{"id":15192,"date":"2018-03-06T18:55:12","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T23:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=15192"},"modified":"2018-03-06T18:55:12","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T23:55:12","slug":"sami-callihan-takes-bat-incident-gets-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/03\/06\/sami-callihan-takes-bat-incident-gets-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"Sami Callihan Takes &#8220;Bat Incident&#8221; And Gets More Evil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The world of professional wrestling <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/03\/03\/sami-callihan-responds-backlash-eddie-edwards-bat-incident\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was shocked and appalled<\/a>, from other wrestlers, promoters and personalities to fans around the world, following last Thursday&#8217;s Impact Wrestling. In the main event, Sami Callihan faced Eddie Edwards in a hard hitting affair that ended with an errant baseball bat, swung by Callihan, that ricocheted off the chair Edwards was holding and struck Edwards in the face, breaking his orbital bone. TMZ picked up on the story, causing Sami Callihan to respond to TMZ the following day, with seemingly no remorse for the incident.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sami Callihan Fires Back At Critics After Stunt Gone Bad | TMZ Sports\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Njn_130b1Ew?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While many were outraged at Callihan&#8217;s callousness, &#8220;The Death Machine&#8221; took the opportunity to continue to build his brand as &#8220;the most dangerous man in wrestling&#8221;, employing something that fans have long branded as being extinct: kayfabe. Through all the backlash and controversy, Callihan has remained stone faced, very much the character seen in recent promos on Impact Wrestling, offering no regret or compassion to his fallen fellow wrestler. In an interview on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.siriusxm.com\/prowrestling\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM<\/a>, the controversy was the principle topic and Callihan weaved around the kayfabe of the situation, saying \u201c(t)his is what really bothers me. This is professional wrestling. \u2018Is it real or is it fake, because someone needs to tell me because I really don\u2019t know at this point.\u2019&#8221; In an era where fans clamour for the intrigue of kayfabe, that was seemingly lost with the rise of the internet, those same fans seem outraged when something is done in kayfabe to continue an angle outside of being on their TV screens on any given night of the week. The same fans were outraged over <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/03\/04\/velveteen-dream-indie-bashing-tweet-lead-ricochet\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Velveteen Dream&#8217;s recent comments against indie wrestling<\/a>, seemingly forgetting the fact that as Patrick Clark, Dream was himself a former indie wrestling star with MCW and CZW.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;If I have to apologize to the fans, I&#39;m not coming and working for your company anymore. Sh*t happens.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSamiCallihan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheSamiCallihan<\/a> says he doesn&#39;t feel bad about what happened to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheEddieEdwards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheEddieEdwards<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IMPACTonPop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#IMPACTonPop<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/impactwrestling?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@IMPACTWRESTLING<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Hear the full interview on demand on the SiriusXM app! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iGIoNKznec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/iGIoNKznec<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BustedOpenRadio\/status\/970795798735740928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, Callihan began to tease throughout the day that at 9pm he was going to make an official statement on the whole ordeal, leading many to believe that we&#8217;d finally hear from Sam Johnston, the man behind Sami Callihan&#8217;s persona, but when the time came, it was all Callihan.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is STUPID. I\u2019m officially done with this garbage. If any \u201cProfessional\u2019s\u201d or fans have a problem with my \u201cwork\u201d&#8230; Please look at my overbooked schedule and come find me. Just know&#8230;I won\u2019t be alone. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Unsafe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Unsafe<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EyeAintFake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#EyeAintFake<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/KissMyAss?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#KissMyAss<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/enzJPWwxA7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/enzJPWwxA7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sami Callihan (@TheSamiCallihan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSamiCallihan\/status\/970842784373538816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sami continued to fuel the rage of the naysayers even further this afternoon, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prowrestlingtees.com\/i-broke-eddie-s-face.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he released a brand new T-Shirt over at ProWrestlingTees.com<\/a>, that featured the now famous photo of Eddie Edwards with a bandaged eye and blood running down his face, with simply the words &#8220;I Broke Eddie&#8217;s Face (With A Baseball Bat)&#8221;.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Let\u2019s see how much my bank account goes up now. Now on Sale: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TiiKTsNnsV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/TiiKTsNnsV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LwlQSI6jUh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/LwlQSI6jUh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sami Callihan (@TheSamiCallihan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSamiCallihan\/status\/971131555270873089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It drew the attention of at least one of his Impact co-workers, as &#8220;Mr. Impact Wrestling&#8221; Moose tweeted the following in response:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheMooseNation\/status\/971132051721195520<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with WrestleZone.com today, Callihan likened the incident to previous injuries in pro wrestling, like those from the hands of <strong>Owen Hart<\/strong> or <strong>Bubba Ray Dudley<\/strong>, and how they maintained the kayfabe to keep the angles going. &#8220;Did Owen Hart apologize to Stone Cold after he broke his neck? Did he go out and say, \u201cI am so sorry for hurting this guy!\u201d Did Bubba Ray Dudley go out on TV and social media and apologize after the first One Night Stand PPV for almost ripping off Tommy Dreamer\u2019s ear with a reckless kendo stick shot? I don\u2019t think so. That\u2019s why this is such a stupid, status quo conversation. Sure, I hit a dude in the face with a baseball bat. You can see in my eyes I\u2019m thinking, \u201cOh crap, I just hit a dude in the face with a baseball bat,\u201d but I didn\u2019t feel bad about it and I don\u2019t apologize for it.&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mandatory.com\/wrestlezone\/news\/929289-exclusive-sami-callihan-unapologetically-refusing-to-stop-using-baseball-bat-has-he-talked-to-eddie-edwards-his-peers-reactions-more\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read the full interview here<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Owen 3:16 says I just broke your neck\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/INH6m76OxxE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"ym_1042515534616574318\" class=\"ym\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world of professional wrestling was shocked and appalled, from other wrestlers, promoters and personalities to fans around the world, following last Thursday&#8217;s Impact Wrestling. In the main event, Sami Callihan faced Eddie Edwards in a hard hitting affair that ended with an errant baseball bat, swung by Callihan, that ricocheted off the chair Edwards [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":15198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,6],"tags":[249,226,488],"class_list":["post-15192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-impact","category-north-america","tag-eddie-edwards","tag-impact-wrestling","tag-sami-callihan"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}