Chris Jericho In AEW - What Went Wrong?
His list of rivals was already…convenient. Orange Cassidy was a sensation, and through his unique arc, few people had the chance to wrestle him. He was, quite literally, freshly squeezed; the hot new thing. MJF was a surefire AEW World champion, the first true heel since Prince Devitt and Sasha Banks. Eddie Kingston became a cult hero on his very first night. Jericho sure could pick ‘em.
When Ricky Starks got over, Jericho worked with him (at which point the “clout vampire” accusation became storyline canon). Then, Adam Cole made a miraculous comeback, and just as fans were overjoyed to see him again - and were prepared to receive the nicest guy in wrestling finally cast as a babyface - Jericho almost ruined that with a diabolical outing at Double Or Nothing 2023. In a move so transparently desperate that it was almost funny, of course Jericho wrestled hometown hero and consensus best wrestler in the world Will Ospreay, who wasn’t even under contract at the time, in Wembley stadium. The match was great, but then, Ospreay could work a great match with Kane.
Kingston was elevated and then demoted through his association with Jericho. MJF had to rescue Cole. Starks became a less compelling character after his flat, obligatory run through the Jericho stable gauntlet ahead of Revolution ‘23.
Jericho’s modus operandi - already a weird fictional thing, shouldn’t he as a wrestler be interested in advancing his own career? - didn’t even work. Often, Chris Jericho programmes simply happened, and when he invariably lost them, he was prioritised for the next pay-per-view cycle. His character did not fit into the wins and losses matter philosophy. Beating him meant nothing for his fictional opponents nor the real careers of those portraying them.
All the while, AEW signed yet more names to its extravagantly stacked talent roster, many of which vastly overshadowed Jericho - but never relegated him. He boasted too much clout to flounder in a meritocracy.
The brutal truth is that Jericho has annoyed, pissed off or bored people rigid for a long time, perhaps even longer than two years - but he was always capable of delivering a match so good that even the most ardent critics had to pay begrudging respect to him. You were sick of him, and then he delivered an awesome, out-of-nowhere war against Jon Moxley at Quake By The Lake. You were angry that Jericho throttled Daniel Garcia’s career without a hint of a blow-off match on pay-per-view, but then Jericho bladed his chest when working a sickeningly, beautifully physical match with Tomohiro Ishii. You were annoyed that you had to endure Jake Hager singles matches purely because of who he was mates with, and then Jericho wrestled a deliriously entertaining Falls Count Anywhere spectacle against Roderick Strong.
You could never truly, wholly, count him out.
You can now.
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