Chris Jericho Takes Swipe At Critics

Chris Jericho has hit back at claims he doesn’t help young talent.

After competing against each other at Revolution, Chris Jericho and Hook have now joined forces. The new partnership is based largely on Jericho’s history with Hook’s father Taz who he battled with in ECW.

The new team, going under the name LionHook has come in for criticism from a section of fans that believes young talent struggles when working with Jericho when in reality he should be making them bigger stars.

That criticism hasn’t gone unnoticed by the former World Champion and unsurprisingly, he disputes the claims.

Speaking to Gabby LaSpisa on Gabby AF, Jericho said he always tries to elevate young talent, and he usually succeeds. He went on to say that the likes of Orange Cassidy, Daniel Garcia, and Konosuke Takeshita all benefited from working with him.

“That’s kind of what my mission in AEW has been since day one; do the best I can to elevate the younger guys. Contrary to popular belief, it usually works. Most of the time, when people work with me, they end up on a higher platform than they were prior.

If you look at Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, MJF, Hobbs [Will Hobbs], Takeshita [Konosuke Takeshita], guys in the Inner Circle, the Jericho Appreciation Society. Look at Daniel Garcia now compared to where he was a year ago. HOOK is another guy we’ve done a lot with, I think we can do some more with, add some depth to him, and give him a little more experience.

You’re only as good as the guys you’re in the ring with. If you look at HOOK vs. Samoa Joe, that’s probably the best match he’s ever had because Joe has such experience. With the experience that I have, working with HOOK, and his persona is so unique, I think he’s lighting in a bottle and something we can really get to the next level and that’s what my idea is for this story.”

During the interview, Jericho said his recent creative was thrown into a loop after Kenny Omega was diagnosed with diverticulitis. The pair had been teaming together towards the end of 2023 and were scheduled to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Titles.

Chris Jericho To Face Hook On AEW Dynamite

At Dynamite Big Business, Jericho and Hook teamed up to defeat The Gates of Agony, but on March 20th, the veteran really wants to test his new charge. After their win, Jericho said he needs to know more about Hook and the best way to do that is by competing against him.

H/t to Fightful