Chris Jericho will be a key fixture in AEW for the foreseeable future.
AEW CEO, GM and head of creative Tony Khan announced Tuesday that he signed Jericho to a new deal that extends through 2025, ensuring that the inaugural AEW champion—and an integral part of the company’s past and present—will continue to play an important role in its future.
“Chris has set such a high standard for AEW,” Khan shared with Sports Illustrated. “He’s been a consistent star for us, and he finds a fresh take in everything he does.”
In addition to his must-see work on camera, Jericho has served as an important voice for AEW throughout the past three years. His experience and seasoning have been invaluable for Khan, which was again on display in recent months, when the company experienced some locker room turmoil.
“I’m a huge fan of Chris Jericho. I’ve followed his career for over 27 years, and I believe he’s putting forth one of the greatest years of his career this year,” Khan says. “He is one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling, and he is incredibly valuable for AEW.”
The reigning Ring of Honor champion, Jericho will defend the title this week on a rare Tuesday edition of Dynamite against former champ Dalton Castle. This is the early stages of a compelling story line where Jericho is mocking the legacy and lineage of the ROH title.
Wrestling fans are eager to learn more about the future of ROH, which Khan purchased earlier this year. The brand’s most recent pay-per-view took place in July with Death Before Dishonor, and all signs point to a year-end show this December with company staple Final Battle.
“We’ll have great news soon about Ring of Honor weekly shows,” Khan says. “The success of Death Before Dishonor on pay-per-view has ensured there will be more Ring of Honor pay-per-views.
“Our goal is to have one more great pay-per-view for Ring of Honor in 2022 and then follow that up with a weekly show in 2023.”
Tuesday’s edition of Dynamite will follow the decisive Yankees-Guardians ALDS Game 5 on TBS, which was originally supposed to be played on Monday night but now has the potential to be a phenomenal lead-in and bring extra viewers after being postponed due to rain. AEW is delivering four title matches on the show, including interim women’s champion Toni Storm against Hikaru Shida.
“It’s ‘Title Tuesday,’ only the second time in Dynamite history we’ll have four title matches on the same show,” says Khan, whose show time-shifted to Tuesday this week because of the ensuing ALCS featuring the Astros and the winner of Tuesday’s matchup. “We’re going to deliver in a major way.”
The brief cameo Tuesday night will allow AEW a chance to flex its muscle against WWE’s NXT, which airs weekly on Tuesdays. During their short-yet-memorable Wednesday-night battle, AEW consistently drew better numbers than NXT—and Khan is eager for the same results this evening.
“It’s important for us to be the most-watched wrestling show,” Khan says. “We want to maintain the great audience we consistently have on Wednesdays and bring it to this one-time-only Tuesday special. We want to be the number-one wrestling show this week on Tuesday.”
Khan takes pride in championing his product, and he believes AEW has quickly established itself as a “challenger brand” that even competes against WWE.
“That doesn’t mean you’re an industry leader, but it’s certainly not niche, either,” Khan says. “We are a major company. We’re the Pepsi of pro wrestling. Pepsi has their own identity and strong brand affinity, which is what we’re building, too.
“A challenger brand involves being straightforward, and we’ve tried to do that, too. I studied Burger King marketing, too. It’s really fascinating, and there have been plenty of ways to learn from their strategies.”
As AEW continues to strengthen its brand, its focus remains built around what takes place in the ring. Tuesday night’s Dynamite also includes Jon Moxley defending the AEW world title against “Hangman” Adam Page. While Kenny Omega, CM Punk, and The Young Bucks are still off television due to company suspensions, Page—who was an integral part of Punk’s disruptive post–All Out press conference—has remained part of AEW programming. Page’s promos building to this match have been solid, and this match has the potential to highlight some of the best wrestling AEW has to offer.
“‘Hangman’ Page is one of the top stars in AEW, and this match can main-event one of our pay-per-views,” Khan says. “Mox and ‘Hangman,’ they’ve both clearly represented the very best of AEW. We’ve never seen them fight one on one. After watching their promos, I think this championship fight is going to be magic.”
Tonight’s show also features a trios title match pitting Death Triangle against The Best Friends. Last week’s Dynamite closed out with Orange Cassidy defeating PAC for the All-Atlantic title. That main event showed a lot of faith in both Cassidy and PAC, and it was a centerpiece moment that Khan planned out long in advance.
“That’s a great rivalry, and their most recent chapter is the most heated,” Khan says. “The title change and orange confetti dropping was a memorable end to our international debut, in Canada, and it also sets up an exciting match tonight between Best Friends against Death Triangle. Penta and Fénix are coming off huge nights at Triplemanía in Mexico, where they each turned in amazing performances. I expect another one tonight on Dynamite.”
Dynamite will also include Renee Paquette, who has a sitdown interview with Wheeler Yuta and old friend Bryan Danielson, who was her cohost on Talking Smack in WWE. Paquette’s arrival to AEW is significant, and she will play multiple roles for the company.
“Renee is new to AEW, but she’s a very familiar face,” Khan says. “Working with her is such a great pleasure. She’s a consummate professional and brings so much knowledge and experience to our production backstage, and she’s brought her amazing presence to AEW TV. We’re very excited to have her, and this week she’s doing a sitdown interview. Her brain is so valuable for us to have backstage producing the shows.”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
