Sami Callihan Calls Out TNA for Playing It Too Safe After AMC Deal

Sami Callihan is not leaving TNA quietly, and now he is taking a flamethrower to the company’s creative direction after his departure.

After his exit from the company, Callihan went on Busted Open Radio and basically lit up the whole operation. He said TNA has talented people behind the scenes, but he does not think everyone fully understands what the company could actually be.

“I think there is a lot of talented people in the corporate world of TNA, but I don’t think it’s all come together to a point of they actually understand what TNA could be. And I think every time we take two steps, one step forward, we take two steps back. Like there’s certain things that as much as people can be like, hey, we should do this. Hey, we should do this. Hey, we should do this. At the end of the day, it’s those people’s decision. And good or bad, it’s not always the greatest.”

Translation: Sami thinks TNA has the pieces, but the people making the final calls are not always using them the right way. Callihan also talked about Carlos Silva, and he did not completely trash him. Sami gave him credit for caring about TNA and helping the company land on AMC, but he also made it very clear he does not agree with every move.

“I do think Carlos is a caring person and I think Carlos does care about the company. He’s one of the main reasons we’ve got on AMC. But do I agree with all Carlos decisions? No, I do not.”

Then Sami got into what he thinks TNA really needs right now. He said the company needs better scouting, bigger independent names, stronger long-term stories, and viral moments that can actually grab younger fans.

“I don’t want to see TNA die or anything like that. I want to see it continue to go to the stratosphere. But if you need a, you need proper scouting and bringing in big, proper independent talent and big names, you need long term storytelling. You need to be able to create those viral moments that’s going to get the TikTok generation and then and so forth.”

And then came the line that probably stings the most. Sami said TNA finally got a bigger platform with AMC, but instead of going wild, he thinks the company has been playing it way too safe.

“And it seems since we’ve been on AMC, we’ve played it so safe. It’s been in a detriment to ourselves.”

The comments come after it was reported that Callihan believed he was getting a call about potentially taking over TNA creative. Instead, he found out he was done. That is a brutal plot twist, especially because people inside TNA were pushing for him to join the creative team for months.

Callihan will keep running Pro Wrestling Revolver, so he is not leaving wrestling behind. But when a guy thinks he is about to get more power and instead gets fired, then goes on radio and says the company is playing scared, that is a rough look. TNA may be on AMC now, but Sami clearly thinks the company needs to start acting like it has something to prove.

What do you think? Is Sami Callihan right about TNA playing it too safe, or is the company better off moving in a different direction? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.