Chris Jericho Lavishes Praise On Top AEW Star, Calls Him 'Our Team Captain'

Veteran AEW star Chris Jericho has explained why current AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland is the promotion's captain.

Strickland, who joined AEW in 2022, won his first world championship earlier this year when he defeated Samoa Joe at Dynasty. He has since been on a roll, and his first title reign has impressed Jericho, who in a recent interview with "Sports Illustrated," discussed how Strickland is only going to grow and improve.

"This is only his first time as champ and look what he's doing. Wait until the second time and the third time and the fourth time. He has star written all over him," said the inaugural AEW World Champion. 

Jericho further went into detail about what has impressed him most about Strickland, and how he is, in a way, their captain. "His persona is larger-than-life, he works extremely hard, and he's a good f—— person. His energy is amazing–the man can tear the house down. Swerve is our team captain right now, and I'm proud to be on that roster," said Jericho.

Like Jericho, Strickland too was a part of WWE prior to joining AEW. But unlike Jericho, the AEW World Champion did not have much success in WWE and was eventually released by them, which is a decision that has surprised Jericho. He feels that Strickland and his former rival MJF surprise him in many ways, while also adding that Strickland has the potential to be even bigger and is only just getting started. 

Since winning the world title in May, Strickland has defended it against some big names, which includes the likes of Will Ospreay and Christian Cage. He will next defend his title against Bryan Danielson at this month's All In pay-per-view, in a title vs. career match.