Backstage News On How Chris Jericho Match On AEW Dynamite Came About

Last night's installment of "AEW Dynamite" was certainly eventful, with MJF's first defense of the AEW World Championship, another entry into the best-of-seven series between Death Triangle and The Elite, and plenty more. However, the biggest surprise on the show was undoubtedly the upset victory by young star Action Andretti over former world champion Chris Jericho. On the latest "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer revealed how the match came together.

"The story behind this is that ... Action Andretti had a match on one of the streaming shows against QT Marshall," Meltzer said. "Chris Jericho was watching the match and decided, at that moment, that this guy's going to be a star. So he decided that he was going to make him a star." Once that happened, Jericho and presumably AEW President and Head of Creative Tony Khan began putting together the plan for the match once Jericho finished his feud against Claudio Castagnoli. That rivalry culminated this past Saturday at Ring of Honor's Final Battle pay-per-view, when Jericho lost the Ring of Honor World Championship to Castagnoli by tapping out to Castagnoli's Giant Swing.

Andretti began his career in 2019, and has wrestled for independent promotions such as GCW and CZW. Most of his matches, however, have taken place in Maryland Championship Wrestling, where he currently holds the MCW Heavyweight Championship. Prior to last night's "Dynamite" match, and his earlier bout against QT Marshall, Andretti has made only a few appearances for AEW, competing in a handful of enhancement matches against the likes of Dante Martin and Private Party. Now, it seems like the sky is the limit for the talented young athlete, as a victory over Chris Jericho indicates the company has big plans for Andretti moving forward.