Wrestling / Sami Callihan

The Draw

Sami Callihan (born Samuel Alton Johnston on September 1, 1987 at Bellefontaine, Ohio) is a all-rounder/brawler-style professional wrestler trained by Les Thatcher, Cody Hawk and Shark Boy, currently performing for Impact Wrestling and is best known for competing in Major League Wrestling as Sami Callihan and Lucha Underground as Jeremiah Snake. He also had a stint on the NXT brand of WWE as Solomon Crowe.

Aside from those promotions he also fought on Dragon Gate USA', CZW, EVOLVE, Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Full Impact Pro and All American Wrestling. He has... quite the amount of accolades, some of which are: 1x CZW New Horror Championship, 2x CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, 1x CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship, 1x wXw World Tag Team Championship (with Jon Moxley), 3x AAW Heavyweight Championship, 1x AIW Tag Team Championship (with Matt Riot), 1x NWA Force One Heavyweight Title, and 1x Lucha Underground Trios Championship (with Daga and Kobra Moon). He also won wXw's 16 Carat Gold Tournament in 2011, CZW's Best of the Best XI (2012), was placed #52 on PWI 500 in 2012, and won Impact Wrestling's "Moment of the Year" (breaking Eddie Edwards' face with a baseball bat) and "Wrestler of the Year" awards in 2018.

These are the tropes of The Draw!

As Sami Callihan

• Arch-Enemy:
  • Adam Cole, during their time in CZW.
  • Eddie Edwards in Impact, a feud that even involved Eddie's wife Alisha.
  • Pentagón Jr.. in Impact, after he illegally unmasked him and both squared into a Mask Vs. Hair match at Slammiversary XVI with the latter losing his hairline
  • In Real Life, Austin Aries, who accused him on Twitter of being a glory hogger.
  • Trey Miguel, as an attempt to corrupt him.
  • As of this writing, Moose is now his hated enemy, and how! His return from injury in Under Siege 2022 further fuels the heat and delivers a karmic payback against the very man who injured him.
  • It seems Steve Maclin (fka: Steve Cutler in WWE) has become a thorn on his eye since the former marine interfered in his match against Moose in Against All Odds 2022, which costed him the victory.
• Anti-Hero: As a Tweener, going into Nominal Hero territory. He's still a massive maniac, but due to Popularity Power, he now hunts Heels worse than him, if Kenny Omega and Moose getting into his nerves is any indication. Subverted in Under Siege 2022 where he manages to get proper cheers as a Face.
• Ax-Crazy: His character in most promotions, even for CZW standards which were already high to begin with! Sami Callihan is an obsessive, egoistical, Darwinist madman with a poor sense of reason. There are lots of violent sadists and masochists to run through that promotion, but he has seemingly lost all manner of rational thinking that doesn't involve hitting things, and even on that part it's hard to be sure.
• Bald of Evil: After his hair got shaved by Pentagon Jr and Fenix at Slammiversary XVI.
• Bash Brothers: With Jon Moxley, especially in the German westside Xtreme wrestling promotion, where they were tag team champions.
• Batter Up!: His weapon in several promotions.
• Bored with Insanity: He had long come to realize he was little "weird" by the time EVOLVE started up but had also come to embrace it, loudly updating anyone who would listen about his ever changing obsessions. Then he got suspended for attacking El Generico and was deeply remorseful, vowing to go on a Redemption Quest to make up for it during his banned days. It wasn't until Dave Finlay beat some sense in Sami that he realized obsession and insanity were problems though. And despite gaining a desire to be sane, he still really wasn't.
• Crossover Punchline: His stalking of Daizee Haze in the International Wrestling Cartel included attacking students of the ROH Dojo, which Haze was head trainer of alongside Delirious, and leaving cameras/switchblades in its facilities.
• Crowd Chant: Usually some variation of "You Suck Dick", "You Sick Fuck", "You're A Pussy" or "Fuck Ohio" in all American Wrestling.
• Cutlass Between the Teeth: Came out for a six way title shot at Ace Austin at limitless wrestling holding as many weapons as possible, including something in his mouth. Daniel Garcia kicked Callihan in the mouth before he had finished his entrance and it took him a little while to get into the match as a result.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: Became the only person to pin Brian Cage at Bound For Glory 2018.
• Deliberately Monochrome: His self admitted "weird videos".
• Evil Minion: "The Iron Manager" JT Davidson in All American Wrestling
• Eye Scream: Both he and "The Red Death" Daniel Garcia were no selling as much as they could in Limit Wrestling against one another until Callihan gouged his eyes.
• Finishing Move: A Double Underhook Piledriver called "Cranial Contusion" (known in Impact Wrestling as "Cactus 97"), a Headlock Driver called "Jobber Clobber" and an Over-the-Shoulder Single Leg Boston Crab called "Stretch Muffler".
• Formerly Fat: He was a pretty pudgy during his time in the Heartland Wrestling Association. Pudgy Sami was memorably a scapegoat everyone in his tag teams and stables pushed responsibility for failure onto, but Jon Moxley had a great deal more respect for him when Callihan started losing weight.
• Garbage Wrestler: His specialty.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: He beat up Jason Cade on Ronin16 while using Veda Scott as his club, after Cade tried to make Callihan promise not to hurt her. Scott managed to break his grip and use the elevated position to apply a piggy back sleeper but Callihan broke that and went back to knocking her into him.
• Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut: In CHIKARA in 2009, he was the first person to appear as Vökoder, until Tim Donst took over the gimmick.
• Insane Troll Logic: He mentioned a video game that featured every member of the EVOLVE roster but couldn't remember its name, just that more people were playing as him online than as Johnny Gargano as a reason of why he deserved a shot at DGUSA's Open The Freedom Gate Championship belt.
• The Insomniac: He became one due to him obsessing about not getting a shot at Johnny Gargano for the Open The Freedom Gate Championship belt.
• Irony: In Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE, both Callihan and Jon Moxley were foils, with Callihan declaring he was sick of independent wrestling and trying to get the attention of Dragon Gate proper, while Moxley was defending the honor of independent wrestlers against the Dragon Gate regulars and their fans. Furthermore, both of them were called to the big leagues, but while Moxley (now as Dean Ambrose) reached peaks of success no other CZW wrestler ever managed to do, Callihan (now as Solomon Crowe) only lasted a few years before asking for his release because the writers didn't know what to do with him.
• Just Toying with Them: Callihan intentionally drew out a match he could have quickly won in All American Wrestling with Kris Statlander just because she happened to be more popular with the fans. This almost cost him the match at a couple of points, by giving her an openings.
• Knight of Cerebus: While the Crist brothers presented themselves as being violent and ominous from the very beginning, one could be forgiven for not thinking much of it beyond a stylistic choice when they were simply enduring everything LAX was throwing at them for months. As soon as Callihan entered the picture, however, oVe promptly shifted gears and changed the name of the game from "good vs. evil" to "gang warfare", causing a Face/Heel Double-Turn as LAX became the de facto faces via popularity.
• Leitmotif:
  • Muse's "Space Dementia", Wednesday 13's "Bad Things" and Van Halen's "Right Now" on CZW.
  • CKY's "96 Quite Bitter Things" and The Stoves's "Back Burner" on Ring of Honor.
  • Oh No Not Stereo's "Can't Trust Anyone" and CFO$'s "Mass Appeal" on NXT.
  • Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" in wXw.
• Light-Flicker Teleportation: In his JAPW promotional packages against Corvis Fear. Unlike most examples Callihan's videos are strictly a result of him being off his rocker.
  • This is his favorite way to teleport to the ring and outside with his Smartphone of all the things in Impact Wrestling.
• The Mentor: Trained Eric Deshields, Jon Barber and Kris Levin.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Dave Finlay vs. Callihan in EVOLVE. In this case, it was the "hero" going after "the villain" in an effort to redeem him.
• Parts Unknown
  • As both Sami Callihan and Jeremiah Crane/Snake, he was billed from The Last House on the Left in some promotions.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: ECW's Hack Meyers was billed from there too.
• Power Stable:
  • "Catch Hoolz", with WALTER, Terry Frazier, Sha Samuels, Jon Ryan and Tatsuhito Takaiwa.
  • "The Crew" with Jon Moxley, Pepper Parks, Dick Rick and Eric Darkside in Heartland Wrestling.
  • "Killer Kult", with Irish Airborne (Dave and Jake Crist), JT Davidson, Jessicka Havok and Abyss.
  • "The New Regime", with Joe Gacy, Ryan Slater, Rich Swann and Niles Young.
  • "OI4K",^note "Ohio Is For Killers" with Irish Airborne, Alex Colon, Nevaeh, Ron Mathis, Dustin Rayz, Eric Ryan, Gerome Phillips and Jon Murray. In TNA/Impact, it became "oVe",^note "Ohio Versus Everything" initially only with the Irish Airbone, before being joined by "Madman" Sawyer Fulton.
  • "Snot", with Azrieal, Kris Rex, Kevin Matthews, Mario Bokara and Flag Boy.
  • "Stamos Syndicate", with Stevie Stamos, Frankie Arion, Chris Battle, Anthony Battle and Ricky Reyes.
  • "Uncle John's Friends", with AR Fox, Darby Allin and Dave Crist.
• Power Trio:
  • "The Dirty Ugly Fucks (DUF)", with Pinkie Sanchez and Arik Cannon, in Dragon Gate USA.
  • "Extraordinary Gentlemen of Wrestling", with Big Ric Cannon and Louis Linaris.
  • The initial Impact rendition of OI4K as "oVe" with Irish Airborne.
  • "The Switchblade Conspiracy" with Jon Moxley and Joe Gacy.
  • "The Death Machines" with Sawyer Fulton and Leon Scott in MLW.
• Red Baron: "The Callihan Death Machine", "The New Horror", "The Draw".
• Redemption Quest: He claimed he would go on one to better himself after being suspended from EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA, following his attack on El Generico.
• Reluctant Psycho: During the later stages of his EVOLVE career, though it started when he was suspended for attacking El Generico. He was still obsessive and Ax-Crazy but was trying to settle down and focus on wrestling.
• Ring Out: Defied: At Welcome To The Combat Zone in his match with Smith "Big Game" James right after Cherry Bomb invoked the rule in an effort to defeat Jessicka Havok in the the previous match.
• Shaky P.O.V. Cam: He's infamous for his self admitted "weird videos". And yes, these have included "point of view" assaults, such as in the International Wrestling Cartel when he went so far as to trespass on Ring of Honor's facility grounds in order to attack their dojo students for getting close to Daizee Haze, one of ROH's then head trainers and then focus of Callihan's obsessions. Haze was initially fearful and paranoid until Callihan left a camera behind in an effort not to be caught by other head trainer Delirious. On seeing it Haze instantly realized Callihan was who they were dealing with.
• Signature Move: Bicycle Kick, a Butterfly Piledriver called "Cranial Contusion", a Cradle Tombstone Piledriver called "Cradle Killer", Curb Stomp, Death Valley Driver, Exploder Suplex, Forearm Smash, Koji Clutch, Lariat, Sitout Powerbomb, Springboard Clothesline and an elbow suicide dive under the second rope(low pe).
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: His tag team with Jessicka Havok more so resembled an abusive relationship where Havok would beat up Callihan whenever he talked a back to her, or even when she took the pin, and then act comforting and caring after knocking him on his ass. When he once told her to kiss him first she bit him.
• Split Personality: A rare case of a performer who portrays different characters in different promotions acknowledging them both at once. Sami Callihan refused to accept the challenge to a rematch against Eddie Edwards in an "I Quit!" match during the Impact vs. Lucha Underground crossover event at WrestleCon. Jeremiah Crane accepted instead. The instantaneous transformation from violent thug to outright psychopath is genuinely frightening, and if you thought Callihan was bad, Crane was worse.
• Start My Own: He's the founder of his own independent promotion Wrestling Revolver.
• Tag Team:
  • "American Nasty Boys", with Drake Younger.
  • "Death Machines", with Jessicka Havok.
  • "Grits 'N Gravy", with Michael Elgin.
  • "Satanic and Profitable", with Alex Zikos.
  • "Switchblade Saints", with Matt Riot.
  • "The Twins", with Brian Cage.
  • "United States Death Machine", with Chris Dickinson.
• Talking to Themself: Sort of. He hears voices, but rather than answer, it seems he tries to drown them out, not that this ever stops him from doing what they want, he and his voices seem to ultimately have the same goals.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Fans hated Sami Callihan no matter how hard he tried to be a good clean wrestler after his Heel–Face Turn in All American Wrestling, no matter how much he tried to cater to them or wrestle to their standards as Heavyweight Champion. So he set out to torture all the wrestlers they liked more than him.
• Thinking Out Loud: He has a tendency to announce his attentions or otherwise say plans or let out random musings he's better off keeping to himself.
• Third-Person Person: Subverted in EVOLVE, where he seemed to be referring to himself in third person but was revealed to be in conversation with himself.
• Tournament Arc: Full rundown here. Here are his victories:
  • wXw's "World Tag Team Title Tournament 2009" with Jon Moxley.
  • Full Impact Pro's "Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2010".
  • wXw's "16 Carat Gold Tournament 2011".
  • MCW's "Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 2011".
  • CZW's "Best of the Best '11".
  • IWC's "Super Indy XI" (2012).
  • AAW's "Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament 2018".
• Would Hit a Girl
  • Has stalked Eddie Edwards's wife Alisha to her hotel room just to rattle her husband. Ended up fighting said husband in the hotel hallway.
  • Callihan has hit back on occasion, at least when he and Jessicka Havok were actually booked opposite each other in matches or in multiway dances.
  • He's no stranger to Intergender Matches, if his feud with Tessa Blanchard is any indication.
• You Have Failed Me: On the receiving end, at MLW: Salina De La Renta punished him for his failure to take out Tom Lawlor by forcing him into a Falls Count Anywhere match against LA Park, which Park won after spearing Callihan through several chairs.

As Solomon Crowe

• Animal Motifs: Crows, obviously.
  • He's described himself as a honey badger/ratel.
• Anime Hair: His initial hairdo◊ is best described as... a Vegeta cosplay Gone Horribly Wrong.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall/Interface Screw: Whenever he hacks the show, he doesn't just hack the Titantron, he hacks the show itself.
• Catchphrase:
  • "This is not a test" comes up a lot in his videos and is even heard in his entrance theme.
  • (At the end of a promo or match) "We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast/programming."
• The Cracker: Although his end goal or really any goal, was never really revealed
• Cloudcuckoolander: There's something indeterminately... off about him. The hair, the way he appears to be trying to ram the microphone into his own skull during promos, the unorthodox style and finishing move... oh, and the fact that he screws around with NXT's display setups for kicks and giggles.
• Hollywood Hacking: Overtaking the projector feed is one thing, but taking the show's broadcast is another. Doing both at once alone is a little much even more most wrestlers of this type.
• Put on a Bus: He debuted the hacker gimmick at a live show... and that's all we heard from him (officially) for months, though he wrestled a lot of dark matches and house shows.
  • The Bus Came Back: He finally debuted the week after NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Signed to NXT, trained, debuted a malicious hacker gimmick that looked to be going somewhere... then promptly disappeared, reappearing over a year later.

As Jeremiah Crane/Snake

• Aborted Arc: His and Ivelisse's feud with Marty "The Moth" Martinez and Mariposa, after Ivelisse was injured. This led to his already-planned involvement with Catrina happening sooner than it would've otherwise.
• Accidental Misnaming: Screwed up Son of Havoc's name several times.
• Ambiguous Situation: Between him and Catrina.
• Ax-Crazy: Openly admits that he just loves hurting people. Shown off to terrifying effect during his Battle of the Bulls qualifier against Killshot, Mariposa and Dante Fox, fighting like an absolute psychopath!
• Back from the Dead: After 3-Way to the Grave, Kobra Moon acquired his body and resurrected him with her venom.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Catrina.
• Extremity Extremist: His preferred fighting stance is the one with his foot in your face.
• Foreshadowing: His casket from 3-Way to the Grave was glimpsed right next to Vibora when Johnny Mundo and Taya attacked during their infiltration of the Reptile Temple, foreshadowing his resurrection as Jeremiah Snake the week afterward.
• Hot-Blooded: He just loves to fight... even if it means opting into a two-on-one against Marty and Mariposa.
• Hidden Depths: Based on his first impression, he appeared to be just another violence-loving thug who wandered into the Temple to kick some ass alongside his new girlfriend. Then we find out that he has ties to Catrina of all people and we have to wonder how much more there is to him...?
  • He also seems to be closely linked to the Temple itself, as he retrieved something (bearing a certain resemblance to an Ouija board) from the ceiling of Dario Cueto's office that he'd left there as a kid (which Cueto had no idea was even there), and Catrina mentioned that he had brought her to the Temple in the first place.
  • He has some sort of powers, possibly intangibility, as he walked right through Catrina after she confronted him a second time.
• In Love with Your Carnage: After Ivelisse warned him that she'd kick his ass if Dario pitted them against each other (as he inevitably would), he only responded "I love it when you talk dirty".
• Intangibility: Possibly. He walked right through Catrina after she confronted him a second time, although it's unclear exactly which one of them had become intangible.
• MacGuffin: The stone he wears around his neck is a piece of Catrina's that he had stolen from her. Considering his fairly close history with Catrina, it also qualifies as a Memento MacGuffin. Strangely enough, this piece of the stone looked to have disappeared between 3-Way to the Grave and his resurrection at the hands of Kobra Moon, as he didn't look to be wearing it during the Atomicos match between the Reptile Tribe and the Worldwide Underground.
• Not Using the "Z" Word: His post-resurrection mannerisms, especially his entrance, make him look like he's indeed a zombie, but the Z word has not been used even once to describe him.
• Older Than They Look: Possibly. He may be at least as old as Catrina (who has been around for over 197 years), as he was the one who brought her to the Temple in the first place (with her stating that she never thought she'd see him again in the flesh), and he would later confirm that they knew each other as kids.
• Would Hit a Girl: His Cueto Cup match with Taya and the Battle of the Bulls qualifier can attest to that. Crane doesn't care about his opponent's gender, he just loves hurting people.

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