{"id":87804,"date":"2019-10-17T13:51:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T18:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=87804"},"modified":"2019-10-17T13:51:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T18:51:30","slug":"interview-highlights-sami-callihan-talks-about-his-rise-in-impact-wrestling-what-to-expect-from-bound-for-glory-brian-cage-leaving-wwe-to-explore-options-elsewhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/10\/17\/interview-highlights-sami-callihan-talks-about-his-rise-in-impact-wrestling-what-to-expect-from-bound-for-glory-brian-cage-leaving-wwe-to-explore-options-elsewhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview Highlights: Sami Callihan talks about his rise in Impact Wrestling, what to expect from Bound for Glory, Brian Cage, leaving WWE to explore options elsewhere"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1622550476\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>The following are highlights of an interview Wrestling Epicenter conducted with Sami Callihan by James Walsh on Oct. 15, provided to PWTorch.com by the show&#8217;s producers. <span style=\"color: #000000;\">To listen, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrestlingepicenter.com\/\">www.WrestlingEpicenter.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On Impact Wrestling moving to AXS TV:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s HUGE! Impact Wrestling is hard to kill! They have t-shirts that say that on it now and it is true. Impact Wrestling was a company that was about to go out of business. No one believed in it anymore. But, over the past 2 years under this new regime with this new roster, including myself, this company is being talked about again and is at one of the forefronts of professional wrestling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On main eventing Slammiversary with Tessa after the World Title match:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt is where I belonged the past 2 years that I\u2019ve been in Impact Wrestling. It doesn\u2019t matter if I\u2019m on last or not, my match, story, or feud is the match, story, or feud that everyone is talkign about after the pay per views. I said we would change professional wrestling forever and that is exactly what myself and Tessa Blanchard did on that night. We changed professional wrestling forever at Slammiversary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On finally challenging for the World Title at Impact:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cCompanies don\u2019t want people like me as their World Champion. It doesn\u2019t matter if it is WWE NXT, Lucha Underground, or here at Impact. But, through my hard work\u2026 The numbers don\u2019t lie. There is a reason I\u2019m \u201cThe Draw\u201d and \u201cThe Draw\u201d delivers results. Now, I\u2019m going to be the face of this company and people are going to have to listen. Anything Sami Callihan touches turns to gold!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On if any wedding receptions ever went well in wrestling:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t think so! I was really\u2026 I tried to get a cobra! I\u2019m not going to lie! I really wanted a cobra for the wedding!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On smashing the glass over Melissa Santos\u2019s head:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThat was Brian Cage\u2019s fault! He put his wife in harms way instead of being a man and just letting bygones be bygones and letting sticks and stones not break his bones! He got a little offended and wanted to put his hands on me then he ducked out of the way! Watch the footage! It\u2019s his fault that Melissa got hit with that bottle! That bottle was meant for Brian, not her!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On if he would defend the title more than Brian Cage has since winning it:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201c100 percent! Brian Cage hasn\u2019t defended the championship, what? Two times since he has been champion and he\u2019s been champion since March! I don\u2019t care if I\u2019m hurt, injured, if I\u2019m half-dead! I will defend that championship every night of the week if I have to! I will always be the person the company can rely on and put the company and the championship on my back to lead this company to bigger and better things!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On being the first guy to take the risk of leaving the WWE to find success elswhere:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI created my own future! I have that tattooed on my body for a reason! 100 percent! People may not want to give me the credit than I deserve but my blueprint&#8230; My fingerprints has been on a lot of things and those things turned to gold. I helped change this business for the better and now it\u2019s time for me to do that with Impact Wrestling to bring Impact Wrestling to the promised land!\u201d<\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3512211720\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On Impact being overlooked:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThey say wrestling isn\u2019t pulling the numbers they did in the 90\u2019s! No! It\u2019s pulling more numbers than they did! Because, people watch their content differently now. Wrestling is now on pretty much every day of the week and some people don\u2019t watch just television anymore! Streaming services! People watch YouTube! There\u2019s a reason that on social media every week, professional wrestling is one of the top trending things in the entire world!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On possible contenders should he capture the title at Bound for Glory:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI\u2019ll work with the entire roster! I\u2019m a diverse professional wrestler. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s hardcore, strong style, Lucha Libre! I\u2019ll work with and try to elevate every single person on this roster and around the world!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On feeling like a star in L.A.:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been sitting here at L.A. Live looking out this window at the Staple Center, looking at the Xbox Center and I\u2019m feeling like a star because I am one!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2022On what to expect from Bound for Glory:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOnce again, Impact Wrestling is going to put the wrestling World on notice! Slammiversary, for two years running, was one of the best pay per views of the year! Now, Bound for Glory this year! Some of the matches.. X Division Ladder Match will get crazy. Michael Elgin vs Marufuji! True dream match that only Impact Wrestling can bring! You\u2019ve got me and Brian Cage in the main event! I\u2019m going to walk out the impact wrestling world heavyweight champion because it\u2019s about time that a company put their stamp of approval on me and put me as the face of the company!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1748365563\"><div id=\"pwtor-1151321515\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The following are highlights of an interview Wrestling Epicenter conducted with Sami Callihan by James Walsh on Oct. 15, provided to PWTorch.com by the show&#8217;s producers. To listen, visit\u00a0www.WrestlingEpicenter.com \u2022On Impact Wrestling moving to AXS <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/10\/17\/interview-highlights-sami-callihan-talks-about-his-rise-in-impact-wrestling-what-to-expect-from-bound-for-glory-brian-cage-leaving-wwe-to-explore-options-elsewhere\/\" title=\"Interview Highlights: Sami Callihan talks about his rise in Impact Wrestling, what to expect from Bound for Glory, Brian Cage, leaving WWE to explore options elsewhere\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4247,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-interview-highlights","category-news_tna"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2019\/10\/CalihanSami_BFGPoster_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87808,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87804\/revisions\/87808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}