Sami Callihan And Jon Moxley Used 'Crazy' Death Match Reputation To Get Out Of Them

For most wrestling fans, Impact's Sami Callihan is recognized for being a very violent individual, known for his hardcore style that occasionally veers into death match territory. And if you believe the former Impact World Champion and former tag team partner of AEW star and fellow death match aficionado Jon Moxley, it's all by design.

In an appearance on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Callihan discussed how he and Moxley were able to shed the deathmatch label, and whether being a deathmatch wrestler can be a hindrance to wrestlers that practice the style.

"I think it is and it isn't," Callihan said. "I know a lot of deathmatch wrestlers that are amazing technical wrestlers too but have gotten stuck in that. But they've got stuck in that because that's what they allowed themselves to get stuck in. One thing me and Moxley really did when we were younger...we didn't do death matches for that long. We did death matches for eight months. We probably did them a handful of times when we were younger, like eight to ten death matches. And then we used that reputation..."

Given what Callihan has seen from wrestlers that have stuck with the deathmatch style, instead of branching out, it appears he's very fortunate to have found another lane.

"I see so many deathmatch wrestlers now in particular, but they're in their late to mid-30s, they never got on television, and they're stuck doing deathmatches each and every week," Callihan said. "And sure, you can make a name doing death matches, and sure you can make money, but you can't do that forever. Your body's going to give out."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Perspective Podcast and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription