AEW News: Backstage News On How Chris Jericho Has Influenced Company, Has Been Critical Of Superstars
Many believe that Chris Jericho is one of the best pro wrestlers of all time, and the key to his longevity is his great mind for the business. However, his talents also extend to giving advice backstage, and he’s been lending his expertise to All Elite Wrestling.
According to Fightful Select, by the way of Sportskeeda, the legendary superstar — and current AEW World Champion — is reportedly “outspoken about his thoughts backstage,” and he’s been both complimentary and critical of the company’s creative direction.
The report states that he’s shared his thoughts on his own creative direction, as well as on matters that don’t involve him. The superstar appears to be keen on using his experience to help make AEW a better product as a whole, and some of his advice has had an effect on certain superstars.
During a recent appearance on the Keeping It 100 podcast, as quoted by Sportskeeda, Jericho spoke about his issues with the AEW tag team division — or Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix of the Lucha Bros, to be specific — in an effort to iron out a notable flaw.
While he was full of praise for Pentagon Jr and Fenix as talents, he revealed that he wasn’t a fan of them incorporating Lucha Libre tag rules into their matches. For weeks, the duo weren’t physically tagging each other into the ring, which Jericho felt was “lazy.” Eventually, he spoke his mind, and changes were implemented shortly afterwards.
“Fenix and Penta are amazing. It blew my mind every week. And once we had a couple of talks with them, guess what they started doing? They started tagging. Maybe it was a habit or maybe nobody told them. You got a whole locker room of guys who have basically just worked indies their whole careers.”
Chris Jericho’s (@IamJericho) statement on Missing #AEW World Championship – Worldwide Investigation Launched pic.twitter.com/aLubwjkpW6
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 4, 2019
Jericho has over 30 years of experience under his belt, while the majority of AEW’s roster are all young superstars who worked in independent promotions before joining the company. Mistakes are expected to be made early on, but having personnel like Jericho around ensures that they can be eradicated before they become a big issue.
Jericho is arguably the biggest star in AEW at the moment, and he’s also proof that wrestlers can have a long career and continually reinvent themselves in order to remain relevant for decades. Therefore, it’s highly likely that most of the company’s younger performers and executives will take his advice on board.
