10 Ups & 10 Downs For AEW In 2019

4. Le Champion

An easy pick for AEW’s first World Champion, Chris Jericho lent the strap immediate prestige, credibility, and class upon besting Hangman Page at All Out, and has since done all in his power to make it feel like a prize worth fighting for.

‘Le Champion’ has been outstanding. He is comfortably the company’s biggest readymade star and carries himself like it, having successfully reinvented himself for something like the twelfth time in his career. The promos are p*ss-funny, the character incredible, and the barbs razor-sharp, with Jericho creating new soundbites every single week. On top of this, ‘The Alpha’ has forged a slower, more character-driven style of wrestling around his declining athleticism, with performances like those against Cody and Darby Allin showing he’s still compelling as hell between the ropes too.

Selflessness has helped define Jericho’s reign, with Allin and Scorpio Sky both better for facing him, and Jungle Boy sure to feel the same rub on 18 December. He has been nothing short of excellent - even at 49 years old.

Is he becoming too entertaining? That’s a debate worth having, though he’s still able to turn crowd reactions around with a quick line, always gets jeered when he’s actually wrestling, and isn’t driving the audience to boo babyface opponents. Yet. Definitely something to pay attention to, though.