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A top star has made a major revelation, saying how one of his AEW colleagues' WWE career failed because he couldn't get along with The Undertaker and JBL. Matt Hardy disclosed that Don Callis' underwhelming run in the Stamford-based promotion could be due to backstage reasons rather than performance-oriented.
Callis is currently the head of the Don Callis Family in All Elite Wrestling, which includes members like Konosuke Takeshita, Powerhouse Hobbs, Will Ospreay, and Kyle Fletcher. He's regarded as one of the best non-wrestling heels in the promotion due to his ability to generate tremendous heat on the mic.
However, as successful as his AEW career has been, he had a disappointing and short run in WWE between 1996 and 1998. Callis was best known for managing The Acolytes (JBL and Ron Simmons) in the promotion. On a recent episode of Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Hardy discussed Don Callis' WWE run.
The AEW star explained that Callis' failed run in the company was due to him not getting along with names like The Undertaker and JBL.
“It was so contentious with him, and he had issues with, you know, the JBLs and the Takers, whatever. But then the office said, ‘Well, it’s not working out. What’s going on?’ This is once again him just, like, voicing his opinion to these guys as opposed to, I guess, you know, succumbing to them or whatever. They said, ‘Okay, well we’re gonna have to part ways with you,' and he ended up being released ultimately out of that, or I think his deal was up or whatever, but that kind of ended up being his downfall at the end of the day," said Matt Hardy. [H/T - InsideTheRopes]
AEW star Matt Hardy says the culture in WWE was "malicious" at times
On the same podcast, Hardy also opened up about how during his early days in WWE, the culture in the company was "malicious." He added that compared to those days, people were much more "caring" and "giving" in today's times.
“I would even probably use a stronger adjective than contentious. There were some times [when] the culture was malicious—I mean, really bad. Not a lot of people [realize this], especially with the mentality people have in this day and age. Not saying that in a bad way, just that people are much more caring, giving, open, and willing to help everyone out and give everyone chances and opportunities," said Matt Hardy.
Matt Hardy had a legendary career in WWE, which ended in 2020 when he took his talent to AEW and immediately became an instrumental part of the company.
Do you think Don Callis should have had a better run in WWE? Sound off in the comments section below.
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