Add as a preferred source on Google Sami Callihan may be starting a new chapter of his career in AEW, just weeks after parting ways with TNA.
According to Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net, Callihan has been working behind the scenes at AEW Dynamite tapings for the past three weeks. The former TNA World Champion is reportedly working as a producer, directly helping put together matches and segments for the show.
Callihan will also be backstage for this Thursday’s AEW Collision at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. The show tapes tonight and airs Saturday, July 18, on TNT. Hikaru Shida vs. Queen Aminata for the AEW TBS Championship is among the matches announced for the card.
Despite the string of appearances, sources familiar with the situation said the wrestler has apparently not signed a contract with AEW. That could mean the work is being treated as a trial period before any formal agreement is reached.
Callihan left TNA on June 17, when he was expecting an offer to join the creative team but instead was let go. He had already been working as a producer after retiring from in-ring competition in August 2025, following a loss to Mike Santana in a Baltimore Street Fight at TNA Emergence.
This isn’t the first time Callihan has had ties to Tony Khan’s promotion. In October 2023, he was backstage for another Collision taping while Jon Moxley reportedly pushed internally for AEW to sign him. The two were partners in the Switchblade Conspiracy and remain connected through Wrestling REVOLVER, the promotion Callihan continues to run.
It remains to be seen whether the past few weeks of work will result in an official contract with AEW.