Tonight’s Ring of Honor World Championship match between Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson could go either way, according to Don Callis.
Don Callis recently sat down with Ben McCully of Rock 95 to discuss All Elite Wrestling’s debut in Toronto. When asked if the company would adjust its programming to appease the Canadian audience, Callis didn’t believe that to be the case.
“My experience with Toronto audiences is they’re going to do what they’re going to do. And I’m someone who, in my entire career, I never worried or cared about what the audience thought about what I was doing. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve been reviled. I suppose that and the jealousy. You can’t worry about what the audience is going to do. You have to do what you do.
“Tom Cruise, in the middle of Top Gun: Maverick, doesn’t pop out from behind the screens in the movie theater and go, ‘Oh, you’re not liking it? Let me change the storyline.’ They want you to be who you are, and that really is one of the secrets to the success of professional wrestling. The Toronto crowd, is it going to be this way or that way? What it’s going to be is hot, what it’s going to be is passionate, and then you go and do what you do and let them enjoy it.”
When asked for his prediction for tonight’s Ring of Honor World Championship match between Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson, Callis put both men over to the moon and said he’d be watching the match from the crowd because he wants to see it live.
“I’ve been friends with Chris Jericho for 32 years since 1990. That’s a long time. He’s one of my two or three best friends in the business and maybe the world,” Don Callis said. “So I have a lot of affection for Chris Jericho. I’ve made a lot of money off of Chris Jericho and with Chris Jericho. I think Chris Jericho — you can make an argument that if you take a career as a whole, I think you can make an argument that he truly is the GOAT. There’s certainly I can say never seen anyone in the business like Chris Jericho who understood the business the way Chris Jericho does.
“Having said all of that, Bryan Danielson is just so flawless as a professional wrestler. There’s just nothing he does less than a nine and a ten. And it’s tough when you’re in there with somebody like that, and it’s going to be very interesting to see. Jericho has redefined what the Ring of Honor rules are, and I think he’s really brought some extra interest to Ring of Honor because of the tactics and the panache that he comes out with. There’s no bigger celebrity in AEW than Chris Jericho.
“And I think that’s great for Ring of Honor, and I think it’s going to be great for Bryan Danielson because as great a wrestler as Danielson is, in my opinion, if you were to tell me what’s the cherry on top of his career? The cherry on top of his career would be beating Chris Jericho, not just for the ROH Title but beating Chris Jericho at a time when Chris Jericho is, I think, having the best career year that he’s ever had, and Tony Khan has said that in the media, and for once I will agree with Tony Khan. This is the best I’ve ever seen Jericho. This is the best consistent performance over the course of 10 or 12 months that I’ve ever seen from him or maybe anybody else other than Kenny Omega.
“So I think it’s gonna be a fantastic wrestling match. But I think it’s going to be great for both guys. Jericho gets to beat a guy who is a little younger, maybe has a little more buzz as a quote-unquote wrestler. For Bryan Danielson, like I said cherry on top of the career to pin Chris Jericho in Toronto, so I will be doing what I never do. I will be standing at the back of the arena watching that match because I want to see it live.”
READ MORE: Don Callis: People That Are Truly Successful In Wrestling Are Selfish, I’m Just Playing The Game
What do you make of Don Callis’ comments? Are you excited about All Elite Wrestling’s Canadian debut this week? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Rock 95 with a link back to this article for the transcription.
