Chris Jericho has shown time and time again that he is very selfless when it comes to putting over talent. Be that as it may, some believe Jericho only kills the momentum of the stars he works with. In light of this belief, Jericho has now claimed that any talent who worked with him get elevated.
Chris Jericho has faced a multitude of opponents during his tenure in AEW spanning over four years. Jericho has consistently demonstrated his willingness to elevate talent by putting over stars such as MJF, Orange Cassidy, Action Andretti, and others. He has willingly taken losses to these individuals and more, with the intention of nurturing talent and building a strong foundation for the future of AEW.
However, despite Jericho’s efforts to boost the profiles of rising stars, there are segments of the fanbase who harbor concerns that his involvement may sometimes hinder the momentum of AEW talent. Some critics have even gone as far as accusing Jericho of dampening the excitement surrounding the talent he collaborates with.
Jericho’s on-screen interactions with HOOK were discussed during his appearance on Gabby AF. Reflecting on his prior engagements and storyline shifts, Jericho mentioned the unforeseen adjustments made when Kenny Omega fell ill.
Despite the challenges, Jericho emphasized his commitment to elevating younger talents in AEW. He noted instances where his collaborations have propelled talents to greater heights, citing examples like Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, and others.
”Yeah, well, things got kind of thrown into a loop storyline-wise when Kenny (Omega) got sick and so, you do the best you can when you have to switch midstream and we kind of did the best we could with the Don Callis story and then it was kind of time to go into something new and the idea of working with HOOK was something I had thought about for a while and it just really kind of seemed to fit with the match that we had at Revolution with the eight-man Scramble and HOOK was in that and I thought, well let’s do something with this and the story’s just beginning.”
”But, I think we got some good ideas and some good stuff going on. That’s kind of what my mission in AEW has been since day one is to do the best I can to elevate the younger guys and in contrary to popular belief, which you might see, it usually works. Most of the time when people work with me, they end up on a higher platform than they were prior. If you look at Orange Cassidy to Darby Allin to MJF… (Powerhouse) Hobbs and (Konosuke) Takeshita and all those guys. The list goes on and on and on. Even the guys in The Inner Circle and the Jericho Appreciation Society.”
During the Big Business edition of AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho and HOOK secured a victory over Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun. Following the match, Jericho approached HOOK for a singles showdown, which was scheduled for the 3/20 Dynamite event in Toronto, Canada. We’ll have to see if Jericho will be able to beat allegations that he ruins AEW wrestlers’ buzz in the future.
Do you believe Chris Jericho elevates talent in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!