Bruce Prichard Reveals Original Plans For Don Callis In WWE
Don Callis is best known for his time in NJPW and Impact Wrestling. Callis also had a brief but forgettable run in the WWE as part of The Truth Commission, and on the Something To Wrestle podcast, former WWE producer Bruce Prichard explained why it never worked out.
According to Prichard, the original idea was to debut Callis and pair him alongside Rick Martel. Those plans were changed when Martel jumped ship and left the WWE for WCW.
"We also had Don Callis who got put in that position because Rick Martel went to WCW," Prichard said. "The original idea for Don Callis was to team with Rick Martel and call themselves 'The Models.'"
With that idea out the window, Prichard and Vince McMahon tried to find something new for Callis. McMahon proposed the idea of adding Callis to the Canadian faction The Truth Commission. Callis debuted as The Jackal in 1997 and was made leader of The Truth Commission, but the run ended after a few months. Prichard said that character didn't get over with fans at all and nobody cared for it because it didn't generate heat, so it was quickly abandoned.
"Now we are sitting there with Don and Vince McMahon was like, well, Don is Canadian, so he can be part of The Truth Commission. We had Luc Poirier as Sniper and Bull Buchanan as Recon," Prichard said. "It was a hodgepodge. I don't know if it was an idea that anybody really got about this South African dictator. I don't know if it was big news in the United States of America. They didn't get it. It just didn't work, it wasn't a good idea and it just didn't work."
If you use any portion of the quotes in this article please credit Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.