Published: 3 minutes ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 12 hours ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
AEW
Signed to AEW in early 2019, Chris Jericho has a focus on his future in the company, continuing to elevate stars around him.
Currently known as simply Jericho, the former WWE star was the first ever AEW World Champion and held the FTW Championship, but gold doesn’t appear to be in his future plans.
As Jericho sees it, his goal for the future doesn’t even involve plentiful match wins, as he explained to TMZ Inside The Ring, noting his career of elevating newer stars:
Jericho’s current project
Over the past weeks, Jericho has been feuding with Nick Wayne, with the pair heading to this week’s AEW Collision to settle their differences once and for all.
The 21-year-old star has been a fixture in AEW and ROH since July 2023, having been offered a contract the previous year with the stipulation that he finish school first.
A former World Trios Champion and ROH World Television Champion, Wayne has already benefited from his past association with Christian Cage, adding extra layers to the talented star’s persona, something that has continued with Jericho.
It would be easy to think that Wayne doesn’t need anything from veteran stars, but there is a level of prestige in such a feud when delivered well and, from an in-ring perspective, he’s likely learning aspects of the business that come as second nature to veterans with decades of television experience.
Past successes in AEW
It’s no surprise that Jericho has worked with as many newer stars as he has during his tenure in AEW. This isn’t a star who just wants to roll out the greatest hits, revisiting feuds with former AEW stars.
Speaking to TMZ Inside The Ring, Jericho would name MJF as a particular example of his influence, noting that their feud ran for 366 days and saying:
“I would say that was the beginning of MJF’s true ascension to being what he is now.”
Arguments can be made that MJF was always destined for greatness, but there is also the possibility that being in Jericho’s orbit fast-tracked that whole process.
Both members of the Inner Circle, the faction would also include Sammy Guevara, among others, who has gone on to be a three-time TNT Champion and ROH World Tag Team Champion.
Having faced Will Ospreay at All In back in 2023, Jericho would note that the star wasn’t yet signed to an AEW contract and has since gone on to be World Champion. It was a formula that Jericho believed continued with Bandido, not signed until after their faced each other for the first time in an AEW ring.
‘I don’t have to win ever again’
When it comes to how his future pans out, Jericho noted that winning doesn’t have to factor into his career, although did concede:
“So, sometimes I do because, if not, then you’re just losing all the time, which isn’t great for stories.”
This suggests that, aside from the occasional decision otherwise, coming out on top isn’t the focus for where Jericho wants to go, aware that it’s the newer stars who will drive the company forward on the road that he has helped pave.
Jericho would go on to comment that it’s the quality of the match that counts for him, along with “helping guys or girls find something maybe that they didn’t quite know that was there just yet.”
Such an outlook offers a wealth of opportunities for a veteran star when it comes to the stories yet to be told.
One more time
Just 55 years old, at the time of writing, and with a career spanning over thirty-five years, there’s plenty of road ahead for Jericho and every possibility that another championship could come his way, with the plan to transfer it to a newer star as part of a feud that brings out the best in all involved.
AEW has a number of stars with storied careers of their own, and it’s a trend that is likely to continue. It isn’t a case of signing a former WWE guy for the sake of it, but using them in a way that enhances AEW over the self-interest of the name concerned.
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