New Japan is also getting ready for the upcoming G1 Climax tournament this summer. The tournament will kick-off with a special opening night in Dallas on July 7th. Following the first night of the tournament, the G1 will head back to Tokyo on July 14th for night 2.
The last night of the G1 tournament is scheduled for August 12th. NJPW’s next show after that will be Royal Quest in London on August 31st.
Chris Jericho is a big supporter of former WWE Champion CM Punk potentially joining AEW (All Elite Wrestling) but thinks there are factors in getting a deal done.
The possibility of signing one of the biggest free agents in the pro wrestling business right now would be a great addition to the already loaded AEW roster.
Punk and Jericho have shared the ring on several different occasions in WWE. While doing a recent interview with ESPN, Jericho made it known that he thinks AEW would be the right for Punk.
“If he wants to come back to wrestling, it would have to be for the right reasons — both on his end and on AEW’s end,” Jericho said. “CM Punk is a unique individual.”
Jericho noted that AEW and WWE could use him but it all depends on what Punk wants to do and what his attitude is when and if he comes back. The AEW star added that it’s a new world, especially in AEW.
“Like I said, if he wants to come in, he’d probably be welcomed with open arms. But I think he would have to kind of prove himself, as he would want to. Because I know him. He’s a competitor. He’s not gonna come back just for a paycheck or just to be famous. If he comes back, it’s because he wants to be here, he wants to wrestle and he wants to prove something. And if he doesn’t feel that way, he won’t come back. The only person that can answer that question, I believe, is CM Punk himself.”
The Talk Is Jericho episode featuring Jon Moxley has become a quick hit and as Chris Jericho himself revealed on Twitter, it has become the highest rated episode of the podcast within hours of its launch.
The episode has fans talking about the creative process of
WWE but it appears that the whole thing has also influenced people backstage at
the company and according to Jericho many of them have reached out to him after
its release.
Chris recently had an interview with ESPN where he talked about the Moxley podcast and revealed that after it, many people from WWE have reached out to him. They have said that they can’t wait to do their own version of the thing when their contract expires:
“I have heard from a lot of people who are working
there saying, ‘I can’t wait to do my version in X amount of months,'”
This shows that Dean Ambrose isn’t the only person who was unhappy backstage and there are many more stars who are looking to get out of their contract so they can also breathe the fresh air once again.
The names which we know have tried to leave WWE in recent times include the likes of Sasha Banks, The Revival, Luke Harper and more. Though these aren’t the only stars who have decided to leave.
We know that Gallows and Anderson have instead decided to wait for their contract to run out and if anything, this interview emphasizes that there are more stars like them who are waiting for their contract to expire to leave the promotion.
After both Chris Jericho and Adam Page won their respective matches at Double Or Nothing, AEW confirmed that these two will face each other for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at the upcoming All Out event.
After the announcement was made, Chris took on his Instagram
account and put over the upcoming bout as one of the biggest matches of his
career.
The former World Champion wrote that the upcoming bout will be one of the biggest matches of his career and he mentioned that it will be against one of the hardest hitting, most talented athletes he has seen in years:
Hall Of Famer Praises Cody Vs. Dustin
The Double Or Nothing match between Cody and Dustin Rhodes was one of the most praised bouts of the show due to its intensity and storyline.
Since the event, a number of wrestling legends have called
the match one of the greatest ever and WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase Sr
recently took on his Twitter to do the same.
He wrote that the duo delivered something special and that their father Dusty Rhodes would be very proud of the two for delivering this bout:
They stole the show, folks. @CodyRhodes vs @DustinRhodes had the makings to be a great match. It exceeded that & delivered something special. Cody & Dustin are very talented. Versatile students of pro wrestling. Dusty would be very proud. Dustin showed 50 is the new 30. #AEWDoNpic.twitter.com/xnRrF3hZoE
Chris Jericho was considered to be a WWE guy for almost two decades but he left the company a couple of years ago and since then, Y2J has reinvented himself in the indie scene and now in AEW.
During his recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, Jericho talked about his departure from the company and revealed when he knew that it was the time to leave.
Chris talked about his 2017 storyline with Kevin Owens which led to a match at WrestleMania 33 and said that the whole saga was the best storyline leading into the show.
However, in retrospect, knowing that the bout wasn’t given much importance and it was positioned very poorly on the card was what made him realize that it was the time to split:
“We should have not been second match on the card, and when I saw that we were slotted as that, I didn’t realize it much at the time, but in retrospect, that’s when I knew it was time to split.”
Continuing on the topic, Chris explained that if you have the best story on the show which everyone is excited about and you still get placed as the second match, then there isn’t a lot you can do to get higher on that card:
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) May 30, 2019
Jericho didn’t stay with WWE for long after this match. He made his NJPW return on November and as we all know, Chris has since become one of the hottest commodities in the entire industry.
All Elite Wrestling will crown its first World Champion at the upcoming AEW: All Out pay-per-view during Labor Day weekend. The news comes courtesy of Chris Jericho, who made the announcement Thursday morning during an appearance on Busted Open Radio. AEW has since confirmed the match.
Jericho will face “Hangman” Adam Page to crown the inaugural champion. Jericho defeated Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing to earn the title shot, while Page won the Casino Battle Royale match on the Buy In kickoff show.
AEW: All Out takes place Saturday, August 31st at Sears Centre Arena outside Chicago. This is the same venue that hosted All In last year. Tickets for All Out go on sale Friday, June 14th.
AEW has several shows coming up in the months ahead:
6/29: Fyter Fest (Daytona Beach, FL)
7/13: Fight for the Fallen (Jacksonville, FL)
8/31: All Out (Chicago, IL)
Each of these shows will be available for streaming online via Bleacher Report Live and the other services that carried Double or Nothing. The belief is that Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen will be shorter in length and lower in price than All Out, which will be one of AEW’s full-fledged tentpole pay-per-views.
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes tweeted this video of the AEW World Championship in all its glory earlier this week:
Since 1 of the 4 EVPs(me) forgot to get the championship professionally photographed…here’s a short clip of the biggest, heaviest, most beautiful and damn expensive belt I’ve ever seen @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/LnelywWv4m
The former heavyweight champion, who had spent the better
part of eight years as one of the faces of the company while performing as Dean
Ambrose, knew that his time in WWE was coming to an end.
While his contracted expired in April, Moxley explained
during a recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s podcast ‘Talk is Jericho’ that he
knew last July that his time in WWE was finished.
“I knew pretty much knew that I was gone in July of 2018,”
Moxley explained. “At that point, I was out with an injury. I tore my tricep.
Normally that would only be a four-month thing but it was so banged up and
bruised because I had been working on it hurt for a long time and it was just
the tendon was all mangled so it was like a minimum of six months. Then I got a
staph infection and I had to go in for surgery.
“It turned into nine months, it was a mess. A very miserable
time in my life, very challenging.”
When Moxley returned from injury he was transitioned from a
babyface to a heel for the first time since he was a founding member of ‘The
Shield’ alongside his friends Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Unfortunately, Moxley says the creative direction that WWE
took his character was just abysmal with several promos that eventually sealed
the deal that he wasn’t going to renew his contract with the company.
Moxley points to two specific incidents that burned the
bridge between himself and WWE where he could no longer see himself performing
there after his deal was up.
“The first one I’m going to tell you is the day that I physically
looked at the calendar and started counting down the days,” Moxley explained. “The
other one will be the day that I absolutely knew, no turning back, I am gone. A
day I almost walked out.”
The first incident involved a set of promos that had Moxley
saying things that made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever and it forced him
to go speak to WWE CEO Vince McMahon in hopes of having the scripts rewritten
before saying them on video.
“So one day I come into TV like normal. At this time, I
think I’m on SmackDown, I’m a good guy, a babyface. A pretty major good guy on
the show, basically the lead good guy on the show at this point. I come in and
get a backstage promo handed to me from a writer — writer is going to be a key
word in this podcast you will find and the word script — I get a script handed
to me by a writer, right? And it’s a backstage promo and it’s me describing the
things I did on the way to the arena that day. I can’t remember exactly what
the things were because they were so ridiculous and this isn’t an isolated
incident. There’s hundreds of these promos that have happened over the years.
They all get lost in the shuffle.” Moxley said.
“These are things that an idiot would do. Like things along
the lines of like driving backwards on the street in a unicycle or sharing a
pizza with a homeless man on the street, just weird stuff like that. So I’m
like, ‘I’m not saying any of that.’ So I’m like, ‘Change all that. Rewrite it
just as something normal.’ Go about my business, writer comes back to me later.
Vince redid it, put all that stuff back in, so I’m like, “Uh, now I have to go
in and talk to Vince.
“I’m like, ‘Yo, I can’t say all this stuff, it’s
ridiculous.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s such good shit! Oh, this stuff, this is
the reason people like you. It’s why they connect to you cause you’re different
— this is you!’ And I’ve had a million conversations with him that are almost
this exact same conversation about similar promos or things. ‘This is you! This
is such good s—t. This is what makes you, you!’
“And I said, ‘So I’m an idiot?’ And he goes, ‘No! It’s you!
You’re different.’ And I’m like, ‘OK.’ And I don’t know where we landed on that
particular promo, whatever, but that’s just an example, that kind of sums up the battle I’ve been fighting
for six years.”
The next incident that had Moxley counting down the days
until he could get out of WWE for good was another promo that involved a ‘pooper
scooper’.
“All the things that are on these scripts, it’s a typical
WWE script. It’s a bunch of words, a bunch of big words, a bunch of goofy
words, none of it makes any sense to me. We’re not telling any kind of tangible
story. We’re not doing anything to get any kind of characters over. Nothing
that makes any sense to me,” Moxley stated.
“But the one I’m most concerned with is the in ring promo at
the end of the night. We go into the writer’s room, I start reading this promo
and again not trying to pass judgment, but to my eye in my opinion, this is
absolute hot garbage, awful crap.
“The main gist of it is the people are smelly, disgusting
people and they’re foul, disgusting [people]. You can kind of just see Vince
saying these words ‘oh Liverpool, sounds like a skin disease!’. You can just
picture the Vince face.”
“The thing that catches my eye the most is a joke about a pooper
scooper. Like something along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t come out there without a
pooper scooper’. And I’m like ‘I’m not saying that’.”
While Moxley was able to get rid of the ‘pooper scooper’
line, there was another part of the promo that had him turning Roman Reigns’
real life battle with leukemia into part of his story on television.
That definitely crossed a line in Moxley’s mind but through
some convincing from McMahon, he ended up cutting the promo as written.
“I go off to do another promo and I believe this one was live
and again it doesn’t make any sense to me, I’m just saying stuff and earlier I
had to go into Vince because in this promo there’s a line that’s a very distasteful
line taking a jab at my friend who had leukemia and is now going off to recover
from that, Roman Reigns. I don’t remember what the line was but I went ‘are you
kidding me?’ so I’m going right into Vince on this one. This is clearly a mistake.
“I cut the promo and as soon as that line left my mouth I
went ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that’. “
The last straw was a final promo that Moxley was ordered to
cut where he was going to be backstage with his ‘personal doctor’, who would be
giving him injections to protect him from rabies and other diseases that could
come from the WWE audience in the building.
“Keep in mind during all this, this is a billion-dollar
company run by a man who’s allegedly a genius and keep in mind, we’re all
adults and we’re talking about stuff like this,” Moxley said.
“This is the day I knew 100-percent I was gone and there was
no turning back. I actually almost walked out. Not really, I’m glad I didn’t
cause I could have ended up in some legal stuff or whatever.”
In the end, Moxley did as he was ordered but there was no
turning back and his time with WWE was going to come to an end no matter what.
At the end of his eight year run with WWE, Moxley says the
world’s biggest professional wrestling promotion actually took away his passion
for professional wrestling and that hurt him more than anything else.
“It’s like they take wrestling away from you,” Moxley said
about WWE. “Wrestling is my first love, my only love besides my wife, the thing
I’m most passionate about. I love it. I feel like now I’ve got it back finally.
Since I was a little kid, I was obsessed. Just watching tapes, always watching
tapes, always thinking of promos, watching all the wrestling. I loved pacing
around my house just thinking of promos. Waking up in the middle of the night
cause you just thought of a cool line, a way to tell a story in a match or whatever,
and then I’m just pacing through the house cutting promos to myself in a
mirror.
“Promos used to be my favorite part of wrestling. I loved
it. They ended up becoming my least favorite part. The part I dread.”
As much as his WWE career ended on a sour note, Moxley is
still able to look back with fondness for the good times he had with the
company. In particular, Moxley enjoyed working with the ‘Make-A-Wish’
foundation and WWE also allowed him to meet his wife — on air talent Renee
Young — and that is something he will absolutely never regret.
“If nothing else, over all these past eight years, I met my
wife in WWE, who’s my best friend and my soulmate,” Moxley said. “If we got
nothing else out of this run, I got her. I always tell her, if things get too
weird, we’ll just sell all this stuff, we’ll hop in an RV and we’ll hit the
road babe cause all we need is each other.
“Needless to say the last eight years couldn’t have been any
more successful and full of gratitude for WWE for that.”
Now Moxley is beginning the next chapter of his career after inking a multi-year deal with All-Elite Wrestling and he will also be performing in promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling as he moves on without WWE.
Listen to “The Emancipation of Jon Moxley” on Talk Is Jericho:
Chris Jericho recently main evented AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV against Kenny Omega. The event has garnered critical praise from fans across the globe and has attracted some mainstream attention. Jericho recently spoke about how some of WWE’s current creative issues are helping to drive the AEW product.
Jericho stated that “a lot of [our coverage] has to do with what is going on in the WWE lately. This isn’t bagging on the WWE because I love the WWE. I have a great history there and great respect for everybody involved.” Jericho elaborated further saying “when you are reading the reports online about what critics are thinking and long-time fans are complaining about the booking and some of the booking decisions where things aren’t making sense, there is a whole kind of a real cloud over the WWE’s head at this point which in turn is giving AEW so much coverage and we haven’t even had to do anything. It is unbelievable when you actually think about it…”
Jericho finished by saying “WWE has some great talents and performers; I watched WWE’s Money in the Bank recently and Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles and the Men’s Money in the Bank match, outside of the finish, was a tremendous match as an actual performance. So, it’s not like the wrestling side is taking a hit but it is the overall opinion of behind the scenes and that sort of thing.”
AEW’s Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley are both set to take part in NJPW events in early June. NJPW GM, Michael Craven recently stated there is no talent-sharing agreement between his promotion and AEW, however.
“New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite,” Craven said in a statement to SI.com’s Justin Barrasso. “Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”
Chris Jericho will face Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Dominion on June 9th. Jon Moxley is set to debut for the promotion on June 5th at the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament.
Tony Khan on Jon Moxley’s Contract
AEW’s Tony Khan stated over the weekend that while Moxley is full-time to his promotion, the former Dean Ambrose is also able to work for some independents as well as international promotions.
“He is a multi-year contract, he will be on a full-time deal,” Khan said. “When we go weekly, he’s going to be full-time. Same as some of the guys, especially when the schedule is light, I’m open to him working some international and indie dates. He is full-time with us, domestically, essentially he’s our guy.’”
Chris Jericho was victorious over Kenny Omega in a classic match.
These two top AEW (All Elite Wrestling) stars battled it out in the main event of the inaugural pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, for the newly-launched promotion at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Jericho picked up the win.
Now, Jericho is slated to face Adam “Hangman” Page at a later date to crown the inaugural AEW World Champion. Page drew the Joker card in the Casino Battle Royale allowing him to enter at lucky number 21 where he would win the contest.
I did not expect that, Jericho did, in fact, hit his new finish to beat Kenny Omega in the main event. #AEWDONpic.twitter.com/GsQF9amxrm
This was a rematch between Jericho and Omega as their first contest took place at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in 2018 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. In this contest, Omega, who is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, beat Jericho in a No DQ Match.
Earlier this month, AEW inked a partnership with WarnerMedia for multi-platform access for fans to watch AEW events, airing live weekly matches on TNT in prime time, as well as streaming them through WarnerMedia’s B/R Live and on pay-per-view. AEW’s television deal with TNT is expected to start later this year.
We are only days away from All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) highly anticipated event, Double Or Nothing.
The show will see former WWE Superstar, Chris Jericho, face off against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega. The winner of that match will proceed to face the winner of the Casino Battle Royale at a later date, with the subsequent victor becoming the inaugural AEW World Champion.
Taking on his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho hyped the event as he broke down the card. He would also provide further information on his role within the company, highlighting that he isn’t “part of the office.”
“I am not one of the executive vice presidents or whatever the terms are. You know, Cody’s in there and Kenny and Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson, and of course Tony Khan kind of heading everything up—but I know they have a lot of conversations, a lot of booking meetings, a lot of plans. I’m not privy to those conversations,” he clarified before adding “ “[…] I have nothing to do with that behind-the-scenes type hierarchy.”
Double Or Nothing
Kip Sabian vs Sammy Guevara
Casino Battle Royale: Sonny Kiss, Brandon Cutler, Ace Romer, Glacier, Brian Pillman Jr., Sunny Daze, MJF, Joey Janela, Dustin Thomas, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Havoc, Michael Nakazawa, Jungle Boy, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Luchasaurus, Shawn Spears, TBD
Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho, and Ryo Mizunami
SCU vs Strong Hearts
Best Friends vs Angelico & Jack Evans
Britt Baker vs Nyla Rose vs Kylie Rae
Cody vs Dustin Rhodes
AAA Tag Team Championship Match:The Young Bucks vs the Lucha Bros
Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho
Double Or Nothing takes place this Saturday, May 25th, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
AEW revealed how they will crown a world champion on today’s episode of the Road to Double or Nothing. The winner of Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho will face the winner of the Casino Battle Royale at a later date, with the winner become the first ever AEW World Champion.
“These two top contenders will battle at a later date to be announced and the winner will become the first-ever AEW World Champion, claiming the most coveted wrestling title to be established in decades,” said comedian Jack Whitehall on the show.
The full episode is available in the player below:
World Title Stipulations Announced For Double or Nothing
“With these stipulations now in place, the chase for wrestling’s most important prize will officially be underway this weekend at Double or Nothing, presented by AEW,” Whitehall continued.
AEW has multiple events scheduled this summer for a potential world title match. Fyter Fest takes place on June 29th. Fight for the Fallen takes place July 13th. It has also been rumored that All In 2 could take place from the Sears Center in Chicago at the end of August as well. Weekly television is to begin this fall.
The updated lineup for Double or Nothing now looks like this:
Kip Sabian vs Sammy Guevara
Casino Battle Royale: Sonny Kiss, Brandon Cutler, Ace Romer, Glacier, Brian Pillman Jr., Sunny Daze, MJF, Joey Janela, Dustin Thomas, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Havoc, Michael Nakazawa, Jungle Boy, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Luchasaurus, Shawn Spears, TBD
Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho, and Ryo Mizunami
SCU vs Strong Hearts
Best Friends vs Angelico & Jack Evans
Britt Baker vs Nyla Rose vs Kylie Rae
Cody vs Dustin Rhodes
AAA Tag Team Championships: the Young Bucks vs the Lucha Bros
We noted before how fans reacted negatively to the former Universal Champion Brock Lesnar’s surprise return and Money In The Bank win after the show went off air.
However probably the most interesting reaction to this
surprise win of the Beast came from none other than the former World Champion
Chris Jericho.
Chris took on his twitter after the cameras stopped rolling. Trolling the company for this decision he wrote the following sarcastic tweet saying that this is the perfect example of the genius booking:
Awesome to see @BrockLesnar win the #MoneyInTheBank match…even though he wasn’t officially entered! Brock is the future of the biz and this perfect example of genius booking shows why @WWE will remain on top FOREVER! #GoBrockGo
For years now Jericho has been trying to break his image of being only a WWE guy and he has been positioning himself as an independent star who can work for any company.
Though so far Y2J has been careful about not disrespecting
his former employers even when he has been working for the rival promotions of
the company.
But Chris himself had recently claimed that he is banned from WWE now and it appears that after the company’s moves, the former World Champion has decided not to pull his punches anymore.
Just recently he had claimed that the WWE vs. AEW scenario
is a war even if WWE doesn’t admit it, and after this tweet, it appears that
Chris Jericho will be talking openly about the company going forward.
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho in a rematch from their contest at Wrestle Kingdom in 2018 and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M and Rey Fénix) are being billed as the top two matches for AEW Double or Nothing.
In a recent video posted on his official Instagram account, Jericho revealed that he plans to show off a new move in his match against Omega.
He noted that he came up with the idea when he had been training in MMA at Batista’s gym in Tampa, Florida. The move is The Judas Effect, which is a spinning elbow to the head.
Double or Nothing, which is the inaugural show promoted by AEW, will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25, 2019. Here is the updated card for Double Or Nothing:
Updated AEW Double Or Nothing Card
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho – Main Event
Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes
AAA Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros.
SoCal Uncensored vs. Cima, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman
Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae
Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe and Ryo Mizunami
Chris Jericho was recently interviewed by TV Insider to talk about several professional wrestling topics including his involvement with AEW.
Since the launch of the promotion back in January, many fans expect to see AEW bring competition to WWE that hasn’t been seen since WCW closed down in 2001. That belief only increased once it was announced on Wednesday that AEW would air a weekly television show on TNT in prime time starting later this year.
Jericho, who has worked for WCW, WWE, and now AEW, has been on the battle lines. Thus, when the former WWE Champion says that this will be a war between both companies, fans should consider respecting his mindset.
“This is a war. Even if you don’t want it to be, it just is. There hasn’t been any competition for WWE on a national basis for 20 years or more. I think this is something they didn’t really want, but it’s great for the fans and great for the guys. I think in the long run it’s going to make a difference because it gives people a choice. And it’s always good to have a choice.”
The former IWGP Intercontinental Champion is set to take on Kenny Omega in the main event of AEW’s inaugural event, Double or Nothing, later this month at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kenny Omega, Cody and Chris Jericho all appeared at a Southern Honor Wrestling event last night. The show was being held in Canton, Georgia where the promotion holds events on the 1st Friday of every month.
Chris Jericho, who also made news in NJPW this morning, was the first to appear at the event. Jericho’s opponent at Double or Nothing, Kenny Omega, was quick to intercept him, however.
The promotion posted video of Omega and Jericho’s surprise encounter.
“If it wasn’t for All Elite Wrestling, if it wasn’t for fans like you, and if it wasn’t a promotion like this developing young and upcoming talents that indeed will debut for AEW we would not exist,” Omega said after the melee. “And that is why I will never forget the roots that I come from.”
“As long as independent wrestling exists, we’ll support you,” Omega continued.
Cody will face his brother Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing on May 25th, 2019 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The two brothers cut promos on each other recently on the Road to Double or Nothing YouTube series.
Chris Jericho is returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He will challenge IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada for the title at Dominion on June 9th.
Jericho appeared via video message at today’s Wrestling Dontaku event to announce his return. You can view Jericho’s video message in the player below:
“I am Chris Jericho, I am the pain-maker,” Jericho said. “And on June 9th at Dominion in Osaka, I will challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and I’m going to win. I’m going to win!”
Chris Jericho Returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling
Multiple members of the AEW roster have it written into their contracts that they are able to wrestle for NJPW as well. Jericho spoke to the Wrestling Observer about if he felt the promotion would use them back in February:
“I don’t know if it’s a smart business move for [NJPW] not to use us, especially when we want to do it,” Jericho said. “It’s not cheap to work there but I think the business dividends are way more than what the money that they’re spending on it is. I can’t speak for them, I just know there hasn’t been much talk lately after a lot of talk. They know where to find me and my door is open, and I’m interested and want to do it, but as far as anything further with them, I can’t say there’s anything on the horizon right now.”
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega at Independent Wrestling Event
Last night, both Jericho and Kenny Omega appeared unadvertised at an independent wrestling event. A user on Twitter posted video of their appearance which can be viewed below:
Chris Jericho recently responded to a fan who was defending Lio Rush over some issues that have been reported as of late.
There have been several reported issues involving the WWE Monday Night RAW star that has apparently led to him getting backstage heat and being removed from television.
In this situation that Jericho was talking about, it involves Rush having issues with carrying the bags of veteran talents. PWinsider.com reported this week that the standard backstage etiquette for the junior member of the roster on overseas tours includes sitting at the gorilla position after matches to provide water to talents as they returned from the ring.
Also, carrying coolers and drinks into the hotels where the roster was staying in order to set up a common area. This area is used to have wrestler socialize properly together.
Rush’s take was given to Fightful where he noted that the look of him carrying waters and bags for other wrestlers is not a good look.
A fan defended Rush’s stance on the situation which has since been deleted by the user. This didn’t stop Jericho from responding by writing the following:
Key statement there is “if I was a big Star in the WWE”. You’re not, so u don’t know the respect and dedication you need to make it in WWE. I never once “made” a young guy carry my bags. But I was shown respect every day. To disrespect the vets in any way is taboo in our biz. https://t.co/GlFCIag9wE
With All Elite Wrestling’s next event, Double Or Nothing, now under a month away, wrestlers are busy training for their scheduled bouts.
One AEW grappler, in particular, has undertaken a different training regimen than he might generally be used to.
In an interview with Cheddar, Chris Jericho discussed his reasons for signing withthe upcoming promotion, as well as incorporating Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training into his routine.
When asked about the crossover that exists between MMA and pro wrestling, Jericho revealed he has been “doing MMA training” to get ready for Double or Nothing.
“It’s so cool to do a different type of training, and when I’m in there, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna fight Conor McGregor. I can do this!’” he joked. “Obviously you can’t, but just to be in there doing something different, it’s a lot of fun.”
“It Was Just The Right Move”
On the subject of signing with AEW, Jericho added that he believes the moment was right, claiming that the promotions formation, coupled with fans wanting a different product to WWE, is “something that I don’t think can ever happen again.”
He continued, “It’s a company starting from scratch that consists of a bunch of guys who have traveled around the world, who have become very good and popular, but not in mainstream America. Combine that with a family who has a lot of money and a lot of passion for wrestling, combined with a great TV deal. I think it was just the right move from me knowing that I would be doing something that I never did before.”
Double Or Nothing takes place on May 25th from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris Jericho is a big supporter of former WWE Champion CM Punk potentially joining AEW (All Elite Wrestling).
Punk and Jericho have shared the ring on several different occasions in WWE. The possibility of signing one of the biggest free agents in the pro wrestling business right now would be a great addition to the already loaded AEW roster.
While doing a recent interview with Express to promote the upcoming AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event, Jericho made it known that he thinks AEW is a perfect place for Punk.
“It’s a pretty obvious answer,” Jericho responded. “I don’t know if he wants to wrestle, but if he decides to, I think AEW would be the perfect place for him.”
After dealing with injuries and not wanting to wrestle anymore, Punk decided to walk out of the WWE on the Monday following the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in 2014. He hasn’t worked a wrestling match since.
AEW holds their first show pretty soon. Double or Nothing, which is the inaugural show promoted by the company, will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25, 2019.
Signing Chris Jericho to a long term contract is one of the biggest moves AEW has made since their inception and it made the promotion legitimate in a lot of people’s eyes.
During a recent interview with Cheddar, the former World
Champion discussed why he decided to sign with the new promotion among other
things.
The reporter mentioned how Jericho signed the biggest contract of his career with AEW and asked him why was this the right choice for him. Replying to her, Chris said that it was right because he was doing something he has never done before:
“It was just the right move for me knowing that I would
be doing something that I had never done before, which was starting a company
from scratch,”
Continuing on the topic, Y2J also claimed that starting in Fall; the company will be producing a TV show which will air on a huge cable company and an announcement for it will be made very soon.
Apart from this, Chris Jericho also discussed the first ever Women’s WrestleMania main event among Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch.
Jericho recalled the time when women were wrestling in bra and panty matches and implied that women being treated equally brings a much more serious slant to it. You can check out Y2J’s full interview at this link.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho recently spoke with the UK’s Express newspaper to promote his appearance at this weekend’s For the Love of Wrestling convention from Liverpool, England. Other wrestling legends appearing include Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash and The Undertaker.
During the discussion, Jericho spoke extensively about Dean Ambrose leaving WWE and the possibility of Ambrose joining AEW later this year.
Jericho said he hasn’t tried to convince Ambrose to join AEW, but thinks the former WWE champion would have no problem joining the roster if that’s what he wants.
“Only Dean knows what Dean wants,” Jericho said. “It’s a grind, and not just the physical aspect of it but there’s a mental standpoint. It’s hard to work matches sometimes four days a week, five days a week. Sometimes you need a break from the business. I’m sure if he wants to come to AEW he’d be more than welcome.”
In addition to greater creative freedom, AEW is also offering wrestlers a chance to make great money without having to work the rigorous WWE road schedule. AEW President Tony Khan spoke about this earlier this week.
Dean Ambrose wrapped up with WWE this week. His ‘Superstar bio’ was moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com, a practice that typically coincides with talent no longer being under contract.
Jericho had great things to say about Ambrose as a performer and feels he will be successful wherever he lands next.
“He’s a star, he’s a great performer, he’s a great character,” Jericho said of Ambrose. “I think he would mix right in with [AEW’s top stars]. When you get a great performer, it doesn’t matter what company they were before because they’re in a top level.”
Chris Jericho and Xavier Woods mentioned on their social media accounts that they had the chance to reunite while on an airplane.
Jericho noted on his official Instagram account that he was able to switch seats with someone in order for them to hang out together on the flight. You can see their posts here:
Jericho will headline Double or Nothing, which is the inaugural show promoted by AEW, against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega in the headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25, 2019.
Randy Orton Reaches Milestone
Former WWE Champion Randy Orton has reached a milestone under the WWE banner as WWE’s Twitter account mentioned how today (April 25th) marks the 17th anniversary of “The Viper” making his main roster television debut.
Back in 2002, Orton made his debut on an episode of SmackDown when he beat Bob Holly in a singles match. Although this marked his TV debut, he actually wrestled Tommy Dreamer in a losing effort at the WrestleMania 18 Axxess event a few weeks earlier, which marked his main roster in-ring debut.
WWE posted this video from Orton’s debut on SmackDown:
Although Chris Jericho is no longer under contract with the WWE as he has signed a deal with AEW (All Elite Wrestling), he’s keeping an eye on the product that the company serves its fans.
Thus, he previewed WrestleMania 35 on his podcast, Talk is Jericho, and gave his picks for some of the matches. One of the top matches on the card is Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Title against Seth Rollins.
In his mind, WWE potentially booking three straight changes in World Title matches has him thinking that Vince McMahon may not do that.
The belief is that Kofi Kingston will beat WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and Becky Lynch beating WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Jericho brought up how he loves Rollins and Lesnar is good with working with smaller talents. Thus, he thinks this is going to be a hard-hitting match and Lesnar will control the majority of the contest.
“I think Seth Rollins has to win, except for one thing. Jericho stated. “I feel really hard pressed to believe that Vince is going to have three World Championship change hands in three consecutive matches. I’m afraid we’re going down the same worm hole we went in last year, as to where Brock is going to sign another deal the morning of WrestleMania. Another few million bucks to stay another couple matches, or maybe he’s staying already, I don’t know. Everything tells me I want Seth Rollins to win, except for I know how the WWE and Vince McMahon books and I’m gonna say Brock is gonna win. Ah! I hate even saying that!”
For those still upset over Kevin Owens turning on his best friend, Chris Jericho, during the Festival Of Friendship, Jericho has now revealed another tidbit over the duos WrestleMania 33 payoff match: Vince McMahon hated it.
In fact, according to Jericho, Vince McMahon hated it so much he allegedly called it “one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.”
Speaking Inside The Ropes, the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) wrestler would discuss his long association and eventual feud with Owens. He revealed that he wanted the turning point at the Festival of Friendship to feel like the Red Wedding from Game Of Thrones, shocking fans with the sudden change in tone.
“Vince Said It Was One Of The Worse Matches In WrestleMania History”
Discussing his ‘Mania match specifically, he confessed that he “thought the match was good” before adding that “I was very surprised when I saw KO after and he’s like, ‘Vince said it was one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.”
According to Jericho, McMahon’s opinion came down to what he perceived Owens’ heel persona to be versus what he delivered that night against Chris Jericho.
“Do I think it was a great match? No. Do I think it was the worst match in WrestleMania history? Absolutely not. […] Overall it was very hard to put on a match that would live up to the hype of the match. But, y’know, it’s all about the story of getting there. Like, the match was cool but I’d rather have a great story and an okay match than an okay story and a great match.”
For those interested, the fallout of Vince McMahon’s reaction to Kevin Owens that night can actually be seen on the Network series, 365. When Owens asked if Vince was happy with the match, he would receive a one-word reply: “No.”
