Chris Jericho Reveals The Real Reason Behind Name Change In AEW
Chris Jericho made his AEW return in April 2026, despite widespread rumors and speculation about him joining WWE. Following his return to Tony Khan’s promotion, he rebranded his ring name by dropping his first name and started going by just “Jericho.”
While speaking on Ringer Wrestling, Jericho revealed why he dropped his first name. The veteran said that he intentionally decided to use only “Jericho” because his name alone is already recognizable and meaningful to fans.
He explained that he does not need to add new nicknames or personas because “Jericho” by itself already carries history, memories, and meaning for the wrestling universe.
Chris Jericho Opens Up About Dropping His First Name In AEW
Chris Jericho then said that he took inspiration from the famous self-titled music albums Metallica (also called The Black Album) and The Beatles (The White Album) because those albums did not need complicated titles, as people already knew the artists and what they represented.
“I like the idea of what I’m doing now with ‘Jericho.’ And by not using that first name a lot, it created this whole intrigue online like, ‘What’s he doing? What’s the idea? What’s the reason?’ And honestly, it’s like a self-titled album. That’s where I kind of got the idea from.
“I could create a dozen other nicknames, but how many more do I need? Everyone knows who Jericho is. And when you hear that name, then you can go remember whatever memories you have on your own. So it really is like Metallica, ‘The Black Album.’ It doesn’t need to be called anything.”
“You know who Metallica is, you know what’s going on. The Beatles, ‘The White Album,’ same thing. That’s kind of what the idea is for the ‘Jericho’ era. And I like it. I like what’s been going on and going with the flow and seeing what’s working and what’s not.”
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