5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 31 - Results & Review)
2. Is Chris Jericho Finished At Last?
Chris Jericho gave Kyle Fletcher the fabled rub on Dynamite last night by needing two Judas Effect variations to put his young opponent away. He was for a long time thwarted in that effort by the interference of Powerhouse Hobbs who, incidentally, did absolutely nothing of significance after destroying former AEW World champion Chris Jericho late last year. His presence as a glorified bodyguard who like many AEW talents barely actually wrestles just underscored how little this latest chapter in the Jericho Vs. Don Callis story was going to matter in the end.
When will you even see Fletcher on TV again?
When will this bullsh*t six month plus Jericho/Callis programme ever limp to a conclusion that nobody cares about?
Jericho needs to go away for a while. He is profoundly overexposed. People did care about the match, a whopping sub-2,000 of them, anyway. It was hard-hitting, and Jericho at times managed to keep up with his explosive stud of an opponent. Jercho is a grandfather and just as problematic these days, though, and his insistence on being the cool veteran who "gets it" is often his undoing. There's always one scary, immersion-breaking moment in his matches, a reminder that he shouldn't be too ambitious, too desperate to fit in with the cool crowd - and that top turnbuckle brainbuster spot almost went completely awry.
The story told here - of Jericho barely escaping a shoot-out against a younger and faster guy with an army behind him - was undermined by the state of him at the finish. He looked loopy. He looked like his days wrestling at the highest level are as dead as his reputation.
There were some decent near-falls here, and Jericho threw himself very near his neck to sell the idea that he was being blown away before his veteran know-how proved the difference in the end, but it never once even began to reach a level that made you think Jericho shouldn't pack his bags and take an extended holiday as soon as possible.
Belize?
It doesn't matter how politely you ask him, he won't f*ck off for love nor money.