After the AAA Triplemania event from the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide promotion in Tijuana Saturday night, wrestling manager Don Callis was reportedly attacked by a fan. Callis confronted Kenny Omega in a post-show press conference as part of a storyline, and that then led to Konosuke Takeshita attacking Omega in a scripted continuation of their AEW feud. But a fan then jumped in and attacked Callis (who is currently signed to AEW as Takeshita’s manager) from behind.
The start of the attack on Callis isn’t visible in the video below, which has its focus on the Takeshita-Omega incident at that point. But the video cuts to the aftermath at 2:55, and shows someone with a hold on Callis’ neck from behind before security pulls them away:
As per Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez, this wasn’t part of any storyline, and Callis has returned to San Diego for medical evaluation:
Don Callis was just legitimately attacked by a fan at a post-show press conference following the Omega vs. Vikingo match
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 16, 2023
Was not the best for Don, he's hurt. Heading to San Diego to get looked at. https://t.co/or6gZcilZy
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 16, 2023
Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Rose has more from Alvarez:
“Everything was an angle up to that point, but then a fan who was apparently upset about what Don had said to Kenny jumped Don from behind, ripped his suit, concussed his eardrum and busted open his mouth while he was trying to choke out Don from behind,” Alvarez said. “ Don was screaming profanities at the fan before he was pulled off, and was said to be livid afterwards.”
Callis’ neck and ankle were both injured in the attack and is heading to San Diego for medical attention. Alvarez reiterates that the situation was “absolutely not a work”.
Callis has quite a history with both Omega and Takeshita. He made his AEW commentary debut at Omega’s request in 2020, and managed Omega from 2020 through earlier this year, but turned on him in favor of Takeshita at a May event. At Triplemania, he appeared before the main Omega-Vikingo event and said he would be in Vikingo’s corner, but he was replaced by Konnan for the actual match. Hopefully his injuries here aren’t serious.
[Wrestling Observer, TJ Sports on YouTube]
