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As I’ve stated for the last month or so, I’m the new guy on the block here in “The Dub.”  However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t pay attention to what has been going on inside the Combat Zone.  I’ve been told in the past that I have my fingers on the pulse of wrestling…  So I have to keep up that reputation by constantly doing my homework on who is the next “hot commodity” in professional wrestling is.  Am I always right?  Sometimes I am but not always.  If you asked me about two years ago who would be ruling CZW right now I would have said “The New Horror” Sami Callihan.  But as you can tell I am wrong.

 

Sami Callihan about two years ago was the talk of the Combat Zone and the entire wrestling world.  I can remember the first time I saw Callihan.  Simply put, he had me intrigued.  He called himself “The New Horror” and it showed.  The guy looked like someone out of a horror movie.  His look, the way he carried himself both in and outside the ring, he had me intrigued.  For a good portion of time here in CZW, he had the locker room running scared!  I mean the guy kidnapped Danny Havoc prior to Cage of Death 11!  And if they weren’t running scared of him, they had his back.  He formed the Switchblade Conspiracy with Jon Moxley and Joe Gacy.  He was the leader!  Yet here we are January, 2011 and the leader of this former group isn’t the one making headlines.  It’s Joe Gacy with Ryan Slater putting the CZW Management on notice for not scheduling them in a match at Cage of Death XII…  It’s Jon Moxley for beating CZW Legend, and probably one of the most dangerous men to ever step foot in a CZW ring, “The Notorious 187” Homicide at Cage of Death XII!  As of the writing of this blog, I don’t see a Sami Callihan video up on CZWrestling.com.  And the last news story Callihan was in on the site was for the results of Cage of Death, and it simply said “Robert Anthony defeated Sami Callihan to become the number one contender for the CZW World Championship.”

 

It’s not like Callihan doesn’t have the tools to become the face of CZW.  Hell, I would go as far as to say that Callihan is deserving of that spot.  I know I’m not the only one to think that either.  Callihan was just chosen to represent CZW this March in the wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament in Germany along with CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, Adam Cole.  Out of all the people wXw could chose from the CZW Roster, they chose him!  Hell, CZW has even given him a second chance to win the Best of the Best Tournament this spring!  So obviously I’m not the only one who thinks highly of “The New Horror.”  Yet, it seems to me Callihan’s story just keeps repeating.

 

It should have been in June, 2009 that we were praising Callihan for winning the most prestigious tournament in CZW history; Best of the Best (9), yet that gold ring was just out of reach.  And who did he lose to?  The same man that he lost his #1 Contender’s spot…  Robert Anthony!  From there it seemed to be all downhill for the “New Horror.”  He had a title shot against the then champion, Drake Younger, to which the late Trent Acid weaseled his way into.  Sure Callihan had a great showing, he pinned Asylum Arena Hall of Famer, Trent Acid.  Yet it was Drake Younger who goes the win and it was Jon Moxley who came to the aid of Sami Callihan.  The story seems to keep repeating itself…  Tangled Web 2, Callihan with Moxley beat the Naptown Dragons.  The next month, Callihan can’t beat Havoc for the UVU Championship.  He goes onto beat Eddie Kingston and then wins the UVU Championship in TOD: Rewind…  But can’t win the whole tournament!  He goes onto win Cage of Death 11… And then even beat Necro Butcher at the 11^th Anniversary…  But when he finally gets another shot at the CZW World Championship, it’s against the man who many may claim that Callihan “made.”  But it is Moxley who once again stop Callihan from reaching the top of the CZW Mountain!

 

And that story continues to this day.  Sami Callihan is able to string together a list of impressive victories here in the Combat Zone…  Yet when it is time to win the “big one,” like at Cage of Death XII, he can’t do it.  I don’t understand why though.  He has the ability, clearly…  He’s beaten some of the CZW greats. He’s main evented a CZW event on more than one occasion.  Like I said before…  He was just chosen to go to Germany and represent CZW!  The powers-that-be in the wrestling world know that Sami Callihan has the potential to be one of the greatest stars this sport has ever seen.  But I ask now, does Sami Callihan know that?

 

Does Callihan know the gift he was given?  There are men and women who never get the opportunities that Callihan have been given.  I mean I know a long list of people who would gladly trade spots with Sami Callihan to go over to Germany to represent CZW or get the chance to win the prestigious Best of the Best Tournament.  Sami Callihan has been given opportunity after opportunity to become the face of CZW, while others don’t get the chance.  Soon these chances will run out and sadly Sami Callihan could be nothing more than a footnote in the history of CZW.  I’ve seen people first hand get shot after shot until finally the well ran dry.  And right there is one of the main reasons I am writing this blog now.  I personally hate to see talent wasted.  I’ve seen what happens to a man when they don’t realize their full potential.  And I really don’t want to see that fate to fall upon Callihan.  I hope when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2011, I hope that Callihan made a New Year’s Resolution to finally reach out and grab that golden ring.  Because if I were a betting man, I’d bet that 2011 is Callihan’s last chance at glory in the Combat Zone.

 

So Sami Callihan…  When you walk into the Asylum Arena this Friday…  Be ready to make this your year, because it may very well be your last in CZW!

 

Until next time…  You stay classy, CZW Fans,

Dan Cowhey