Backstage Update On Negative Response To AEW's Chris Jericho

Jericho has been booed and received "Please Retire!" chants in recent weeks and months.

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Dynasty HOOK Chris Jericho
AEW

While the crowd reaction to Chris Jericho had been so-so (at best!) for a good while, that reaction took a whole other turn at AEW Dynasty last month. Of course, that was the PPV where the inaugural AEW World Champion was greeted with chants of "Please Retire!" and "Go Home, Jericho, Go Home!" as he defeated HOOK for the FTW Title.

As per Fightful Select, this negative response is something that Jericho supposedly anticipated. AEW talent and sources close to the veteran told the outlet that the Dynasty crowd reaction was "almost exactly" as the Ocho had told others it would be in the week leading up to that PPV.

Fightful adds that a particular topic of conversation amongst wrestlers lately is wondering who smartened Jericho up to the "Jericho Vortex"; a phrase coined by fans to describe those talents who work with Le Champion and often end up being the worse for it. The outlet also asked whether Jericho was aware that the terms "The Learning Tree" and "Rarified Air" had already been used in pro wrestling, but there had been no response to that question. For those unaware, The Learning Tree was a TNA/IMPACT stable consisting of Brian Myers, Zicky Dice, VSK, Sam Beale, and Manny Lemons, whilst "Rarified Air" has long been a catchphrase of MLW favourite Richard Holliday.

Advertisement

Where the FTW Championship is concerned, many people - including Taz - have been surprised by the changes Jericho has made to that title, such as rebranding it to the For The World Title from its previous F**k The World mantra. For those wondering, yes, the belt itself is the original belt that was first introduced in ECW back in 1998.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.