Chris Jericho has come to the defence of AEW.
In 2023, AEW has been more critiqued than ever before. Along with the company losing multiple stars to their biggest rival, attendance and ratings have been down on the previous year. On top of this, the weekly TV has seen a notable shift. With sports entertainment storylines revolving around MJF and the Continental Classic being heavily inspired by New Japan’s G1 Tournament, it could be argued that the promotion is having an identity crisis as it approaches its 5th year in business.
Not having that same spark as it did in 2021, a portion of wrestling fans have either stopped watching or have voiced their opinions online. While some might be bothered by the negativity, the first-ever AEW World Champion cares more about the fans who do want to watch.
Speaking with WFAA, Jericho addressed the concerns and critiques of online fans. Noting that sports fans and music fans can be the same, the AEW original believes that it a vocal minority:
“People’s opinions are opinions, especially on social media, when everybody is going to say what they think, with no consequences, and mostly negativity. I think our shows have been great, the matches have been great, and we’ve done a great job of balancing the storylines along with these amazing matches. The most important thing we’ve been doing is building stars. I’m sure people on the Dallas Cowboys or people making movies or if you’re in a band. It’s like being a KISS fan, KISS fans hate everything, but they still buy everything.
I find a lot of wrestling fans are like that too. They hate everything. If you listen to public opinion online, I should be shot and killed and never show my face on wrestling again because I’m the worst possible thing that could ever happen to the business, me still being in existence. Either you believe that or you don’t, and I don’t. I don’t think the majority of people do either, but people are still going to say that. It’s your opinion.
I never worry about people that don’t like what we do because you can’t convince them, they just don’t like it, and that’s fine. It’s your opinion. I worry about the people that do like our show and worry about making new fans of our show, that’s the most important thing,”
In a separate interview, Chris Jericho stated that he does not want to revisit WWE rivalries in AEW.
Chris Jericho Not Interested In Hall Of Fame Induction
Having memorable runs in WCW, WWE, New Japan and now AEW, few can argue that Jericho should be recognised for his achievements in the squared circle. Despite many hoping to see Le Champion attend the ceremony in the near future, Chris Jericho has no interest in being part of the WWE Hall of Fame.
H/t to Fightful.