Wrestling Legend Believes AEW Will Be Chris Jericho’s Last Stand
Chris Jericho is a leader in AEW who may remain with the company for a long time to come, according to a wrestling legend who knows him well.
When AEW launched in January 2019, two of the biggest names who signed with the company were two WWE legends: Chris Jericho and the legendary announcer Jim Ross.
After spending nearly 20 years (with a few years off) in WWE, Chris Jericho decided it was time to move on by joining the new AEW promotion.
For Jim Ross, the jump to AEW seemed like a smart move at the time since he had stopped announcing for WWE regularly, so going to AEW allowed him to continue his career as a top wrestling announcer.
On a recent episode of Jim’s Grilling JR podcast on Adfreeshows, Ross spoke about why he thinks AEW is Chris Jericho’s last stand while also praising how Jericho helps younger talent in the company.
“I think AEW will be his last stand. He’s got lots of influence there. He pretty much books his own programs, he lays out his own matches, and why not? That’s what you want. I’m all for that. I wish more talents would take a personal interest in what they’re doing. Chris has developed a relationship with Tony Khan that has been pretty substantial. He’s the kind of guy you want around. He’s the kind of guy that you want as an office guy. He’s the kind of guy you want in those roles.
I see him talking to talents all the time, young talents. They go to him and ask for advice, or what do you think of this, or should I be doing less of that, or whatever? He’s always, to my knowledge, been very willing to share his time and his expertise to some of these young kids.
I know he’s helped make some guys. Darby Allin is a good example. Remember they had some matches on AEW television that were outstanding and it gave Darby a leg up. It gave him a jump start on his career and Chris put him over. Jericho has never been one to not put somebody over if it was the right thing to do.
Sometimes you get into a situation where you don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. Is this the way we should go with this deal? Should he put him over? Should he not put him over, all that stuff? So Chris has always been really good.
He’s an MVP in my view at AEW, without question.There’s just no doubt about that. I love working with him and I love seeing how he works with other talents and they listen to him because he’s been there and done that. That’s important to me. That’s where they get their learning. He’s a very valuable asset to the company. He can always go out and have a great match as a babyface or a heel. He can work with anybody and make them look better than they actually are.
Even though he’s not a spring chicken, he stays in great shape. He’s a keeper. If Tony Khan is smart, and he is, Chris is going to be a part of the company for the foreseeable future for a long time to come. I do think that somewhere down the road when he and Tony Khan make the decision to say that’s enough, that he’ll get a send off like Sting’s in that sense, a special occasion and a big time deal. I just don’t think it’s anytime soon.”
The “spring chicken” remark by Ross was because Chris Jericho will turn 54 years old in November and he has been in the pro wrestling business for over 30 years.
Chris Jericho Regains ROH World Title On AEW Dynamite
There was a big grudge match on AEW Dynamite this week as Chris Jericho challenged Mark Briscoe in a Ladder War Match for the ROH World Championship. The two veterans had a physical brawl that saw them climb ladders, break tables, and put their bodies on the line as they tried to win the match.
When it looked like Mark Briscoe was going to win, Jericho’s “Learning Tree” ally Big Bill went down to the ring and gave Briscoe a Chokeslam from inside the ring through two tables on the floor. That led to Bill putting Jericho on his shoulders, Bill climbed the ladder and Jericho pulled the ROH World Title down.