Nikunj Walia on January 24, 2023
Chris Jericho is one of the longest-tenured veterans of the wrestling business. Y2J’s resilience and amazing talent have helped him carve out a Hall of Fame-worthy career that is nowhere approaching its end. Moreover, Jericho is also known for pushing younger stars in an attempt to build the future and recently revealed details regarding the debut of one such star, Action Andretti. It seems that Action Andretti was not on WWE’s radar, but Tony Khan’s company was able to scoop him up, thanks to Chris Jericho.
Action Andretti began his wrestling training at the MCW Pro Wrestling, debuting for them in November 2019. He began appearing for the company in Maryland and Virginia, showing great skill and talent.
The young and talented came to prominence with his stint in Combat Zone Wrestling, becoming a regular addition to their roster. He then went on to defeat Brian Johnson to win the MCW Heavyweight Championship in October 2022.
Action Andretti’s success led him to wrestle various matches on AEW Dark and Dark Elevation tapings. Furthermore, he made his in-ring televised debut at AEW: Winter is Coming in December 2022, scoring an upset victory over Chris Jericho and later signing a full-time contract with the company.
That win over a veteran like Chris Jericho made Action Andretti an overnight sensation. The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla recently revealed certain details about how the plan to push the younger star came to fruition. He spoke about this during an interview with WTF with Marc Maron.
“People are like, ‘Oh sh*t.’ Then the buzz starts going. ‘What’s going to happen now?’ We’ve never seen this guy on TV, ever. Then, we continue forward and suddenly, he gets me again. He hits me with this and that. Boom, boom, boom, hit me with a move. One, two, three. He wins. Crowd goes f*cking crazy. He’s running around, slapping hands, people are going nuts. It’s one of the greatest moments we’ve had in AEW history because no one knew this guy, and by the end, we made a new star. It doesn’t hurt me to lose, and we made this guy. It’s about making stars and making people react. No one would’ve guessed he was going to win.”
With Action Andretti getting a major start right at the beginning of his career at the expense of The Ucho, it seems that AEW has big plans for him and perceives him as one of the top draws for the company in the future.
We’ll have to see what Chris Jericho comes up with next. Odds are it will be as attention-grabbing as he can make it. Until then, keep checking back with Ringside News for more.
Do you think Action Andretti will become a champion in AEW? Sound off in the comments!
January 24, 2023 4:20 pm
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