Chris Jericho is more interested in first-time-ever matches than he is in rekindling old rivalries.
When wrestlers who have a storied history in one promotion turn up in another, many fans hope that the rivalry will be revisited in the near future. The results of this tactic have been mixed to say the least. While Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have had excellent matches in every promotion they have been a part of, many were left underwhelmed when former New Japan rivals AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura revisited their feud in WWE in 2018.
Although Jericho has been a part of AEW since day 1, many top stars from WWE have made their way over to the promotion in the past 5 years, including 2 that the former World Champion is very familiar with. As seen at WrestleDream in October, Adam Copeland appeared in another promotion for the first time in over 25 years. Looking to reunite with Christian Cage, Copeland was explicitly rejected by the TNT Champion and has recently faced off against his longtime friend on Dynamite, rekindling their WWE rivalry from more than 20 years ago. Despite Jericho having a history with both wrestlers, he has other opponents he’d rather face.
Speaking with Dallas Morning News, Jericho discussed his past rivalries and stated that at this stage in his career he would rather face newer opponents:
“There’s no timeline on what I’m doing. So there’s really, probably no rush. I have a different opinion. I’ve wrestled Adam Copeland so many times and Christian so many times that I would rather not wrestle against those guys. I mean, obviously, we could have a great match. But I really enjoy working with kind of everybody that I haven’t worked with before.
“I think Swerve Strickland is amazing. I think Mark Briscoe is amazing, just off the top of my head of guys I’ve never stepped in the ring with. Both of those guys would be a lot of fun to have matches with. So I think right now, that’s kind of a cool place to be looking at.”
Notable opponents that Jericho has faced for the first time in 2023 have included Adam Cole and Will Ospreay, with the latter taking place in a packed Wembley Stadium.
Chris Jericho Defends AEW Criticism
2024 will be a crucial year for All Elite Wrestling as their media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is up for renewal. Some fans feel that the promotion is not in as strong of a position as it was in recent years, with ratings and live attendance being lower on average. While a portion of wrestling fans have been negative about the product, Chris Jericho has been more concerned with making the fans who are currently watching AEW happy.