Chris Jericho Says Big AEW Match Wouldn’t Have Happened Without The Pandemic

The pandemic is a terrible thing that we are still dealing with today. Through all of the unspeakable heartbreak and pain that was caused by COVID-19 sweeping the world, it did create some opportunities where working around the awful situation created a bit of a silver lining.

While speaking to Wrestle Zone, Chris Jericho discussed The Inner Circle’s storylines in AEW. He is very proud of what his stable has been able to present so far.

Jericho explained the timing of the pandemic where it relates to his AEW stable. The Inner Circle were set to take on The Elite in a Blood n Guts match. That gimmick-heavy match was nixed due to the pandemic, but it opened the door for another historic encounter: the Stadium Stampede match.

“Nobody ever knows for sure. I mean, people always say, ‘Oh yeah, we knew this or that.’ No, you don’t. You don’t know anything until it happens. If you look back from October 2, 2019, the Inner Circle stories have always been one of the best on the show every single week. It’s even to the point where the only story is that we ever had that really kind of took a turn is when we smashed Nick Jackson’s head under the garage door on March 11 [2020] in Salt Lake City, and then that was our last live show and everything else got canceled. We were building up towards Rochester on the 18th and then Blood ‘n’ Guts in New Jersey—that got taken away, so we had to regroup. But had we not had the pandemic take that away, there probably wouldn’t have been a Stadium Stampede, which to me still, one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history.”

Advertising

Advertising

The Inner Circle lost the first-ever Stadium Stampede match, but AEW copyrighted the name. We’ll have to see if they dust off this idea for a yearly match. After all, Tony Khan can use TIAA Field for just about anything he wants to, even to house a pro wrestling match.