10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Were In NXT AND AEW
2. Chris Jericho
Did you spot Chris Jericho in AEW? The eagle eyed amongst you just might have! So far, his Dynamite role has been, to paraphrase a non-sleuthing, non-wizarding David Jason, 'lovely bubbly', the latest in a series of successful re-inventions for the evergreen Winnipegian. Jericho's been around almost as long as his ancient, ruinous namesake, but he's far from being a relic. His longevity remains a marvel - and it also makes his brief NXT sojourns something of an anomaly.
Y2J was just a few steps from being a made man when he debuted in WWE in 1999, so it goes without saying he skipped all WWE's developmental territories. Jericho was already two decades into his career when the original NXT hit the air in 2010, and so he lent his experience - not ironically, as in the case of Vickie Guerrero - as rookie Heath Slater's mentor.
The two went on to contest a match on an episode of the show, which saw the red-headed neophyte claim a memorable upset. According to Slater, Jericho went straight to Pat Patterson to complain about losing to the relative nobody. It's fair to say, given the pair's relative standings in the business ten years on, it didn't do his star any harm.
A few years later, Jericho would do Full Sail another favour, popping his head in the door to provide a burgeoning Bray Wyatt with something like a credible opponent. Can you imagine the scenes if The Fiend took on Le Champion on NXT today?