10 Secret Genius Details Behind Wrestling Finishers
7. Chris Jericho's Judas Effect
Before arriving in AEW, Chris Jericho, while approaching household name status, was not presented at the very tippy-top in WWE.
He was a critically-acclaimed performer who headlined several major shows and starred across several massively entertaining stretches of episodic TV - but he wasn't perceived internally as a Mount Rushmore, first-name-on-the-'Mania-card talent. He evolved his working style and aesthetic throughout the 2000s to disassociate fans from his cruiserweight days, but he still carried that stigma to an extent amongst management.
When he arrived in AEW, this was set to change. He was relied upon to act as a bridge to a lapsed, curious audience. The idea was for Jericho to legitimise the promotion as a mainstream entity, and to express the idea, he evolved further as a classical, hard-brawling headliner archetype. The literal exclamation point to this act saw Jericho introduce the Judas Effect as his new finisher: a stiff back elbow thrown to put over his heavyweight stopping power.
He defeated Kenny Omega with it at the inaugural Double Or Nothing. Throughout the match, he frequently restored the advantage by using his superior strength to thwart Omega's explosive speed.
With the lunging strike imparted by his MMA training, Jericho unveiled his most impressive, lucrative and crucial ever reinvention.