Chris Jericho makes a bold claim about his role in AEW‘s inception.
Speaking on Close Up with Renee Paquette, Chris Jericho opened up about why he chose to stay with AEW. He was one of the first major wrestling stars to sign with the promotion when it opened for business in 2019 and became the company’s inaugural World Champion.
Jericho claimed that AEW would not exist today and be in this position if he hadn’t signed with the company in 2019, as he was the biggest name on the roster with mainstream popularity at the time. He explained that despite the risks, he chose to help Tony Khan build the promotion from scratch, making its survival and the growth of its talent a permanent part of his legacy.
“I talk to a lot of different companies, sure. But I have skin in the game here. I helped start AEW. I helped grow AEW. I am one of the literal founding fathers. It means something to me because we created this from nothing. It was a real risk at first because no one knew what was going to happen, and I took a chance with Tony, the OGs, but more, Tony and I, because I was the biggest name on the roster at the time,” Chris Jericho began.
Chris Jericho says AEW wouldn’t have started without him
“That’s not bragging, that’s the truth. Without Jericho, we might not have been able to start. Without Tony, we might not have been able to start. With everybody else, all the big names that we have now, that you knew would be huge, but no one in the States knew who Kenny Omega was at the mainstream level, or the Young Bucks.
“Cody wasn’t the same at the time. Mox was Dean Ambrose when he came here. Look how huge Mox became. It means more to me here for those reasons,” Jericho concluded.
Read More: AEW Star Brian Cage Says He Feels Better at 42 Than He Ever Did in His 30s
If you use this transcription, please credit the source, H/T WrestleZone, and link to this page.
