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Sami Callihan is arguably wrestling the biggest match of his career on July 17th when he takes on Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship.
IMPACT Wrestling presents one of their biggest events of the year, Slammiversary, which will be headlined by one of their mainstay talents for the last five years.
Sami Callihan has been IMPACT World Champion before in 2019, when he defeated Brian Cage in a Steel Cage match, before losing the title to the first-ever women's IMPACT World Champion, Tessa Blanchard.
It is only fitting that one of IMPACT's most loyal talents will face the current belt collector of pro-wrestling, Kenny Omega, who will be accompanied by Don Callis.
For fans who want to learn a little more about the outspoken and outlandish Sami Callihan, here's a look at 5 things you may not know about Sami Callihan.
#5 Sami Callihan was once a member of the NXT roster
Sami Callihan was once a part of the NXT roster, under the name of Solomon Crowe.
Crowe's gimmick was that of a tech-savvy wrestler and somewhat of a hacker, being able to access important systems within the WWE Universe.
In an interview with WWE.com, published by Byron Saxton in April 2015, Crowe explained his gimmick's background. He said:
"I was the kid at home on my computer making films, editing and disappearing into the dark nest of the Internet.
"I used to be a 325-pound kid who was always picked on. My best friends were my computer and wrestling."
His debut match was pulled from a taped NXT broadcast, and Callihan unfortunately suffered an injury in a dark match a number of weeks later.
The Solomon Crowe character eventually made his television debut in 2015 against Bull Dempsey, but was ultimately released from his WWE contract later that year.
Callihan spoke with Alex McCarthy of TalkSport about his decision to quit WWE. He said:
"I quit NXT because I wasn’t complacent. I wasn’t happy just collecting a paycheck and just being a toy on the shelf. I saw myself as a top guy, I had to go out and prove it and I’ve done just that. As soon as I got there, they wanted to change everything about me and I knew it wouldn’t work."
A gimmick that certainly had potential that would fit into today's age of social media and technology. Heck, he could have even reprised the role to be the SmackDown hacker. Remember that?
Callihan hasn't returned to WWE since his release in 2015.
#4 Sami Callihan was almost a part of SAnitY
SAnitY was by far one of the most popular factions on NXT during their peak.
Once called-up to the main WWE roster, they faded on SmackDown and unfortunately didn't reach the heights they did on NXT.
Could that all have been different if Sami Callihan had been a part of the group right from the get-go?
On a podcast episode of Talk Is Jericho, hosted by AEW's Chris Jericho with Sami Callihan, the latter explained there were plans for him to be in the group. He said:
"They wanted me to do this group based off, what’s the movie? Smoking Aces. The three crazy brothers, and I started pitching ideas. This later became SAnitY. It was meant to be me, Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis who’s doing this crazy gimmick."
Of course, the group ended up being Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe, Sawyer Fulton and Nikki Cross.
Callihan was released from WWE before the SAnitY group was formed and made their debut on NXT television.
#3 Sami Callihan has wrestled all around the world
Sami Callihan made his professional debut in 2005, and has wrestled all around the world, and for some major promotions.
Shortly after his debut, he teamed up with current AEW star and former WWE Shield member Jon Moxley.
Callihan has seen it all, from Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, to the ultraviolent world of Combat Zone Wrestling.
Callihan spent most of his independent wrestling years wrestling for CZW, and featured in some barbaric match styles against opponents such as his former partner Jon Moxley, and Adam Cole.
There aren't many opponents out there that Sami Callihan hasn't faced. He has even stepped in between facing legends such as Fit Finlay, The Great Muta and Nigel McGuinness.
You may also recognize Callihan from his tenure with Lucha Underground, under the gimmick of Jeremiah Crane and Jeremiah Snake.
It is safe to say Sami Callihan has built up an enormous amount of experience on the independent scene, and it sets him in good stead for the future.
#2 Sami Callihan was once on the creative team at CZW
Sami Callihan's mind was plucked and placed on the CZW creative team in 2017.
Callihan accepted the role and was appointed leader, leading creative moving forward for the ultraviolent company.
Sadly, it came to an end the following year following disagreements behind the scenes.
It is fair to say that Callihan has an incredible mind for the business, and once showed a glimpse of that during an interview with Fightful in April 2020. He said:
"It's just, they didn't understand it at all [The Hacker gimmick] and I think it was a little before its time. We really didn't even get to pull the trigger on the hacker/cyberpunk character at all. It was something me and Dusty Rhodes had really written out and came up with ideas. It was something I came up with for being a video game nerd and watching the movie Hackers.
"I had this idea right before NXT and I wanted to do it in EVOLVE. Gabe Sapolsky was like, 'This character is dope, you should wait and save it for NXT.' I went to NXT, I pulled it out, and someone in the office goes, 'Why would a hacker wrestle?' I was like, 'Why would The Undertaker wrestle? He strikes people with lightning bolts.' It just didn't click. I didn't click."
It is amazing to see that even the late, great Dusty Rhodes was helping write with Sami Callihan to fulfill his ideas.
#1 Sami Callihan has many accolades
Given the career that Sami Callihan has had, it is no wonder he has come away with so many accolades throughout his tenure as a professional wrestler.
IMPACT Wrestling alone, he has been a one-time IMPACT World Champion and Wrestler of the Year in 2018, and has won the Match of the Year award twice in two consecutive years running.
The first Match of the Year award was for his match against Pentagon Jr. at Slammiversary in 2018, and the second for his match against Tessa Blanchard at the following year's Slammiversary.
Other famous accolades for Sami Callihan include winning the 16 Carat Gold Tournament in Germany with wXw in 2011 and winning the CZW Best of The Best Eleven in 2012.
At the age of 33, there is no doubt there's plenty more to come Sami Callihan's way in the future.
He could once again be adding the IMPACT World Championship to his resume after July 17th if he manages to shock the world by beating Kenny Omega.
