Chris Jericho isn’t trying to force another elaborate gimmick into his latest AEW run. After years of reinvention, the former AEW World Champion is keeping things simple and letting Tony Khan decide where he fits.
During an interview with The Wrestling Classic, Jericho was asked what makes this chapter of his AEW career different from everything he has done since joining the company in 2019. Jericho said he never approached his return as a total reset, although the stripped-down “Jericho” presentation was inspired by iconic self-titled albums.
“I mean, I don’t know if I really had, ‘This is going to be different.’ You always change things up, and with just the Jericho concept of kind of the self-titled album, that was where I got that idea from—like the Black Album from Metallica or the White Album from The Beatles. You didn’t even have to put an album title on those records. You knew who it was.”
Jericho explained that his name now carries memories from every version of his character. At this stage, he doesn’t believe he needs another nickname or identity to tell fans who he is.
“That’s why I was thinking it was just Jericho. You have all of the memories of all the gimmicks that Jericho did. I didn’t really need some name to come back with because the name is Jericho, right? It brings back whatever memories you can conjure from all the times.”
As for his actual role in AEW, Jericho said he is there to contribute however Tony Khan sees fit. He pointed to his recent work with Ricochet, Tommaso Ciampa and Kevin Knight, along with his appearance as part of the all-star team at Arena México.
“That was kind of one thing that I thought would be a little bit different, but it’s just to contribute in any way that Tony wants me to at this point. It’s not like I’m on the show every week, but I’m on most weeks, and kind of whatever he wants me to do.”
“We started off with Ricochet, which was great. Went to the Ciampa thing, which was awesome, and then the all-star team at Arena México, and then Kevin Knight a couple weeks ago. It’s fun to work with people that I’ve never worked with before. There are a lot of great young guys on our roster.”
Jericho also credited AEW’s ability to avoid running the same matches repeatedly. Even after being with the company since its launch, he still sees plenty of untouched opponents and combinations.
“There are a lot of guys I could have great matches with that I’ve worked with before in AEW. We don’t do a lot of repeat matches. That’s the thing. I worked with Ospreay once. I worked with Kenny once, maybe twice, in AEW.”
“Teaming with the Young Bucks was great. Teaming with the Hurt Syndicate was great. I’ve really been happy with all the stuff that I’ve been doing because it really is a lot of variety. It’s been very cool.”
Jericho later made it clear that AEW shouldn’t be built around him at this point in his career. He sees his job as helping the company establish the wrestlers who will carry it into the next generation.
“That’s how the business works. That’s the way it should work—you build stars that can take over for the next generation. The show doesn’t need to be built, and shouldn’t be built, around Chris Jericho at this point. But I think anything that I do has some merit, and people enjoy watching because it’s been such a long time and we don’t know how much longer it’s going to be. So, I think people are enjoying it more this round as well.”
Jericho may no longer want AEW centered on him, but he clearly believes he can still bring something valuable whenever Tony Khan puts him on television. His current run is less about chasing another reinvention and more about using his name, experience and remaining time to help wherever AEW needs him.
What do you think about Chris Jericho’s current role in AEW, and how would you use him moving forward? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
