10 Exact Moments When Ex-WWE Wrestlers Knew They'd Made The Right Decision

6. Chris Jericho

Bryan Danielson AEW
AEW

Why He Left WWE: Jericho has often pointed towards WrestleMania 33 as a major slap in the face that made him throw his hands up and think about life beyond Vince McMahon. There, WWE shunted Y2J's match with Kevin Owens down the card in favour of Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, and that p*ssed Jericho off.

The legend began exploring other gigs shortly after that, and let his WWE deal dwindle.

The Moment: A blockbuster bout with Kenny Omega at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom 12 could've been viewed as a one-off success and nothing more. Jericho really needed to follow it up with something sustainable if he was going to thrive post-WWE though.

AEW was just the ticket, but even that wasn't nailed-on until Double Or Nothing 2019.

Jericho closed his eyes as he walked out for the main event (also opposite Omega), and it was clear that he knew something big was happening. AEW felt like genuine competition to WWE overnight. He knew it, fans knew it - everybody knew it.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.