In an interview with TV Insider this week, AEW star Chris Jericho was asked why some wrestling fans think he is selfish and steals the spotlight from the business’s younger stars.
Jericho, 53, began by explaining that he has told good stories in the ring in the past and promoted talent, including current top wrestling stars such as Cody Rhodes and Jon Moxley:
“I love using the Jericho Vortex as a positive. Not every single feud or story you tell in wrestling is going to work, but I have to say that in AEW, 90 percent of the guys I’ve worked with and the stories I’ve told have been pretty good. That goes back to day one. I think I worked with Darby Allin in Week 3 not knowing who he was. Orange Cassidy, Jack Perry, Scorpio Sky and beyond. Even Cody Rhodes. Cody wasn’t who he was now. He was a guy who had been a journeyman and then became one of the top guys in AEW. He was destined for that, but I did a lot to put him in the spotlight. Same with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Hangman Page. Jon Moxley wasn’t Mox and was still the remnant of Dean Ambrose when he came to AEW. We worked together and he was on his way to where he is now, which is a whole new level. MJF, we worked together for a year. Max got a lot better after working with me. Also Eddie Kingston. The Inner Circle, The Jericho Appreciation Society, Danny Garcia.”
As for the online backlash, Jericho believes people are just angry that he is still playing at such a high level:
“I think one of the reasons is I’ve never been injured. I’ve been here since day one and I’ve been on all the shows out of necessity. Not because I’m demanding TV time. My boss wants to get me on the show and do these segments and get the ratings that I get. I would say 80 percent of the time or more when I’m on TV, the ratings go up. That’s another misconception that I have this pressure to leave. You look at the ratings and I’m in one of the highest-rated segments every week. Every once in a while you lose, but that’s the law of averages. I don’t know. I just think there are a lot of upset people that are unhappy that I’m still doing this at a high level. Only five years in and here we are on the verge of this gigantic television deal that’s going to change the course of wrestling history just like we did in 2019. Just like me and Kenny Omega did in 2018 in the Tokyo Dome.”
Well, Chris undoubtedly has a very high opinion of himself, that much is obvious.
Here’s my take on Jericho. I remember him in his WCW days having to deal with a number of older stars trying to hold him back, and as his career progressed it quickly became clear that he didn’t want to be like that. Even when he became a big star in WWE, Chris always outshone others and did what he could to make everyone look good.
Jericho’s in-ring performance during those years was always well above average and that was part of the equation that helped him elevate those around him. I remember hanging out in the commentary at Cageside a decade ago and arguing that Jericho was a better pro wrestler than John Cena. In other words, I was echoing Jericho’s very high opinion of himself.
But now it’s 2024 and Jericho is 53 years old. Whatever he thinks, his in-ring work can no longer measure up to that of many other performers on the roster, and that’s to be expected given his age. AEW values work rate and great matches, and while Chris is certainly still great on the mic, he’s lying to himself if he thinks his in-ring work is still at the high level of his younger days. When I see this older and slower version of Chris in the ring now, I sometimes think to myself that I’d rather spend those 20 minutes watching Konosuke Takeshita, Jay White, Ricky Starks, Dante Martin, etc.
Do I want Chris Jericho to retire? No, but I understand why others might think that.
Do I wish Chris Jericho had a better gimmick than The Learning Tree? Of course it’s terrible.
Do I think he helped Cody Rhodes improve? I can accept that Chris Moxley helped him become a main event star in AEW, but I don’t think the “spotlight” he shone on Cody at Full Gear 2019 did him any favors. In fact, I think that storyline limited Cody’s opportunities for the rest of his AEW career after he lost that match and was never able to challenge for the AEW World Title again.
I’m sure Chris still wants to elevate the other wrestlers he works with today, but he’s not as successful at doing so as he once was, and he’s taking up a lot of airtime on TV in the process. This is mainly why many wrestling fans are tired of his act and are looking for something new and fresher than what he currently offers in the ring. Chris is completely wrong when he says that the backlash is more due to people being upset or jealous of his incredible success and high level of work.
The bottom line is that Chris Jericho is now an old pro wrestler who doesn’t want to accept what he has to offer in AEW. As someone who once thought so highly of Jericho’s work, that’s a little sad, but it’s also a pretty common phenomenon among aging athletes.
