Chris Jericho Names AEW Stars He Initially Wanted In The Inner Circle

Before there was the Jericho Appreciation Society there was the Inner Circle which consisted of Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz, and for a few months, MJF and Wardlow were part of the faction as well. The wrestlers who wound up being in the Inner Circle were not the first choices, however, as former AEW World Champion Jericho named stars he and AEW CEO Tony Khan initially wanted in the stable.

"Nobody that was actually in the Inner Circle was pitched first," Jericho said on "Talk Is Jericho." "I suggested MJF, but he was doing something with Cody and he wasn't the right guy, and I had seen Sammy Guevara on an NWO pay-per-view and I called Cody and Tony and, 'We should sign this guy, he looks really good' ... I was thinking Fenix and Pentagon and then Tony had suggested Santana and Ortiz who I didn't even know. ... I didn't know their work, but I knew they were good. So, I was like, 'Okay, let's use those guys.'"

Jericho revealed who Khan initially wanted as the muscle of the Inner Circle. "He had suggested Anthony, Gogo, Ogogo as the heater and I had been training at a kickboxing gym where Jake Hager also trained ... [WWE] didn't use him up to his potential. They just never found a thing for him. Vince didn't like him because he has a lisp ... Vince doesn't like Cesaro because he is from Switzerland."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.