When Chris Jericho jumped ship from WWE to New Japan Pro Wrestling to challenge his fellow Winnipegger, Kenny Omega, to a match at WrestleKingdom 12, it felt like a very big deal. After spending over 20 years in WWE, with a run in WCW preceding it, Jericho was finally back on the indies and made the most of it by challenging arguably the hottest guy in the business not employed by Vince McMahon and company.
When Jericho then showed up at All In, wearing a Pentagon Jr. costume to attack Omega after his main event win over actual Penta El Zero M, it felt like a big deal too.
And finally, when Jericho was announced as an inaugural member of All Elite Wrestling alongside Omega, The Elite, and others, it elevated the then-unknown promotion to something more prestigious, with even casual fans of professional wrestling aware of the man eventually known as the company's first-ever “Le Champion.”
So naturally, when it was announced that Jericho would be Renee Paquette's guest on The Sessions, fans were eager to know about this early period of AEW history and fortunately, “The Ocho” did not disappoint.
“When AEW first started, it was on my back for the first few months and we knew this. How many stars can we make? Let’s bring in Mox. Cody wasn’t as big as he was. No one really knew who Kenny and The Bucks were. Hangman Adam Page, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy. Those were some of the guys that I can recall working with right out of the gate, like we have to get more plates spinning here.”
Fast forward three years into the future and suddenly, Jericho has found himself in a completely different role, with the inaugural AEW Champion now thrust into the role of locker room leader; a role he has come to relish and then some.
“Now that we’re three and a half years in, I have a lot of responsibilities in AEW,” Jericho said. “It’s not just in the ring, it’s a lot out of the ring. Just being Chris Jericho backstage. I have the most experience out of anybody in the company with the exception of Dustin Rhodes, but also because I came in as kind of the flagship guy. When AEW first started, it was on my back. Backstage, there is a lot of advice given out, a lot of listening, a lot of bartender listening, ‘I have a problem with this, I have a problem with that.’ There is a lot of working closely with Tony Khan.”
Though Jericho isn't technically listed as an EVP for AEW, largely because he doesn't want a title he feels would be useless, he embraces being the person responsible for helping Tony Khan's vision come to life.
“I knew it was going to be like this from the moment we started the whole concept of [executive vice presidents] and kind of that whole thing, and I knew that it wouldn’t really mean anything because it’s one boss, it’s one vision, and we have to follow that vision,” Jericho said. “I worked for Vince for 20 years and one of the reasons why I was able to get as far as I did and become as big as it is because I understood you have to do what your boss wants. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not; it doesn’t matter if you think your stuff is better.”
The Ocho, the man who is so appreciated he has his own society, the king of reinvention, the lead singer of Fozzy, the father of the Judas Effect- @IAmJericho is on The Sessions today!! Click in to listen!! pic.twitter.com/9MvjcLWCHF
— Renee Paquette (@ReneePaquette) March 9, 2023
Chris Jericho has added producer to his list of responsibilities in AEW.
Elsewhere in his interview with Paquette, Jericho discussed how his role in AEW has expanded over the years, with “The Ocho” now helping to produce many of the backstage moments on Dynamite and Rampage.
“A lot of locker room leading, especially over the last six months or so when he had to take the reigns back when there was a lot of bad publicity and uncertainty in the dressing room,” Jericho said. “Mox, Danielson, and myself kind of had to take charge because we were going to lose the dressing room and if you lose the dressing room, you’re fucked. There is a lot of that sort of thing going on. Basically, everything. It’s almost like a real general. Tony Khan probably has a lot of right-hand men, but I’m probably one of them. Also, helping out the locker room. I produce probably half the backstage promos that you see. Trying to help as much as I can.”
With Jericho already more or less guaranteed a spot in AEW as a commentator on Rampage, it's clear AEW loves having the 44-time champion around. Fortunately, it would appear that feeling is mutual.
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