AEW Veteran Defends Chris Jericho Against Critics
Chris Jericho may be criticized by some wrestling fans due to his recent performances, but one AEW legend is defending The Learning Tree.
When AEW launched in January 2019, one of the biggest names they announced as somebody joining the roster was former WWE Champion Chris Jericho. After spending most of two decades with WWE, Jericho was ready to move on and start fresh with All Elite Wrestling.
During his five plus year run with AEW, Jericho was the first World Champion in company history while also holding the ROH World Title and the FTW Championship as well.
Along the way, Chris Jericho has also led AEW stables including the Inner Circle, Jericho Appreciation Society, and his current group The Learning Tree where he’s joined by Big Bill & Bryan Keith.
At the age of 53 (he’ll turn 54 years old in November), Chris Jericho has made it clear that he refuses to retire, especially since he feels he is performing at a high level.
Tony Schiavone Still Enjoys Everything Chris Jericho Does
There’s a lot of history between Chris Jericho and Tony Schioavne going back nearly 30 years when Jericho was making a name for himself in World Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s before jumping to WWE. Schiavone was WCW’s lead play-by-play announcer and some WCW fans might remember Jericho intentionally getting Tony’s name wrong by calling him “Skeeavone” among other things.
Tony and Chris were reunited in AEW in 2019 since Tony has been on the call for many Jericho matches in All Elite Wrestling over the last five years. While speaking on his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone made it clear he’s still a Jericho fan even though some fans might criticize Jericho for his appearance.
“I’m always pumped when Chris Jericho is in the event or is wrestling for us or is doing an angle because he’s so cool and I know he gets a lot of heat because a lot of fans say ‘Well, he’s not [in] the shape he used to be.’ Of course, he’s not. None of us are at that age, but I really enjoy everything he does and all the effort he puts into it.”
On AEW Dynamite earlier this week, Chris Jericho lost to Orange Cassidy in a match where Jericho tried to cheat to win by using a roll of quarters, but Cassidy avoided it and used the quarters himself for an Orange Punch that led to a pinfall win.