8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 May - Results & Review)
Downs...
2. Chris Jericho Vs Katsuyori Shibata
The Chris Jericho Vortex continues to exist primarily for an audience of one, and it’s still not the billionaire paying the wages but the millionaire cashing the cheques.
A “comedy” weapons brawl with Katsoyuri Shibata over the FTW Championship mostly just meandered. Jericho compared himself to ECW-era Terry Funk last week in a knowingly glib self-own. This was a physical manifestation of the concept with precisely zero of The Funker’s charm and even less of his want and desire to do right by the show rather than himself. Big Bill helping at the finish confirms his status as a better heater for Jericho than Jake Hager ever could be, but time will never reflect that because this run stands absolutely no chance of scaling the heights ‘LeChampion’ soared to. You would be forgiven for thinking they were different wrestlers.
Jericho - through his typical force of will if absolutely nothing else - will get elements of this whole act over. He already has been doing during his promos, and with the various wacky facials he can lean on when absolutely nothing else connects. But on a night where kayfabe power was so integral to the narrative success of the show, evident real life stroke marked its biggest failure.