WWE News: Sami Callihan reveals that he and two others were originally meant to be SAnitY

What’s the story?

Well, he's one of the hottest names in wrestling right now after a shocking stunt went wrong on Impact Wrestling, but Sami Callihan recently spoke with Chris Jericho about his time in WWE.

During his interview on this week's Talk Is Jericho, Sami Callihan revealed the origins of the group now known as SAnitY - including who was originally meant to be in the faction.

In case you didn’t know…

Sami Callihan made headlines after a stunt involving a steel chair and a baseball bat almost left Eddie Edwards blind. The 30-year-old former NXT star is currently active in Impact Wrestling, Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Callihan used to work alongside former tag team partner Dean Ambrose in CZW, but the Ohio native was only used sparingly in WWE as Solomon Crowe during his three years with the company.

The heart of the matter

Sami Callihan recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho to speak about a plethora of subjects, including the heat he's garnered for his spot with Eddie Edwards, as well as his current busy schedule working for Lucha Underground, Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Callihan also spoke of his time in NXT, though, and spoke about not getting the TV time he deserved, and the Ohio native also spoke about original plans for him to be in the faction SAnitY - explaining why it didn't come to fruition.

The Impact Wrestling star said that Triple H suggested taking Callihan off TV and repackaging him, alongside two other Superstars.

He wanted me to do this group based off, what's the movie? Smoking Aces. The three crazy brothers, and I started pitching ideas. This later became SAnitY. It was meant to be me, Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis, who's doing this crazy gimmick.

SAnitY, in their current form, are one of the top factions in WWE

Sawyer Fulton was part of SAnitY before his WWE release, while Marcus Louis was only used sparingly before being released in early 2016. The trio actually performed together in a six-man tag team match where they defeated Mojo Rawley, Bull Dempsey and Tucker Knight.

Callihan goes on to say that, before the suggestion, he'd been messed about and kept off TV, then had one-year-old vignettes of a "hacker" character aired after being told to just be himself. The 30-year-old adds that this, along with being "buried down so much" led to him refusing to be in SAnitY and leaving WWE.

The former NXT star said he was told he would be kept off TV but be back before the end of the year alongside Fulton and Louis as SAnitY, but December came and he was told it would be after WrestleMania, so Callihan said he wasn't sticking around because he'd been bumping, doing everything he could to get over but others were coming in and going straight to the top, so he decided it was time to leave.

Callihan also goes on to say he had quite a hand in creative while in WWE, helping out with stuff for Stardust, character movesets, costumes and even coming up with Baron Corbin's End of Days finisher.

What’s next?

Sami Callihan will be competing against Eddie Edwards when the two step into the ring for the first time since the baseball bat incident, however, Callihan will be performing as Jeremiah Crane, his Lucha Underground character, when the two face off at Impact vs Lucha Underground at WrestleCon on April 6th.

Author’s Take

Well, it's always interesting to find out original ideas, like when it came out that Roman Reigns' position in The Shield was originally meant to be Chris Hero - now known as Kassius Ohno. Callihan made some huge claims on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, and it's pretty cool to hear him speak so candidly about his time in NXT. I personally love SAnitY in their current form, but it's cool to know how it was originally pitched!