Chris Jericho Makes Audacious Claim About AEW’s Origins

Was a Chris Jericho match the real reason Tony Khan decided to spend fortunes to form AEW?

Time for a history lesson.

At Wrestle Kingdom in 2018, Chris Jericho broke ranks from WWE to compete against Kenny Omega in a match for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. Jericho returned to WWE after that bout for the Greatest Royal Rumble before heading back to New Japan Pro Wrestling in the summer, where he won the IWGP Intercontinental Title.

Prior to that, Bullet Club was already causing a sensation in NJPW that was spreading throughout the wrestling world. The group was formed in 2013 by Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale. Crucially, the group soon added The Young Bucks to its ranks. When Devitt left NJPW to join WWE and become Finn Balor, his spot was taken by AJ Styles.

At the beginning of 2016, when NJPW suffered an exodus of talent as Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows all left for WWE, Kenny Omega stepped in as Bullet Club’s new leader. Over time, Adam Cole, Marty Scurll, Adam Page, and Cody Rhodes joined the group as The Elite began to take shape.

A growing number of fans watched their antics behind the scenes on The Young Bucks’ YouTube series, Being The Elite. A perfect storm was forming, led by The Elite, and Bullet Club t-shirts were becoming as ubiquitous at wrestling shows as ‘Austin 3:16’ and ‘NWO’ ones had been once upon a time.

Chris Jericho Goes All In With The Elite

This led to the original All In show taking place in September 2018, selling out in half an hour and becoming one of the biggest and most meaningful independent shows ever held. Cody Rhodes was the emotional fan favourite as he won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship from Nick Aldis. The rushed main event saw The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi defeat Bandido, Rey Fenix, and Rey Mysterio.

After Kenny Omega defeated Penta in a singles bout, Chris Jericho made a shock appearance, where he took out Omega, continuing their bad blood. The worlds were colliding.

On the New Year’s Day edition of Being The Elite, The Bucks and Rhodes showed a Double Or Nothing logo on their phones, announcing another huge show, but this time it wouldn’t be an independent event. As Adam Page’s phone showed the All Elite Wrestling logo for the first time. A new company was born.

But Chris Jericho wants all the credit for himself.

Unfathomably, Chris Jericho was in conversation with Made In Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews when he made the claim that his Wrestle Kingdom match with Kenny Omega was directly responsible for Tony Khan choosing to form All Elite Wrestling:

We changed the business when we had our match at the Tokyo Dome, which at the time was crazy because nobody ever thought it would happen.

We’re both from the same small town in Canada called Winnipeg, and we pretty much packed the Tokyo Dome. Digital streaming was through the roof for New Japan Pro Wrestling, which then led to Tony Khan seeing and deciding that he could form AEW because there was so much demand for wrestling that was not WWE.

The next time Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega got in the ring together was in the main event of AEW’s first-ever pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing, in May 2019. Jericho won that bout, which ended up putting him in the match to become the inaugural AEW World Champion at All Out in August. In that bout, Chris Jericho defeated Adam Page to win the gold.