Jim Ross Responds To Those Who Think Chris Jericho Is Too Old To Be AEW Champion

All Out received mostly positive reviews from fans and wrestling critics although not everyone was thrilled with the main event in which Chris Jericho defeated Adam Page to become the inaugural AEW World Champion.

Jericho certainly has a big enough name to be the promotion's first champ, but he is nearing 50 years old and many feel it's time for fresher faces to ascend to that position. AEW commentator Jim Ross responded to those people when he joined Busted Open Radio.

"When you're a main event guy and closing the show, you're doing it for a reason. Hopefully that reason is because you've earned that spot and you can deliver. Jericho can always deliver and the issue of ageism in that he's in his late 40s ? and that's the reason that we're not making him the champion ? that's a lame reason," stated Ross.

"Our champion has name identity and it's a name that people understand and know. The other thing is that he can have a good-to-great match with just about anybody. That versatility is important for the champion to have. He also can handle the pressure; he can do a lot of things that are gonna be required for the new AEW champion. So, I didn't have a problem with it."

While Ross is happy that Jericho was crowned the first champion, if he could change one thing about All Out it would have been to put a match in between the tag team ladder match and the main event. He thinks the excitement of that ladder match caused a natural letdown when it was time for the Jericho-Page match.

"If you have that [other] match after the ladder match, it gives fans a chance to regroup, go to the can, go get a hot dog or beer, then come back and settle back in for the main event. In hindsight that's probably what I would have done. But I thought they followed it well," said Ross.

"At the end of the match, did they have the audience? They meaning Jericho and Hangman, and they did. So I had no issues with it. Guys you know everything is subject – there's a lot of right ways to do a finish or end a match – and sometimes when those decisions are made, and you don't agree with them as a fan, you take liberties to start gutting and quartering people. I thought Jericho was a good choice and I've got no second guesses on that deal.

"I don't know if we set the table as good as we could for Jericho and Page in that last match. Again, the show was very long, maybe too long and the fans were tired and had peaked. But they got back into it thanks to the work of those two guys in the last match."