Working under ring names like Cyrus the Virus in ECW and The Jackyl in WWE, Don Callis started his pro wrestling career in 1989, stepping away from the business in 2004. But Callis returned to wrestling in 2017, becoming a color commentator for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and a major figure backstage at Impact Wrestling.

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But Callis has been on fans’ minds these days thanks to his becoming the heel manager of Kenny Omega in All Elite Wrestling while also being an executive in Impact. It’s another interesting development for Callis, who’s got a lot of fascinating backstage stories in his career.

10 Bret Hart Saved His WWE Career

Don Callis got his start wrestling in the Canadian wrestling scene, but many fans’ earliest memories of him come from his WWE run, which almost didn’t happen. Initially, Callis was supposed to be paired with fellow Canadian Rick Martel, but Martel suddenly jumped ship to WCW in 1996, which caused management to assume that Callis and Martel were using WWE to help leverage some lucrative WCW contracts. It took a call from Bret Hart to smooth things over with Vince McMahon and get Callis the job. From there, he was slated to manage the revival of the Hart Foundation, but got the Truth Commission gimmick instead.

9 He Got Kicked Out Of The WWE Locker Room

As The Jackyl, Don Callis’ time in WWE wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, as locker room politics can result in some uncomfortable situations. Apparently, wrestlers in the WWE locker room took a disliking to Callis, perceiving him as standoffish. At some point, Callis offended the wrong guy and found himself banned from using the locker room for a long time. According to Callis, he has no idea what he did to get himself banned -- and nobody has gone on record to clarify -- but claims that he probably deserved the ban.

8 He Guided The Truth Commission’s Evolution

When The Jackyl finally debuted in WWE, he was a member of the militaristic Truth Commission, a group of South African mercenaries with names like Tank, Recon, and Sniper. Eventually, Callis would become the manager of the group, considering it a unique challenge to get such a specific gimmick over.

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Eventually, attempted to reinvent himself as a David Koresh-like cult leader who had brainwashed the monster heels that followed him. To further underscore the comparison, Callis wanted to shoot promo videos in Waco, Texas, but WWE thought it might be too controversial, so they nixed the gimmick.

7 He Almost Had a Jesus Gimmick

When the reinvention of The Truth Commission as a cult didn’t work out, WWE writer Vince Russo came up with a new idea where Don Callis would become “The Messiah,” where he would dress in all white and make entrances by being lowered from the ceiling. Callis questioned whether this extremely Vince Russo idea would have crossed a line with viewers, but was ultimately fine doing whatever it took to get over. However, the idea would never come to fruition.

6 He Named Kurrgan, Who Didn’t Follow His Advice

Beyond having a hand in the direction of the Truth Commission stable overall, Callis is actually responsible for renaming The Interrogator. Callis was a fan of the film Highlander, so he suggested the name Kurrgan, which stuck. But Callis couldn’t save Kurrgan from himself.

At a WrestleMania XIV afterparty, Kurrgan decided to dance with his wife, thinking that the sight of such a large man dancing would be funny. Callis warned him against it because Vince McMahon would certainly make him do it on television. Kurrgan didn’t listen and before long he became a dancing goofball in The Oddities.

5 Tried To Get Al Snow Into The Oddities

Speaking of The Oddities, Callis managed that group for a brief period as well, claiming responsibility for naming them, as he referred to the group as a “parade of oddities.” At one point, WWE was bringing in several new hires and wanted Callis to add one to his menagerie, giving him a choice of William Regal, Al Snow, or John Tenta (a.k.a. Earthquake). Callis asked for Al Snow because he already had a bunch of monster heels, but WWE ignored him and gave him John Tenta anyway, who ended up becoming Golga.

4 Cyrus Was Based On His Real-Life Relationship With TNN

ECW fans might remember Don Callis’ time in ECW as Cyrus, a commentator who was more loyal to TNN -- the cable network that aired ECW -- than to ECW itself. Believe it or not, this gimmick was actually based on reality. Callis ended up befriending TNN management and pitched them ideas like hosting a marathon of the series Dallas because TNN showed reruns a lot and he was a fan.

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This caused some tension between Callis and ECW, who had a fraught relationship with the network, but Paul Heyman realized that it was great fodder for a heel gimmick, as ECW fans also hated TNN for its treatment of ECW. So before long, Cyrus became an ECW crony who talked up TNN shows like RollerJam and criticized ECW’s edgy style as a parody of the network’s actual concerns.

3 His Unique Relationship to Kenny Omega

In the early days of his career, Don Callis competed in the Manitoba wrestling scene, where he got a big push in promotions like West Four Wrestling Alliance as “The Natural.” This ruffled the feathers of a lot of veterans but one of them, The Golden Sheik, took a liking to him. Ultimately, Golden Sheik would become a mentor and father figure to Callis as well as an on-screen manager. Years later, Callis would book a young Kenny Omega in Winnipeg area wrestling shows, but it was only years later that Callis would find out that Omega was his mentor’s nephew!

2 Kenny Got Him Back Into Wrestling (But It Almost Didn’t Happen)

After a brief stint in TNA, Don Callis largely stepped away from pro wrestling in 2004 but would dip his toes back in by co-hosting a podcast with fellow Canadian Lance Storm. Meanwhile, Kenny Omega had become the top gaijin in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and management wanted someone to talk him up at the English commentary table. New Japan suggested Bret Hart, but Omega recommended Callis. NJPW checked out his podcast but decided they wanted Lance Storm (!) instead. However, Kenny continued to insist on Don Callis and got his wish.

1 He Set Up the Omega/Jericho Wrestle Kingdom 12 Match

The Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho Wrestle Kingdom 12 bout in 2018 was a huge deal for pro wrestling. It drew international attention and loads of money for New Japan and inspired Tony Khan to pursue starting a wrestling promotion -- and Don Callis takes credit for setting up the match. At the time Jericho had a vow to only wrestle for Vince McMahon, but Callis convinced his good friend to take on Omega on the basis that it would be two wrestlers from Winnipeg in the Tokyo Dome, with another Winnipegger on commentary.

NEXT: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12: Every Match Ranked By Dave Meltzer's Star Ratings