EXCLUSIVE: Don Callis says he believes Andrade has improved in AEW because he is “more calm than he has been in the past,” discusses El Idolo vs. Allin match at AEW Dynasty

Andrade El Idolo has been a breakout success in AEW since returning to the company in January and joining The Don Callis Family. He is in the best shape of his career and is putting on great matches not only in AEW, but also in other wrestling promotions like NJPW. Don Callis, the leader of The Don Callis Family in AEW, says he believes Andrade El Idolo’s improvement and ascension up the AEW ladder in 2026 is that he is a wrestler with no flaws. One of the main reasons for this improvement according to Callis is that he is more calm than he has been in the past, which has resulted in great results both in physical appearance and in the ring for him.

“Andrade is a wrestler with no flaws, I mean and there’s not many of them out there,” said Callis during an interview on Radican Worldwide available now for PWTorch VIP members. “And he is, physically, obviously, among the best conditioned athletes in the world right now. HIs wrestling and his timing is next level. It’s really amazing. And he’s also very mentally focused. He is much more calm than I remember him in the past.

“And it’s almost like the calmness that comes with the confidence knowing that you’re better than everybody else. And so I’m super excited for him. I think, without a doubt, Andrade to me is a future world champion and we’re gonna continue to dominate both AEW and CMLL and anywhere else Andrade chooses to go.”

AEW World Champion MJF asked Don Callis to hand pick a member of The Don Callis family on the April 1 edition of Dynamite with the stipulation being that if Allin beat Callis’s hand-picked wrestler, he would get a shot at the AEW World Championship. Callis ended up choosing El Idolo to face Allin at AEW’s Dynasty PPV. Callis said he believes he got into wrestling because he loves Violence.

“Look, there’s three types of people that get in the pro wrestling business, alright?,” said Callis. “There’s people who get in it because they love it or they have a family connection. There’s people who get in it purely for the money. I would fall into that second category. And then there’s a third category of people and a lot of these people have been run out of the business, but these are the people that are just self-flagellators, masochists.

“They love the violence, they love to feel the crowd reaction when they fall off a bridge and you know go through spikes on the ground or something horrible like that. These people are sick. They’ve always been sick and Darby Allin, frankly, fits into that mold.”

Callis said that one of Allin’s main strength is that incredibly tough and will provide a challenge for Andrade at Dynasty, but that Andrade is better than him overall. “And I think guys like him need to be eradicated from the pro wrestling business,” said Callis. I have no doubt about that. I mean, Darby is incredibly tough, Darby is…he’s an intelligent guy, but the intellect is used for some pretty bizarre things. So, I think the problem for Darby, as great as he’s been, is that Andrade is just bigger, faster, stronger, and that’s it.”

Callis believes that Andrade is going to have a difficult time with preparing for Allin because he has no boundaries or limits in the ring. “And it’s true that Darby and what makes Darby terrifying to most people to wrestle is that he will literally do anything,” said Callis. “There’s — most people have boundaries and limits. He has none and it’s very difficult to prepare for someone like that.

“But I have every confidence that we’re gonna teach Darby a lesson because in my view, people like him have no place in the wrestling business. Like, 50 years ago, Darby Allin is traveling around the country in a freak show putting nails through his arms and swallowing knives to get a payoff. He shouldn’t, he should not be in AEW.”

NOTE: Sign up here and GO VIP to listen to Don Callis’s exclusive interview on Radican Worldwide talking about all aspects of his career ahead of the AEW Dynasty PPV on April 12. Dynasty will be available on most PPV providers, HBO Max, and PPV.com.