Chris Jericho Discusses Why He Chose To Sign With AEW Over WWE
Speaking on a live edition of his "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, AEW star Chris Jericho elaborated on his decision to sign with the company instead of returning to WWE. Jericho revealed that he was insulted about the placement of his and Kevin Owens' match at WrestleMania 33 after the pair had what Jericho considered the best storyline of the year.
"The thing that bugged me was they put our match second on WrestleMania. Now, anybody who knows anything about the order of WrestleMania from a professional standpoint, if you can't be last, you want to be first," Jericho said. "Semi-main event is good, and then there's a real kind of long area in that ... three -or four-hour long show. Going second is kind of insulting.
"That's when I was like, 'I'll never go past second match here in WWE.' This is kind of the best story, it's the best time ... and second? That's it? ... That's kind of where I made the decision [that] I don't really want to work here anymore."
Jericho would go on to have a run in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he wrestled against the likes of Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito at consecutive Wrestle Kingdom events.
Jericho Joins AEW
During this period, Tony Khan began talks with Jericho to recruit him for AEW. "When I started thinking about going to AEW, it really re-ignited my passion and love for wrestling, and more importantly ... I could really cement my legacy with this," Jericho said.
Before making his final decision, Jericho did engage in negotiations with WWE. "I did give WWE a chance, though. ... I said, 'Here's the offer that I've gotten for this new company,' and I was told, 'Vince [McMahon] says take it,'" Jericho said. "I think he thought I was bluffing. ... About a week later, he was like, 'You took it? ... Can you get out of it?' And I'm like, 'No!'"
Jericho said McMahon tried to find out more details concerning the burgeoning company's TV deal and who was recruiting wrestlers for the upcoming show. "I was like, 'You can't ask me these questions!' I'm not going in there as a covert agent spy for Vince McMahon," Jericho said. "Once I took the deal with Tony, I [was] full-on 1,000% no looking back, let's create some history, and that's what we did."
Jericho would go on to become AEW's first world champion at All Out in 2019, and has been a mainstay on television for the growing company.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription