Chris Jericho Defended By Former AEW Legend
Chris Jericho becoming the ROH World Champion again was a great move, according to a former AEW wrestler.
The legendary Chris Jericho became the ROH World Champion for the second time when he defeated Mark Briscoe in a Ladder War Match. It was not a clean win because he had help from Big Bill, but that’s fitting for Jericho’s character as “The Learning Tree.”
It has also been reported that part of the reason why the ROH World Title is on Jericho again is because it could lead to a TV deal for the brand. Since AEW owner Tony Khan bought ROH, the brand has been on their own website’s Honor Club only, but now that Jericho is champion again, it could lead to a TV deal for the brand.
Matt Hardy is a wrestling legend who has been in the business for over 30 years just like Jericho. They worked together for many years in WWE during the Attitude Era and the eras that followed. They also worked together in AEW for several years as well.
While discussing Jericho’s title win on The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy, Matt explained why he thinks it’s a good idea.
“First and foremost, I understand being an older guy around in wrestling, someone who is looked at as like a legacy talent, someone that is looked at as like a living legend more or less. Chris and I fall in the same category. There are a lot of people in AEW that thought Jeff and I shouldn’t be there, we shouldn’t be featured, it was pretty brutal.”
“It’s so funny that we came to TNA and numbers across the board are up and it’s not just myself and Jeff, but we definitely helped. We helped with that issue. They’re selling more tickets than they have in over a decade. It’s a very positive thing and it’s nice that we are being utilized in the correct way. Looking back on it, I watched the ladder match that he had with Mark Briscoe, and I thought Jericho was utilized perfect.”
“You put Jericho as the Ring Of Honor champion — If you’re trying to build up Ring Of Honor, even if it is on the ROH app or the site, he’s a great guy to be the champion and feature him.
“That match where he wrestled Mark Briscoe, it elevated Mark Briscoe in my opinion watching it. The finish, he was just such a chickens**t heel, the way Big Bill put him on his shoulders and carried him off the ladder. I think the people that say Chris Jericho should not be on TV at this stage of the game, I just think they’re absolutely wrong. I think he has a benefit, I think he adds a lot to pro wrestling.”
Matt Hardy Believes Chris Jericho Is Beneficial To AEW & ROH Programming
The discussion continued with Matt Hardy speaking about Chris Jericho’s value for the AEW and ROH brands.
“I think Chris Jericho is such a big name and big deal and has such a huge fan base and people who are aware of who he is. I think he is extremely beneficial to AEW programming and ROH programming and I think Tony Khan realizes that and he is seeing the value in Chris Jericho when it comes to ticket sales or whatever else it may be and I think that’s why he understands to keep him around.”
“Also, I feel like there’s probably a lot of loyalty from Tony Khan to Chris Jericho because he is one of the guys, in many ways he was like their Hogan in the beginning because he helped put AEW on the map.”
This isn’t the first time Hardy has praised Jericho heavily like that because he has also said that Jericho has best represented AEW in the company’s first five years.