After securing a massive win in the main event of AEW Dynasty, the fourth title change on the card after Willow Nightingale beat Julia Hart, Chris Jericho beat Hook, and the Young Bucks beat FTR, Swerve Strickland was on top of the world in St. Louis and eager to celebrate his accomplishment at the media scrum after the show, answering a few pressing questions before everyone packed up and left the Chaifetz Arena.

And yet, just because the show was over didn't mean the party needed to be, as with his win set, Strickland and a number of other AEW members went out to celebrate further, with Jericho deciding to give the new champion a toast welcoming him to the World Championship club.

“…is that your first hit? I said, ‘This guy’s f**king cool, man.’ Like, there’s something about him.’ And I remember watching some of your earlier matches, I think we even talked in Fort Myers ‘Eh don’t do this. Do this,’ it didn’t matter. Matches are fine. I’m telling you right now, the most important thing about wrestling is character, charisma, persona, and the ‘X’ factor, the cool factor. He had it from the start, and he’s a great worker as well. And, on top of that, he’s a big thinker. He thinks outside of wrestling. He just performed at Rolling Loud, which was f**king crazy to get onto that bill. It’s amazing, and it reminds me of early Fozzy stuff, where they’re like ‘What? How’d he get on this bill?’ It’s because he’s a hustler, he’s an entertainer, he’s really really really good at what he does, and I knew about six months ago, ‘Okay, this is our guy. This is the next guy.’ I would have done it two months earlier, armchair booking, but it worked out great,” Chris Jericho declared in front of the crowd.

“There’s only been eight champions in AEW. Eight different guys, some back and forth. He’s number eight. And five years, that’s a long time. We don’t change the titles to the world title very often unless it’s the absolute right guy. He is the right guy for the job, he’s got the cool X-Factor, and if I was the big wig in AEW – maybe I am – I would put you on every f**king talk show, I would promote you in every single way, because you have what we need, which is the ability to crossover into the mainstream, and I’m super proud of you, man, and I knew you had it since Day 1, but a lot of guys have it and aren’t able to make it happen. You did, and now it’s your time, and I would push you to the f**king limit till the cows come home, and I’m gonna do my best to make sure that happens.”

While only time will tell how long Strickland ends up holding AEW's top title, as there's a big difference between being the hunter and the hunted in professional wrestling, one thing that no one, not even his eventual victor can do is take away his spot in that Elite fraternity, as he's now one of only eight men to hold the title and no one can take that away from him.

Chris Jericho thanks fans for supporting him at AEW Dynasty.

While Chris Jericho didn't win the big one at AEW Dynasty, he did leave the show with a new belt in his war chest, winning the FTW Championship off of Hook while his father, Taz, watched on. Addressing the match on social media, Jericho thanked fans for their support at the show as he's proud to keep helping to elevate the next generation of AEW stars.

“Thanks to all of you who believed in me and cheered me on tonight in St. Louis and at home, as I WON the FTW Title from Hook at AEW Dynasty tonight!” Chris Jericho explained on social media. “Your love and encouragement took me to new heights and helped me to beat Hook, who was at his best tonight!! The Learning Tree promises to give Hook and all of the AEW talent who are in the Jericho Vortex only the best lessons… both in the ring and in life. See you on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday…new champ is out!”

Unfortunately for Jericho, his reaction at AEW Dynasty was anything but uniformly kind, as he received chants of “please retire” and other similarly antagonistic reactions that far exceeded the way a heel is usually treated by AEW's crowd. Could “The Ocho” chalk that up to being an effective heel? Sure, but if the boos keep coming, he might have to re-evaluate where he stands in the AEW landscape and how to repackage his character to be more complementary to the very talent he wants to help.