10 AEW Wrestlers WWE Should Fear The Most

5. Chris Jericho

TNT Kenny Omega
NJPW World
"Here's the thing, Daniel: I've seen guys like you come and go a million times. Guys like Jericho, Edge, Rob Van Dam. All guys that are very talented, don't get me wrong. Top guys. Very popular. But not the One. Never were they the One."

Triple H, Monday Night RAW, October 21, 2013

Leaving to one side the incredible hypocrisy of that statement - the year of 2003 didn't exactly etch Triple H into wrestling's Mount Rushmore, and imagine how much sandstone they'd need for his nose, never mind the cheek - Chris Jericho proved it inaccurate in 2017. The Alpha's outrageous flex, of keeping up with the best generation of wrestlers ever, at 47 years-old, drove tens of thousands of New Japan World subscribers in the western market. Jericho drew those fans to the service, proving himself a calculable attraction in a era where the old metrics no longer exist.

This should cause some concern to WWE in the competition for fan interest in and of itself, but there's more: this version of Jericho - the belligerent, drunken, weird old sh*t-kicker - is a product of his own genius mind. Jericho had to demand, furiously, that the incredible Festival of Friendship segment follow his vision. Jericho was a major star under WWE's umbrella.

He is a bigger one outside of it.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!