Sami Callihan broke his leg in September of last year and returned to Impact earlier this year. He recently spoke about his recovery and other topics in an interview with Metro. Here are the highlights:
His recovery from injury:
“I’m still rehabbing that man. I may have come back a little too early, I may have not. The pain wasn’t what bothered me – pain’s just pain, I can lock pain out of my head. It’s mental – it’s not being able to do what you’re used to, it’s relearning everything, it’s trying to get out of your own head and be able to be successful again. That injury, truth be told, could have ended my career if we’re gonna be honest about it. But it didn’t, and I’m extremely lucky…
“When you’re sitting at home, not able to move, not able to work out, sitting on a couch eating chipotle everyday – that does something to your psyche. Every single thing is gonna be running through your brain. What if I never get back to doing what I love? What if I never get back to being the Death Machine of old? I don’t think people realize how bad that injury really was.”
Being concerned about the injury repeating:
“The thought of just coming down on that leg and it snapping. No matter what, the rest of my career that’s gonna be in my head. I felt that, I physically felt my bone and heard by bone snapped. That’s something you don’t just get out of your brain. No matter what I do, I think there’s always gonna be that little piece of my mind – but I think the more matches I get in, the more I get back, I’m gonna get that much more confident, that much more aggressive, that much more angry.”
Making changes to his in-ring style following his return from injury:
“The Death Machine ain’t gonna let that stuff slow him down any time soon. Am I diving anymore? Probably not! But I am kicking ass as always? Absolutely. Now, I get a chance to be back in the main event of IMPACT Wrestling. I get a chance to be a character in IMPACT Wrestling and live my dream. I wouldn’t take it any other way.”