the history between him and Omega. He said Omega’s uncle, The Golden Sheik, looked after him, so he looked after Kenny. Callis said this title win had been in the works for 27 years. He hilariously asked Matthews if he came back to do a podcast or do commentary for NJPW. he said it was all part of the plan for Callis to be close to Omega for his big moments.
Callis said they manipulated Khan, who let him into his house. Callis said he and Omega are family and they’ve changed history twice. Callis said he changed history when he booked Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega at The Tokyo Dome. He took credit for launching AEW with that match and said Khan had said so himself.
Omega smiled and was in full blown heel mode nodding along as Callis talked. He called Omega’s win the Golden Screwjob. Callis said they did it together and that’s what made Omega’s win special. Omega said he only hit Moxley with the microphone because he laid his hands on The Architect and The Invisible Hand.
Omega said he hadn’t tarnished his legacy because everyone wanted him to be champion. Omega said he was in the top matches for every type of match and every different country. At one point Omega said he had been in the best match in Zimbabwe.
Omega said he was going to answer the questions himself that he knew Matthews had. He said he feels like his old self again. He said that’s why he had the bust. Omega said he was a collector as a child and he collected comic books. He said he could never get the rarest prizes. He said his new hobby was collecting Titles. He compared famous titles to titles. He said he wouldn’t mind adding a Spider-Man #1 to his collection and said maybe that’s the Impact World Championship. Callis told him they had other titles as well.
Omega said he had a big surprise for tomorrow. He said his clue for what was coming tomorrow was Lex Luger. Omega then did his signature sign off for the first time in a long time. Omega said, “goodnight and goodbye, bang!” Callis smiled and clapped before they walked away from Matthews together.
Omega and Callis delivered a brilliant 10 plus minute segment to close Impact. This was the first time fans in the U.S. have seen the charismatic money drawing heel version of Omega and he played the role to its fullest extent. Omega was a clear star on Impact tonight and moving forward, that should mean big things for Dynamite, as this version of Omega should help build AEW’s TV and PPV audience.
Omega is going to do what he wants as champion it appears or he will at least until Khan gets sick of allowing him to do what he wants. That means appearances on Impact and potential title matches against Impact champions.
This was an exciting show all-around and wrestling fans should be excited to see what the AEW and Impact partnership brings next. One thing is for sure and that’s Omega’s segments are going to be must-see viewing on AEW tomorrow and NXT has a lot more to be worried about when it comes to AEW’s ability to outdraw them in the ratings with Omega playing this version of himself on Dynamite.
Contact Sean at radicansean@pwtorch.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch.
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