One career ends and another one continues at TNA Emergence 2025 as Sami Callihan has apparently retired from the ring, while Léi Yǐng Lee will be sticking with the company for a while longer.
To address the first, Callihan was booked in a match against Mike Santana with the stipulation going into the event that if Callihan lost, he would retire.
Callihan made his entrance and grabbed a microphone, giving a shout out to two of his friends who were ringside, and talked about how if he's going to go out with this stipulation, he'd want to do so fighting, suggesting to Santana that they up the ante for their match and turn it into a Batlimore Street Fight. Santana agreed, saying he wanted to fight "The Death Machine", and he was on.
The match featured its fair share of weapons, as expected, with a staple gun in particular playing in part.
Ultimately, Santana was able to get the victory, scoring a reluctant pinfall that would end Callihan's career.
Santana ushered Callihan to stand up and left him the ring out of respect. Callihan, sobbing, left his boots in the ring and has seemingly called an end to wrestling.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, also at TNA Emergence, Léi Yǐng Lee had a dedicated moment surrounding the idea of retaining her to the brand and being excited about the many years to come.
She, Xia Brookside, and Masha Slamovich came out to the ring along with Tommy Dreamer and TNA President Carlos Silva. Dreamer spoke about how all of this business is about sharing your journey with the audience, and praised Lee about her journey in particular. He detailed how she moved across the world to become a pro wrestler without even really knowing what it was, nor any English, and that they wanted to announce that TNA is re-signing her to another contract. "She truly represents the Knockouts, her culture, and women in general for her goals and what they should be as strong ass fighters."
Lee and Brookside unfortunately lost their scheduled match to follow—a four-way for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship—as The Elegance Brand retained their titles by defeating them as well as The IInspiration and Fatal Influence's Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx.
What are your thoughts on Callihan retiring and Lee signing a new contract? Drop a comment below!