All things Wrestling REVOLVER discussed by Sami Callihan.
Over the weekend, The Wrestling REVOLVER ran two shows on the same day in Dayton, Ohio. One of the two events was the Women’s Grand Prix which featured a one-night tournament that saw Billie Starkz defeat Marina Shafir in the finals.
Promotion owner, Sami Callihan, was interviewed by Cultaholic Wrestling and shared that both him and Jon Moxley have taken Marina Shafir under their wing. Callihan believes Shafir is on the cusp of realizing how big of a star she could be in wrestling.
100 percent (I put together the Marina Shafir video package for The Wrestling REVOLVER’s Women’s Grand Prix). Marina is a project that me and (Jon) Moxley have kind of taken under our wing. She is someone we think can be extremely pivotal in the business and she’s that next evolution of professional wrestling. All these girls wanna talk about, ‘Oh, I’m a badass. I’m a badass.’ If push comes to shove, Marina Shafir is one of the baddest out there. A remarkable athlete, a pioneer in women’s MMA and I think she is just, just on the cusp and just realizing how big of a star and how incremental she could be to professional wrestling and I think she is gonna continue to get better and better and better and better and grow. One of my favorite women professional wrestlers to watch right now and such a person that has a good head on her shoulders…
Further speaking about his promotion, Callihan touched the future of The Wrestling REVOLVER. He says their analytics are ‘through the roof’, adding that they might come to the United Kingdom in 2024. He said that’s something he’s working on.
Dude, we (The Wrestling REVOLVER) are in a rare position. Through my connections and just my… whatever I’ve put into the business, I got extremely lucky. Building good relationships with almost every wrestling promotion on the planet. We’re one of the only independent companies on the planet that you’re gonna see guys from New Japan, NOAH, AEW, IMPACT Wrestling, every wrestling company on the planet under one roof as well as guys that I think are on the next level, on the up and coming, guys that are top independent professional wrestlers in the world today. I think the biggest thing going into next year is this year, we ran more shows than we ever have. I think people have finally opened their eyes and we’re getting the credit we deserve as one of the top independent promotions on the planet today. I’m a big analytics guy. You look at the analytics, the numbers don’t lie, in the words of Scott Steiner and our analytics right now are through the roof and I think ending the year with the shows we have planned, hell, in December, we have (Masaaki) Mochizuki coming in to wrestle ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey for the first time. These are matches you’re not gonna see anywhere else. Going into next year, the plan is for more markets, more areas, more shows. Hell, we might even come to the U.K. next year. It’s something I’m working on.
Since 2017, Callihan has worked with IMPACT Wrestling. He officially wrapped up with the company in late September as the two sides could not agree on a new contract.
Callihan is a one-time World Champion in IMPACT and won five year end awards throughout his run there.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Cultaholic Wrestling with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
