Chris Jericho’s impact on AEW has been undeniable, as certainly one of the most important names to first sign with Tony Khan in 2019 and the promotion’s inaugural AEW World Champion. During an interview with GamesHub, Jericho commented on the financial impact he’s had on AEW, and compared his journey to the promotion from WWE to that of ice hockey legend Bubby Hull jumping from the NHL to an upstart league called the WHA.
“They paid him one million dollars. When he jumped, every player within the NHL got a raise,” he identified. Notably, Jericho’s father was a hockey player, and in response to the veteran, Hull’s transition into WHA bumped his father’s pay up. “The moment I left WWE, Vince was pondering, ‘It’s happening again — raise everybody’s pay.’ There had been a ceiling for years.”
Jericho further claimed that no person was paid greater than one million dollars on guaranteed contracts in WWE, and added that his move to AEW was such a serious needle-mover within the industry. “Guys began earning above it for the primary time,” he said. “That modified the whole lot in the perfect possible way.”
Chris Jericho initially ‘thought there was no way’ AEW would have the ability to step as much as WWE
Chris Jericho also noted that the competition between WWE and AEW similarly boosted WWE’s product, just as their rivalry with WCW did, and criticized the proven fact that wrestling became a monopoly again after the aforementioned promotion’s acquisition. “Once I first had a gathering with Tony Khan about this recent company, I believed there was no way it will work, because I’d heard it so persistently before,” he admitted.
The veteran then shared his belief that a successful wrestling company needs three necessary things to start out: loads of money, recent talent, and a robust TV deal. Based on Jericho, Khan had all of that. “That is all you have to start an organization. After which once we began, I knew I had about three months to construct as many guys as I could while the highlight was on me, since I used to be the one nationally recognized star besides Jim Ross,” he added.
Jericho then claimed that he closely began to work with the likes of Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Darby Allin, Scorpio Sky, and Jungle Boy, to all pass on the torch in alternative ways. “Then I put together the Inner Circle with Sammy, Ortiz, Santana, and Jake,” he recounted. “Suddenly it isn’t all on my back — it’s on six backs, then ten, then twelve. That is the way you construct an organization.”