Don Callis on Going to ECW After WWE Release, What He Wants to Be Remembered For, What He Does Now

– Joey Styles of WWE’s website recently spoke with former WWE and ECW personality Don Callis, known to fans as The Jackyl or Cyrus. Callis was in attendance for Chris Jericho’s recent 25th anniversary match at Madison Square Garden, which aired on the WWE Network, along with Lance Storm and Dr. Luther. The full interview can be read at this link. Below are highlights:

What he did to get released by WWE around Christmas 1998:

Apparently everything [laughs]. But I called Bret Hart, who was in WCW, and he told me because I hadn’t been on TV in a while that I might want to go to ECW first before trying to get signed by WCW. Lance Storm made it part of his contract negotiations to have Paul Heyman hire me. I started in Queens, N.Y., the day after my contract expired with WWE. I traveled with Lance for a year-and-half and lived like a monk because he’s no fun. He doesn’t drink or party. All his does is diet, work out and go to sleep early. It was the worst time of my career [laughs]. It was made even worse because Lance, Justin Credible and their manager Jason did their interviews after the show at three in the morning and it took them 30 takes. I would just go straight to the airport at 4 a.m.

What he does now:

I’m President and CEO of an organization called Manitoba Trade and Investment. Manitoba is a province in Canada, Joey. I know you Americans don’t learn anything about Canada in American schools. Canada is the country above America in North America, by the way. We help private sector companies in Manitoba get their products into foreign markets. We work with more than 500 companies a year. We travel to China, Brazil, Russia, the U.S. and Europe. Wrestling prepared me well for all the travel.

What he wants fans to remember him for:

My time in ECW. Paul Heyman was fantastic to me. He let me go out there and flourish on my own. I’ll always remember that Paul was a coach as much as a boss. Working with Paul to start a near riot at the Manhattan Center here in New York was old school, white-hot heat. For me, that was the highlight. My best creative work was done in WWE when I was given a gimmick that was doomed to failure and changed it within the WWE system to make it work. As a new guy, how great is it to work with Legends like Pat Patterson and all the producers that work backstage here? By the way, how much do I get paid for this interview?

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