AEW has well over a dozen factions across its main programming and Ring of Honor. Today’s focus will be on the Don Callis Family, the largest stable in the promotion in terms of manpower led by its namesake leader.
Don Callis first broke into the wrestling industry in 1989 as “The Natural” where he was managed by The Golden Sheik, the late uncle of Kenny Omega. Breaking out of his native Winnipeg, Callis gained prominence in runs with the WWF, ECW, and TNA before retiring in the mid-00’s for over a decade. Thanks to his relationship with Omega, Callis returned to the wrestling business as an English color commentator for NJPW.
Following Omega’s 2020 AEW World Championship victory at Winter is Coming, Callis aligned with Omega as his manager until the May 10, 2023 episode of Dynamite. In a steel cage match against Jon Moxley, Omega was stabbed by a recently-scarred Callis with a screwdriver. During that year’s Double or Nothing, Callis and his new recruit Konosuke Takeshita cost Omega’s team the victory in the Anarchy in the Arena main event.
Since then, Callis’ Family has gained and shed members of his group in their two and a half years on television. At fourteen members currently listed, one must consider whether such numbers are sustainable in the first place. With a talent pool so deep within its ranks and in the promotion, the Don Callis Family has grown too large for its own good.
Faction Warfare
Factions have been a core tenet of AEW’s booking from day one, given the company was initially built around The Elite and their program with The Inner Circle. It’s a parallel to New Japan’s format, where stables are formed to help pad out tours with multiman tag matches.
The Don Callis Family aren’t an overtly themed group like the House of Black or Right to Censor. For the most part, whichever act joins generally retains a presentation unique to themselves but has the backing of a larger group for tag matches and backstage brawls.
Currently, the faction's ace is “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita who has found previous championship success under Callis’ guidance. Kyle Fletcher joined in October 2023 and is the TNT Champion, while Kazuchika Okada is the reigning Unified Champion who joined in July. Josh Alexander joined in April after he jumped over from TNA, an entry in Canada’s track record of great athletes. Company part-timers are even welcomed including CMLL’s Hechicero and NJPW’s Rocky Romero. Wardlow, Mark Davis, Trent Beretta, and Brian Cage are currently on the injury list, but this hasn’t slowed the group down and they’ve remained on television in spite of these setbacks.
The Callis Family has found longevity in how its format works, with Callis able to swell his ranks and have them feud with whichever babyface comes within their crosshairs. In some cases, Callis has recruited members while they’re actively feuding with Omega such as Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada. Callis doesn’t recruit a specific style or national origin among his talent, he’s simply in pursuit of the best athletes in the company a la Bobby Heenan.
They’re the promotion’s resident heel threat planted firmly within the midcard. While The Death Riders have a wider influence in the company’s main event scene, Callis’ camp has remained a consistent presence thanks to their numbers.
But something to consider with factions is they may need to swap out members to keep interest. Sammy Guevara, Rush, Will Ospreay, and Powerhouse Hobbs have been previously aligned with Callis but this is no longer the case. However, 2025 has marked the year with the most wrestlers becoming members of the Don Callis Family.
Sixth Anniversary Success
On the sixth anniversary broadcast of AEW Dynamite, the Don Callis Family extended its membership to two new members. Andrade El Ídolo made his return to the company after a near-two year stint with the WWE, attacking Kenny Omega after the trios opener.
The former La Sombra had been received warmly as a surprise entrant at the 2024 Royal Rumble, weeks removed from his World’s End swan song against Miro (WWE’s Rusev). Night two of SummerSlam would be his final appearance in the company, losing a Six-Pack TLC tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. News of his departure hit mid-September and reports indicate his stop-and-go booking came as the result of multiple violations of the company’s Wellness Policy (h/t PWInsider).
In the main event, DCF member Kyle Fletcher retained his TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy thanks to the assistance of the newly-recruited El Clon. First appearing in vignettes in August, Clon had been teased as a heel inversion to resident neon enmascarado Hologram. Due to a knee injury sustained last month Hologram has been written off TV, holding off on an eventual confrontation between the two. Under the mask is Arez, who fans may recognize from his appearances in GCW and AAA.
At fourteen members, this brings into question how television time would be divided among themselves and the rest of the roster. While many are injured, how are they supposed to be slotted in upon their return? With two new, shiny toys in the chest it’s going to be harder to stick out among a bloated stable.
Dissent Among the Ranks
AEW seems to be teasing in-fighting within the Don Callis Family, notably between Takeshita and Okada. The conclusion of their Homecoming: Title Tuesday Double Jeopardy Eliminator match versus Brodido ended with tension after Okada tagged himself in to score the pinfall on Bandido. They will be challenging for the World Tag Team Championships at WrestleDream and with Bandido currently working with an injured shoulder, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see the titles change hands should the reigning ROH World Champion need time off.
With the amount of talent in the group, egos are bound to collide even with Callis trying to play mediator. Takeshita has shown to be upset when others have run interference during his matches, even on his behalf.
The two butted heads heading into the last PPV, All Out, where Okada retained in a three-way Unified Championship defense featuring himself, Takeshita, and Máscara Dorada.
While winning the tag championships would add another accolade to both men’s resumes, it means they would have to be teaming with a partner they don’t like let alone trust. Takeshita has spent the year splitting commitments between AEW and NJPW, where he won the NEVER Openweight Championship for a spell and the G1 Climax. For an outsider to win the latter is a rarity, but shows how talented Takeshita is to come in as a non-exclusive talent and win their biggest annual tournament.
For over a decade, Okada made a name for himself as one of the top wrestlers of the world, winning the G1 in his own right four times along with holding the longest IWGP Heavyweight Championship run in history. New Japan’s ace without an heir apparent after his departure early last year, Okada is trying to protect his spot he sees is being threatened by a younger, rising star.
Who Gets to Be Shawn or Marty?
In the event of a group dissolving, there seems to be this dichotomy among fans that you end up as a "Shawn Michaels" or "Marty Jannetty." This is in reference to the post-breakup careers of The Rockers in the early 1990’s as while Michaels went on to become one of the all time greats, Jannetty has become a cautionary tale of falling into irrelevance.
Who’s to say the entire Family collapses under its own weight? The main DCF can still remain together under the services of Callis, but members can splinter off or form a new faction. Not that AEW needs another group vying for television time and the roster is already massive as it is, but such a large group may not be sustainable for a prolonged period.
One can’t know for sure who will become a star and will fall down the pecking order upon a breakup, as these are dependent on booking and outside factors. Not everyone is meant to be a star and some members have a higher ceiling than others.
However, there’s nonetheless talent within the group that could become major players in the coming years. Both members of Protoshita are future stars in the making, who could become main eventers with enough shine. Okada and Andrade are both well-travelled vets that could benefit from a heel mouthpiece like Callis. Hechicero is an entertaining guest act whose lucha abilities make him a good base for high flyers and technical experts.
It’s a shame that in such a deep talent pool like today, there’s only so much television time to go around. Perhaps breaking away from Callis could help some members get some exposure on their own terms or it’ll be the death blow for their careers, there’s no way of knowing. However, as it is right now the Don Callis Family is bound to implode from too many cooks in its kitchen.