Chris Jericho isn’t going anywhere, as the former AEW World Champion signed a new deal with All Elite Wrestling this week. That new deal will see him be under contract with the promotion through December 2025. It also will see Jericho take on additional responsibilities as a producer and creative advisor.
Jericho originally signed with AEW in January 2019, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal with a two-year option reportedly for $3 million per year before AEW ever had a television deal.
Many, including Jericho, didn’t think he would work for another promotion besides WWE in America after two stints from 1999 until 2018.
WWE Interested in Jericho
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that there was an expectation within WWE that Jericho would go back after his initial deal with AEW expired. Those in WWE believed Jericho would have one final run in WWE and be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at the end to cap off a great career.
Jericho maintained a good relationship with former WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon over the years. The Painmaker told his former boss about the offer from AEW in 2019.
The new deal with AEW will keep him under contract until he’s 55 years old, which may make Jericho’s chances of one more WWE run appear slim. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that Jericho received a raise that made his new deal “the biggest contract of his life.”
As we’ve noted, Jericho recently signed a new deal with AEW that will keep him with the promotion through December of 2025. According to a new report from Wrestling Observer Radio, while the deal was framed as a contract extension, it’s actually a whole new deal.
Meltzer noted that Jericho’s initial deal with AEW kept him with AEW until January of 2024. He’ll continue to be on this deal until the first week of January. His new deal will expire in January of 2026.
(AEW)
While Chris Jericho is currently a major part of the in-ring action in AEW right now, the new deal will also see him take on an increased role backstage. He’ll serve as a producer and creative advisor, and will continue his current role of mentoring young talent.
AEW president Tony Khan had the following to say about Jericho remaining on with the promotion.
“Chris has discovered a fountain of youth this year, and he’s having some of the very best matches of his legendary career against some of the top names in wrestling. In expanding his responsibilities, he’ll continue to serve as a valuable leader with our roster.”
Chris Jericho will be sticking with All Elite Wrestling after signing a new three-year contract with the promotion.
Jericho was one of the first names to sign with Tony Khan in January 2019, and became the first AEW World Champion that same year.
Earlier this year, Jericho captured the Ring of Honor World Championship, his first title associated with the ROH brand.
Chris Jericho’s Best Gimmicks Ranked
New Contract
Jericho’s new contract will keep him with AEW until December 2025, Variety reports.
Not just a wrestler, the new deal will see the wrestling veteran take on increased responsibilities behind the scenes.
Jericho will serve as a producer and creative advisor in addition to continuing his current role as a mentor to young talent.
In a statement, Tony Khan expressed his delight to continue working with one of the “greatest professional wrestlers of all time.”
“Chris has discovered a fountain of youth this year, and he’s having some of the very best matches of his legendary career against some of the top names in wrestling. In expanding his responsibilities, he’ll continue to serve as a valuable leader with our roster.”
Backstage Leader
With three decades and counting in wrestling, it isn’t difficult to see why Jericho is considered a locker-room leader within AEW.
After the controversy at All Out 2022, it was reported that Jericho has ‘stepped up’ backstage to help out following months of unfavorable reports about the promotion.
Bryan Danielson and reigning AEW World Champion Jon Moxley are also said to have earned props backstage for stepping up at arguably the company’s most difficult time to date.
The behind-the-scene tensions in AEW have been a major topic of discussion recently. Every time it seems like things have settled down, a new report of heat between stars or a new altercation comes out, leading to more speculation. Though according to Chris Jericho, despite all this, the positivity within the company is off the charts.
Y2J recently had an interview with Comicbook.com. He first commented on the reports of him stepping up as a locker room leader in the past few months. Jericho explained that AEW has only been around for three years and the company has growing pains. This is why people like him, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley have to come forward.
Commenting on the reports of the backstage environment of the promotion, Chris Jericho claimed that there is always going to be little dips and dots in any locker room:
“The funny thing is, everyone’s got an opinion when they’re online and the social media and all that stuff. We know what’s really happening and we know, sure there’re things you got to fix, but the positivity in our company is off the charts and the optimism of where we’re going over the next few years is also off the charts.”
Chris Jericho then stirred the conversation toward AEW’s third-year anniversary. He explained that it’s huge because when they started the company, they weren’t sure about having even a single anniversary. Per the former AEW champion, they are now taking care of the issues and focusing on the positives, which are 98% to two.
Popular AEW star MJF recently discussed Chris Jericho with Sam Roberts on the Notsam Wrestling show.
Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to win the ROH Championship but cheated to do so. Chris is set to defend the ROH Championship in Toronto tomorrow night on Dynamite against another Blackpool Combat Club member.
Bryan Danielson will look to avenge his loss to Jericho at Dynamite: Grand Slam this Wednesday night and become the ROH Champion once again. Jericho challenged Danielson to the match after defeating Bandido on Dynamite on September 28th.
Chris Jericho’s Best Gimmicks Ranked
MJF On Possibly Becoming A Good Guy In AEW
During the conversation on Notsam Wrestling, Roberts brought up Chris Jericho’s comments about MJF during the media scrum where he said MJF is going to wind up being one of the top babyfaces in the company.
MJF jokingly agreed with Chris and said that he’s already a great guy and is salt of the earth. Maxwell compared his reaction to that of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and noted that he gets the loudest pop in the company.
I think I’m a great guy. I think I’m salt of the earth. You kidding me? So I totally agree with Chris. Who doesn’t love me? And that’s the thing, like I said, you’ll find the biggest stars in our industry today are all going through the exact same thing.
This is just true, when I come through the curtain when Roman comes through the curtain, this is a good example. You will hear the crowd and it’s deafening. There’s cheers going on and there’s boos going on. But the most important thing is, it is the loudest it will be all night.
Now, do I feel that there will come a time in my career where I will entire lean into the cheering, I don’t know. What I do know is what I care about the most and that is money. I’m not changing a damn thing.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Notsam Wrestling and give a H/T to SEScoops
AEW Dynamite aired live in Washington D.C. tonight. Jericho Appreciation Society members Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara defeated Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson in the main event.
Chris bashed Daniel Garcia over the head with the ROH Championship while the referee was distracted and Sammy capitalized with the cover for the pinfall victory. However, most fans aren’t talking about the show tonight, they are talking about another backstage altercation.
Andrade El Idolo and Sammy Guevara reportedly got into a fight backstage ahead of Dynamite and Andrade was sent home. His scheduled Career vs. Mask match scheduled for AEW Rampage has also been canceled.
What Happened After AEW Dynamite Went Off The Air?
Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia shook hands and posed in the ring after the loss. Daniel Garcia was a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society but Danielson talked him into leaving the group because he’s a professional wrestler, not a sports entertainer.
Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo shared a kiss on the entrance ramp as the crowd booed them. The crowd then broke out in an “Idolo!” chant as Jericho Appreciaton Society made their way backtage.
AEW President Tony Khan addressed the crowd before introducing ROH Champion Chris Jericho once again. Chris gave Tony a hug and made his way to the ring. The crowd sang “Judas” by Fozzy as Le Champion stood in the ring.
Chris Jericho addressed the crowd and said the following:
“It’s a special night here for all of us in AEW. For all of you guys our third anniversary as a company. We started right here in Washington DC, how many of you guys were there that first night?
I’ll never forget it, October 2nd, 2019, the 29th anniversary of my first wrestling match.
And here we are three years later, I just had my 32nd anniversary of my first wrestling match and the reason why is because I still love pro wrestling.
And the main reason for that is because of AEW. If AEW didn’t exist, I don’t think I’d still be wrestling and that is the truth.
The reason why we did so good right out of the gate, why we are still doing right now is because of our fans.
We started a revolution in 2019, and it’s just continued to grow and grow because we are all in this together.
That might sound like some sappy bulls*** but it is not, it is the truth. I really feel that all of us are in this together.
We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs, we’ve had everything in between. But the most important thing is, we do this for you and for people watching at home.
Chris said that AEW will be back in DC for many more anniversaries in the years ahead as the crowd cheered. You can check out everything that happened after Dynamite in the video below.
Dark Side of the Ring has run three seasons on Vice TV and many fans have been wondering about the future of the show now that Tales from the Territories is a prominent show for the network.
The show’s creators, Evan Husney and Jason Eisener, recently discussed what lies ahead for the show on ROH Champion Chris Jericho’s “Talk is Jericho” podcast.
Chris Jericho asked if they are planning on doing new episodes of the show and Evan revealed that they have no intention of not doing the show. Jason added that they are focused on Tales from the Territories and don’t want Dark Side of the Ring to suffer if they try to do two shows at the same time.
Evan Husney: “Oh yeah, definitely, it’s really interesting because when we decided to do Tales from the Territories, like I said, it was in the making since 2019. We finally got the opportunity to do it and obviously, when Vice picked it up, it was like, ‘Ok, this is kind of going to occupy that space after Season 3, to focus on this to get it off the ground, kind of establish what it is, so it can live on its own eventually, we had no intention of stopping doing Dark Side.”
Jason Eisener: “We just needed to put the focus on this show, if we did both at the same time, one would probably suffer a little bit, because of it. But, definitely.”
Chris Jericho directly asked if Vice TV wants to do more episodes and Evan Husner confirmed that Dark Side of the Ring is here to stay.
Evan: “Yeah! Always, it’s their top show, there’s no reason to stop it. So, it’s funny, you know, growing up as a wrestling fan, reading the newsletters, it’s so funny when you’re the subject of speculation, ‘Oh, they’ve canceled the show and all this stuff.’ No, no, we’re just, you know, we’re just working on some other things.”
“It’s in talks right now, everybody is going to hear something real soon, we’re just kind of getting that machine going again, so, stay tuned. But yeah, definitely not going anywhere. For sure, it’s definitely here to stay.”
You can listen to the entire episode by clicking here.
Please credit Talk is Jericho and give a H/T to SEScoops if you use quotes from this article.
Chris Jericho comes from a time when kayfabe was protected by wrestlers and the general public wasn’t aware that wrestlers were playing characters. This led to some fascinating situations while also giving birth to many funny stories. Jericho recently told one such story from his childhood about Sika Anoa’i, the father of Roman Reigns.
Y2J was joined by Evan Husney & Jason Eisener, the producers of Dark Side of The Ring on the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho. The duo were promoting their new series called Tales From The Territories. During the episode the trio shared various stories from the territory era of wrestling.
Speaking about how people believed in kayfabe back in the day, Chris Jericho recalled his childhood. He remembered how he believed the stories about Sika being a wild Samoan. Jericho was left surprised when he heard him talking in English:
“It was like that when I was a kid. I remember I used to go hang out at the Polo Park Inn in Winnipeg and just watch pro wrestlers. That’s where they all used to stay. Sika who’s actually Roman Reigns’ dad, came in. He was from Samoa. They actually would do vignettes of Mr. Fuji having him eat raw fish and he couldn’t speak English.
I walked up with a with a pen and a paper and I was like, ‘Please….sign. Sign name. You…sign name with the pen. He looked at me. He goes ‘Fuck off, kid,’ and I didn’t care that he told me to F off, all I cared was like ‘He speaks English! Did anybody else hear that?'”
Chris Jericho is eyeballing a marquee matchup in AEW with one of the company’s biggest legends.
The Demo God and current Ring of Honor world champion was the latest guest to join the AEW Unrestricted podcast, where he spoke about his desire to face off against the Icon Sting, a star that he’s never stood across from inside the squared circle. Sting has been one of the most dominant talents on the AEW roster, but has only competed alongside Darby Allin (and others) in tag team action.
Jericho Is Willing To Bring Out The Painmaker For Sting
When the topic came up in the interview Jericho wasn’t shy of calling out the Stinger as a dream opponent.
“Whenever there’s a Sting-Jericho match which there has to be because Sting and I have never been in the ring together ever, except for when Keith Mitchell retired and we had that after-ceremony. Never been in the same ring ever. Ever, ever, ever. “
That’s not all…Jericho is already drumming up ideas about a potential scenario with Sting. He’s even willing to resurrect his Painmaker gimmick, an act that Jericho created during his NJPW run between 2019-2020.
“There has to be a Sting and Jericho match in whatever way we decide it and that would be a great time for ‘Painmaker.'”
Jericho recently defeated Bandido on Dynamite, his first successful defense of the ROH title since winning it from Claudio Castagnoli. He has since challenged Bryan Danielson to a showdown at the AEW debut in Canada, where the ROH title will once again be on the line.
Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho believes AEW would have not hit the ground running in the way they did without his involvement.
Following the success of ALL IN, AEW was announced in January 2019, with Jericho, being one of the first names announced.
Later that year, Jericho became the first AEW World Champion and has been a fixture of the promotion ever since.
The Jericho Effect
Jericho joined AEW less than a year after his last WWE match, and after a Hall of Fame-worthy career with the promotion.
Speaking during the latest AEW Unrestricted, Jericho discussed his own influence in the company’s early days.
“I wouldn’t say it [AEW] was built around me but at the risk of sounding egotistical if there was no Chris Jericho, I don’t know if the company would have gotten off the ground as quickly as it did.
“At the time, I was the only national superstar name that was involved. I mean besides Jim Ross but Jim Ross isn’t an on-air talent, he’s a commentator.”
The only Big Star?
Jericho wasn’t the only wrestler confirmed during the January 2019 press conference, as AEW EVPs Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and then-EVP Cody Rhodes all made appearances.
On the podcast, Jericho explained how while the group are all stars in their own right, they didn’t have the same presence as he did that attracted networks.
“Keep in mind, no-one really knew Cody at that point. He’d been gone for years, and the last time we’d seen him, he was Stardust when he left [WWE.] And as much buzz as Kenny [Omega] and Matt and Nick Jackson had, they were still mostly just regional guys. They were worldwide stars, but when it comes to national TV in the States, they didn’t have any experience with that.
“They were worldwide stars, but when it comes to national TV in the States, they didn’t have any experience with that.”
Chris Jericho on The Elite not bringing the same appeal to networks.
“So there really wasn’t anybody else and I think if Chris Jericho wasn’t involved, it would have been a lot harder to sell to TBS or TNT or those types of people that were involved.
“We needed that big TV [deal] to get off the ground. We needed money, which we had, passion, which we had, television which is very hard to get and a roster of stars that no-one had really seen before, that were ready to go to the next level. But you needed a guy that kinda could open the door.”
AEW Without Chris Jericho?
It’s hard to imagine AEW without Chris Jericho, and for all his claims, the former World Champion believes that the company would have succeeded, with or without him.
“If I’m the bridge to get here, check me out, and then look at all these other guys that we have… Would the company have happened if I wasn’t there? Probably. But I don’t think it would have grown as quickly as it did, or maybe gotten off to such a huge start.
“Would the company have happened if I wasn’t there? Probably. But I don’t think it would have grown as quickly as it did.”
Chris Jericho.
“Everything worked out the way it should, but it happened very quickly, and once again, I think when the company started, it was on my back.”
Chris Jericho was able to knock off Claudio Castagnoli to capture the Ring Of Honor World Championship in the opening contest of the AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event on Wednesday night.
The finish saw Jericho beat Castagnoli by nailing him with a kick to the nuts when referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted and followed that up with a Judas Effect.
This marks the first time that Jericho has held the title as he has never competed in the Ring Of Honor before. Now, he’s the face of the brand that is still without a weekly television deal.
It also means the end of Castagnoli’s reign with the belt that started back on July 23 when he defeated Jonathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor to win the belt.
One thing that attracts a lot of people towards AEW is the creative control the promotion offers. The company does not employ any writers and people are allowed to write their own promos. According to Chris Jericho, it’s the one thing that he hated about working for WWE.
Y2J discussed a number of different topics on the latest Talk Is Jericho. Speaking about the difference between Vince McMahon and Tony Khan, Jericho explained how Khan has a clarity to his vision. He then mentioned that in WWE, it wasn’t Vince McMahon who he hated working with:
“The one thing in WWE was, a lot of times they’re like ‘Draw me a picture.’ [I’m like] ‘What would you like a picture of Vince?’ ‘A cow.’ ‘Okay.’ ‘Ugh, Make it a horse.’ ‘Uh, Okay,’ ‘Umm make a dragon.’ ‘Oh okay.’ With Tony it’s like ‘We need a dragon.’ It might be a green dragon. It might be a red dragon. It might be a fire dragon.” said Chris Jericho, “At least we know where we’re going with it.
I loved working with Vince, and I did work with Vince, but it’s writers [that I don’t like]. Every Sunday, the writer would call you and say, ‘Here’s what you’re doing this week.’ That to me is just like, ‘I f*cking don’t like that, man. I don’t want to be told what I’m doing.'”
One thing that AEW excels at is bringing the spotlight to talented workers who haven’t received a break in the industry. One such name is Eddie Kingston. He had been wrestling for 18 years before he was brought into the limelight by the company. Chris Jericho, who has been feuding with the AEW star recently admits that he hadn’t even heard of the Mad King before he joined the promotion.
Y2J talked about it on the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho. Chris noted that at the first look of Eddie Kingston, he thought Kingston to be a jobber:
“When Cody first brought him in, I thought it was Eddie Edwards that he’s bringing in. I didn’t know who Eddie Kingston was.” recalled Chris Jericho, “[I was like] ‘Eddie Kingston, is that Eddie Edwards?’ [Cody said] ‘No, it’s Eddie Kingston. [I said] ‘Which guy is that, who is this?’
So he walked in there. Just looking at him I was like ‘God this guy looks like a jobber. Who is this guy?’ Then I watched his match and it was good, but then he did a promo and I was like, ‘Holy shit. This guy’s f*cking great. Where’s this guy been for 25 years of my wrestling career. Why do I not know this guy?’ So I kind of watched his stuff. I told him from [day one] ‘You are gonna be a huge babyface in this company.’ [Eddie’s like] ‘No I’m not [a babyface]’ I said ‘You’re babyface, just trust me.'”
In July 2021, Chris Jericho fought death-match veteran Nick Gage at the company’s Fight for the Fallen event, in a match that would go on to live in infamy.
Using staples of death-match wrestling, the bout saw the inclusion of panes of glass, baseball bats and light tubes, making it one of the most graphic AEW bouts in the promotion’s history.
The most infamous weapon in the match was a Pizza cutter, which Gage used to slice Jericho’s biceps and later on his forehead.
Clearing the Air
After the Pizza cutter was used, reports came out that many big names were furious at the spot being shown on TNT programming.
At the time, it was claimed that Domino’s had threatened to pull their advertising from all AEW shows, as the spot with the Pizza cutter aired during an ad for their deep-dish treats.
Speaking on the latest Talk is Jericho, the former AEW World Champion recalled the spot, and said that despite what was reported, nothing happened between AEW and the veteran pizza chain.
“So right when Nick is carving my forehead with the pizza cutter, there is a Domino’s Pizza commercial where the guy is cutting the pizza with what? A pizza cutter. Apparently, Domino’s was furious. [Everyone was] like ‘AEW’s gonna lose all their sponsors. This is it. This is the end of the line.’ Nothing ever happened.”
Jericho added that rather than be furious about the spot, Domino’s should have capitalised on a potential advertising idea.
“I was like ‘If I was the Domino’s guy I would have filmed a Chris Jericho – Nick gage commercial the next f*cking day.’ I mean it’s right there. Pizza cutters – Domino’s. They go hand in hand.”
It was later reported after the match that WWE had allegedly called wrestling media outlets, encouraging them to pick up the story.
Cody Rhodes was one of the top stars of AEW when the company kicked off. Everybody was sure that he would be a world champion in the promotion one day until he made the decision to never challenge for the title. The former AEW EVP announced this stipulation for his match against Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019. His loss has left a lot of people puzzled to this day.
The latest Talk Is Jericho episode was a recording of The Jericho Chronicles from Glasgow. Chris spoke about Cody’s decision to never challenge for the top title of the company he helped build. Jericho mentioned that Rhodes probably wanted people to understand that he wouldn’t take advantage of his power:
“He was adamant. I’m still not too sure why he you put that rule that he can never challenge for the world title again. For whatever reason, that was completely his idea.” said Chris Jericho, “I guess maybe he wanted people to know that he wasn’t just gonna win the title. He wanted to be the face of the company.
We’re all faces of the company but he really embraced the EVP part of it. The other guys kind of did it in the shadows, but he was doing it on camera and all that sort of thing. So I think he wanted people to understand that he wasn’t gonna take advantage of this position that he was in and he did the ‘I’ll never fight for the world title.'”
Cody Rhodes has admitted in later interviews that the call was a mistake. It probably was the inspiration behind Rhodes’ decision to leave AEW and return to WWE.
If AEW has made any mistakes, it certainly hasn’t been many, at least according to Chris Jericho.
Jericho has been with AEW since the beginning, joining the promotion during a press conference in January 2019.
That same year, Jericho would become the first AEW World Champion, and has been prominently featured in AEW for years.
One or Two Things
Like many in AEW, Jericho is intensely passionate about the company.
Sitting down with Inside the Ropes, Jericho spoke about the company, and what he perceives as a lack of mistakes (via Wrestling Inc.)
“We’ve been doing this for three years now and continuing to grow, and this is a big-time corporate business. We are run and paid for by a giant television corporation.”
“We’ve done nine things right and maybe one thing wrong or two things wrong.”
Chris Jericho on AEW
“So, there’s always gonna be growing pains when you start a company. I think we’ve done nine things right and maybe one thing wrong or two things wrong. So we learn from that and we continue to build our brand and continue to improve.”
Fans
AEW has a deeply loyal fan base, but its programming still falls behind WWE in terms of viewers.
Speaking about his former employer, Jericho said that AEW is in this for the long game.
“WWE has a lot of [fans], but they’ve also been around for 50 years. Give us another 47 years to see where we’re at. I guarantee we’ll still be here.”
The Next World Champion?
Following CM Punk’s actions at AEW All Out, the Chicago Made wrestler has been stripped of the AEW World Championship.
Jericho is part of the tournament to crown the next AEW World Champion, with the new champion to be crowned at the Grand Slam Dynamite on September 21.
Jericho will face Bryan Danielson on next week’s AEW Dynamite, with the winner advancing to the finals.
This week’s AEW Dynamite came hot off the heels of All Out 2022, and the explosive media scrum and backstage fight that has overshadowed the Pay Per View.
During the scrum, CM Punk had harsh words for the Elite, Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, and fought with the Elite backstage, in a brawl that included Punk’s trainer Ace Steel.
The Elite have since been suspended from AEW, and there are talks that Punk and Steel could be fired, if not already.
The Meeting
Mere weeks after hosting a talent-wide meeting to discuss reports of conflict in AEW, another meeting was held prior to this week’s Dynamite.
Instead of Tony Khan, this was led by Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.
Fightful reports that talents were complimentary of the meeting, noting that Danielson, Moxley, and Jericho were the right people to lead.
What was said?
Talent were told to “keep their personal issues personal” and solve their problems backstage instead of leaking news.
The issue of stories of problems getting out to the media was also a topic of discussion during the previous meeting in August.
Wrestlers were encouraged to leave AEW All Out 2022 in the past and move on.
One source noted that it was the “best backstage meeting” the talent have had
CM Punk
A large topic of discussion during the meeting was CM Punk, who’s future with AEW is unclear at this time.
The meeting was said to be not “anti-Punk,” and that wrestlers left in a better mood than the day before.
Danielson was commended as a “calming” presence during the meeting, while Jericho has been praised for his professionalism throughout his time in AEW and especially during this recent period.
Moxley was said to be “adored” during the meeting, with wrestlers agreeing with his promo about being “the answer” to AEW’s problems.
Chris Jericho is not only helping talents get under the spotlight but he is helping them get contract extensions as well.
The former AEW champion spoke to Inside The Ropes before the All Out PPV. He talked about things such as Triple H’s comments about Dynamite beating NXT and more.
During the talk, Chris Jericho also confirmed that Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Jake Hager have all signed contract extensions with AEW:
“They all got contract extensions. I’ve told the story many times about how the Jericho Appreciation Society came to be. It was never planned; it was just something that happened in accordance to the circumstances that we were facing.
I do feel proud that they got contract extensions, raises, everything in-between.” said Chris Jericho, “They earned it, they earned it by showing what they can do.”
Chris Jericho was one of the biggest names to join AEW early on. He has been helping the company grow in every way possible since then. Jericho has stepped even more into the leadership role in AEW amidst all the locker room drama. Though despite this, he doesn’t want an official title in the company.
“I don’t need a job title to help the company. I do it every day. Whenever I show up to TV, it’s a constant. Constant working from two o’clock until the show is over. If I’m wrestling or not.” said Chris Jericho, “That’s the way it should be. There’s not a lot of guys that have been doing this as long as I have. In our locker room there’s Sting, there’s Dustin Rhodes and then there’s me.
I’m one of the original AEW guys, probably was very integral in getting the company off the ground in a lot of ways. So I don’t have a problem with giving advice and helping people. It’s what I’m there for. It’s part of my job. Like I said there’s nothing to be written on a business card, you know, Director of EVP or whatever the fuck it is, who cares. I’m Chris Jericho. That trumps all of that.”
You can check out Chris Jericho’s full interview below:
Last night’s AEW Dynamite was the first show since All Out 2022, and the first after what happened following the Pay Per View.
During the post-All Out media scrum, CM Punk had explosive comments about AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, as well as Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.
Backstage, Punk and his trainer Ace Steel engaged in a fight with Omega and the Bucks.
Talent Meeting
With AEW under scrutiny, a talent-wide meeting was held prior to last night’s episode of Dynamite.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley led the meeting, which included wrestlers, referees, coaches, and announcers.
It was reported that Chris Jericho has been commended by the talent for his professionalism and demeanor following the CM Punk/Elite controversy.
This meeting comes weeks after an AEW talent meeting last month to address reports of issues within the company.
What’s next?
During this week’s AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan confirmed that CM Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Championship and that the Elite have been stripped of the AEW Trios Tag Team Championships.
The Death Triangle won the vacant AEW Trios Tag Titles during Dynamite with a win over Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.
A new AEW World Champion will be crowned at the Grand Slam Dynamite on September 21.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho has addressed the criticisms of the promotion having too big of a roster.
AEW has amassed a tremendous roster with huge names such as CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Jericho himself, and so many more.
With so many massive talents on the roster, some suggest that the roster is too big, and there are too many top stars on the roster to get the shine they deserve.
Speaking on the Superstar Crossover podcast, Chris Jericho himself addressed these claims. The longtime professional wrestling legend argues that it’s important to have such a variety of talent on a roster, while acknowledging that it’s tough to get everyone on screen with three hours of television a week.
(via AEW)
“Maybe the misconception is that we have too big of a roster. I mean it’s hard to get everybody on TV with only 3 hours a week but it’s important to have a big roster and to have a lot of variety and a lot of different guys on different levels.
“You’ve got vets like myself and CM Punk. Then, you’ve kind of got guys in their prime like Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega, then you’ve got the up-and-comers like Daniel Garcia, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, and Jungle Boy.
“It’s really like a grade football team where you have different levels of what you need to have a successful team. That’s why our team has been so successful.”
Of course, if certain reports are to be believed, the AEW roster could be getting cut one Superstar short after a recent backstage physical altercation.
Chris Jericho has been at the top of the wrestling world for over 30 years. He has been part of many incredible moments throughout his career. As is the nature of any live sport however, Jericho has also had his fair share of embarrassing moments.
The former AEW world champion was recently interviewed by Josh Martinez. During the talk, he was asked about his most embarring moment in the ring. Chris Jericho recalled the time he was wrestling with braces:
“One time I was working with Cesaro in Las Vegas on a non-televised live event, a House Show if you will. I was wearing braces. As I climbed the top rope to do my comeback, my brace got caught in the top rope. I literally fell into the ring.”
‘Over And Over Again’: Chris Jericho
Though this wasn’t the end of it for Y2J. He detailed how Vince McMahon kept the memory of the incident alive, making the whole situation worse for Chris Jericho:
“Well, that’s embarrassing enough as it is, but for some reason, Vince McMahon got a clip of it. [He] proceeded to show it for the next like four weeks every time everyone’s in the arena going over their stuff before the show. He just thought it’d be great to just show it over and over and over again.
I’m like ‘I’m gonna slap that stupid face of yours for showing this over and over again.’ [He’s like] ‘Ahaha, it’s so funny.’ Maybe funny for you, not funny for me, and only 3000 people saw it until you kept playing it over and over and over again.”
The Wednesday Night Wars between WWE and AEW Dynamite started in October 2019 until NXT’s final Wednesday night broadcast in April 2021. AEW won the majority of the weeks in the TV tapings.
While speaking with Ariel Helwani of BT Sports today, Triple H knocked EW’s victory in the Wednesday Night Wars by saying AEW defeated WWE’s “developmental” system, despite previously referring to NXT as the third brand several times.
“Once again, it is just changing the narrative and changing the history, which makes me laugh. Because when it started, it was not developmental, it was a third brand, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and all the other bullsh*t that they said, so of course we [AEW] beat the developmental or whatever you want to call it, but who gives a sh*t?
It’s such old news, and the show sucks. NXT sucks, it’s not a good show, and they know it. Whether they were punished or not, they probably were punished. That’s probably why Triple H said those things because he is angry that we beat them, and he is probably angry that we exist. But you know, we don’t care about WWE, we care about our show, we care about putting on the best stories that we can put on, we care about building our fanbase and building our ratings.”
Jericho continued that WWE is upset about the continued growth of the rival promotion.
“We will continue to exist, and I will tell you this, my boss has a lot more money than his boss does. A lot more. So you want to go to that, and we are not going anywhere. We will continue to grow. That p*sses them off, and why wouldn’t it? They had a monopoly for so long and don’t like the fact that we exist, and that’s fine. We don’t care that they exist. God bless them. They are running a show in front of 50,000 people. Why would he care about us? But you know, he should, and he does, and that’s why he said those things.”
Chris Jericho continues to kill it in AEW, but he is dealing with a minor injury that will stop him from performing with his band, Fozzy.
The group announced this morning on Facebook that their upcoming Save The World tour will start two weeks later due to an injury he sustained at the August 10th edition of Dynamite, which was the promotion’s Quake By The Lake special.
On that night, The Wizard suffered a throat injury during his world title match with Jon Moxley that bruised his larynx, and has made him unfit to sing.
IMPORTANT TOUR MESSAGE FROM FOZZY
On August 10th during the Quake By The Lake AEW event in Minneapolis, Chris suffered a throat injury that left him with a severely bruised larynx. Unfortunately, even though the injury is healing and is NOT permanent, Chris hasn’t fully recovered and his laryngologist has recommended that Fozzy postpone the first two weeks of the Save The World tour (scheduled to start in Columbus on Sept) in order to facilitate a full recovery as soon as possible.
The postponed shows have been moved to the Spring of 2023. The rescheduled dates can be found at www.FOZZYROCK.com
ALL TICKETS REMAIN VALID
The next leg of the Save The World tour will now start on September 29 in Charlotte. Fozzy appreciates each and every one of you and we can’t wait to rock with you again at FULL STRENGTH very soon!!
Jericho put up a valiant effort against Moxley at Quake By The Lake, but eventually fell victim to the Purveyor of Violence’s bully choke submission.
He’ll have a chance at some redemption this Sunday as he faces Bryan Danielson in a high stakes grudge match at AEW’s ALL OUT pay-per-view.
In 2019, Chris Jericho joined AEW at the promotion’s launch event and has consistently been one of the company’s top stars.
Later that year, Jericho would become the first AEW World Champion, and his work as part of the Inner Circle and later the Jericho Appreciation Society has kept him a fixture on TV.
Returning to WWE
Jericho has been a fixture of AEW for over three years now, but there are still some fans who hope to see him in WWE again.
It was in WWE that Jericho became a nine-time Intercontinental Champion (a record that stands to this day) and the first-ever WWE Undisputed Champion.
On Twitter, a fan suggested to Jericho that a return to WWE would be good for him, and that matches pitting Jericho against AJ Styles or Kevin Owens would be ‘fire.’
In response, Jericho pointed out that these matches have happened, multiple times.
Jericho was the first major feud for Styles after the former TNA Wrestling star joined WWE in 2016.
Jericho Vs. Owens
Fans won’t be seeing Chris Jericho face Kevin Owens in WWE, but this is a match fans have seen before.
In 2017, the former friends feuded after Jericho cost Owens the Universal Championship, payback for Owens attacking Y2J during the Festival of Friendship.
In an interview with TalkSport last year, Jericho said that there had been plans for him Vs. Owens for the Universal Championship as the main event of WrestleMania 33.
After realizing WWE did not care about the feud, which saw Owens beat Jericho for the U.S. Title at WrestleMania, the AEW star said he knew it was time to finish with WWE.
