Chris Jericho Discusses Working With Will Ospreay At AEW All In At Wembley
Chris Jericho may not have been a part of AEW All Out this past weekend, but he was a focal point of the biggest show in AEW history, All In at Wembley Stadium, just a week before that. And even though Jericho came up short in his battle with IWGP United Kingdom Champion Will Ospreay, the first-ever AEW World Champion is still really happy with how the match turned out.
On "Talk is Jericho," Jericho spent the whole episode talking about the Ospreay match, and All In, including some of the build-up. And Jericho revealed there was some amount of realism to his rivalry with Ospreay, particularly things that were brought up during their contract signing just days before All In on "AEW Dynamite." "That story I told about cold calling Will to tell him to tone things down so he would have some longevity, like me, that was real," Jericho said. "Will and I have always had a great relationship. He actually called me a few times to get advice on how to be a heel ... When he was stuck in Japan, during the lockdown, he called me."
"So Will and I have always had that friendship. So it was actually 100% legit, what I said in my promo, and 100% legit what he said about this being a huge year for him, and Wembley really putting the icing on the cake for the Will Ospreay story when his contract is up in a few months. He does have millions of dollars coming to him, no matter who he signs with."
Chris Jericho Describes Backstage Atmosphere At AEW All In
Jericho then discussed putting together the match, which he said was a collaboration between himself, match producer Jerry Lynn, and, for the most part, Ospreay himself. "I kind of wanted to see what he came with and kind of took away the burden of me having to worry about coming up with the whole match," Jericho said. "I always go online and watch 'The Top Moves of Will Ospreay' for example."
"Then I watched the match he had against Kenny and the match he just had against Naito. Both were excellent, he knocked Naito the f**k out. He carried him through the finish, even though he was knocked out. I just came in there with a clean slate, just to see kind of what would happen." As for the whole show, Jericho revealed he took it upon himself to try and remind talents working All In just how big a deal the event was.
"Any time you have a big show like that, there's a certain vibe to it," Jericho said. "Everyone knows that it's not just another show. We had a big team meeting on Zoom to discuss, kind of, the protocols and that sort of thing. At the end of the meeting, I just told everybody 'Just enjoy this. This is not something that happens every day. It might never happen again.' Once again, the biggest wrestling show of all time. Think about that; I've been doing this for 33 years, and I'm having my biggest show ever on this day? After thousands and thousands of matches? Just a really cool vibe and a really cool moment."
Chris Jericho Calls All In Match With Will Ospreay One Of The Best Matches Of The Night
As for the match itself, Jericho thought he and Ospreay measured up well to everything else that occurred on the show. He also believes it's the type of match that put many of his critics in their place.
"I think it was one of the best matches of the night," Jericho said. "And the thing about the show, it wasn't just one show stealer. There was the main event between MJF and Adam Cole, that was great. There was FTR vs. Young Bucks, that was great. And then there was Stadium Stampede, that was amazing. There was quite a few matches in there that people might think was the best one on the show. And the fact that some thought ours was is an honor to me."
"It's just one of those moments. Will and I shared something that can never be duplicated, and it's something that no one will ever know what else it was like, to be in the ring for Jericho and Ospreay for our first-ever confrontation, and have such a great match, and a match that was so critically acclaimed. And once again, me just shoving it at the social media haters' asses."
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.