Chris Jericho reportedly decided he was going to make a star out of Action Andretti more than one month ago.
As noted, last night’s Winter Is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite saw Jericho take a huge upset loss to Andretti. Jericho had announced that he was going to face a jobber as a warm-up for his rematch with ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, but Andretti ended up getting the win. AEW President Tony Khan then announced that Andretti is now All Elite as he has officially signed with the company.
In an update, a new report from Wrestling Observer Radio notes that Jericho watched Andretti’s fourth match with the company, and decided then that he would “make him a star.”
The match was Andretti’s loss to QT Marshall, which was taped on October 7 to air on the October 11 edition of AEW Dark. Andretti’s debut came as a loss to Dante Martin at the January 5 Elevation tapings, then he teamed with Myles Hawkins twice – for a loss to Private Party at the January 19 Elevation tapings, then for a loss to Tony Nese and Josh Woods at the October 5 Elevation tapings.
The Jericho vs. Andretti match was reportedly booked back when the QT vs. Andretti match aired, when Jericho decided that he had big plans for Andretti’s future.
Andretti is the current MCW Heavyweight Champion. Maryland Championship Wrestling congratulated him on signing with AEW.
“Congratulations to #MCWProWrestling Champion and #MCW Training Center graduate @ActionAndretti on signing with @AEW!! #AllEliteAction #ActionAndretti #AEW #AllEliteWrestling #Wrestling #CheckThisOut #Baltimore #Maryland #Sports,” MCW wrote on Instagram.
As seen in the video below, Renee Paquette spoke with Andretti for comments after his big win over Jericho. She asked him how he was feeling after the win.
“Renee, words cannot describe how I feel right now,” he said. “I just went out there and beat, like you said, the former AEW World Heavyweight Champion, and an eight-time World Champion at that. I’m pretty new to this game but that’s pretty damn good for a rookie if you ask me, and if I can do that out there against a guy like Chris Jericho, well then, Renee, I think there’s no telling the rest of the things that I can do here in AEW.”
Andretti later responded to Khan’s Twitter announcement and wrote, “THANK YOU @TonyKhan STOKED to be apart of the great team here in @AEW [fire emoji] #AllElite”
Andretti added in another tweet, “I really just pinned one of the best to ever do this…. Follow your dreams, and don’t ever let anyone tell you, that you can’t!!! @AEW @TBSNetwork [hands raised emoji]”
Andretti has been wrestling since 2021, and has appeared for GCW, CZW, WrestlePro, and others.
You can see the aforementioned posts below, along with footage from last night’s match:
Following his incredible victory over #TheOcho @IAmJericho on #AEWDynamite, an ecstatic @ActionAndretti catches up with @ReneePaquette! pic.twitter.com/jYmhDIGQcB
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 15, 2022
THANK YOU @TonyKhan STOKED to be apart of the great team here in @AEW 🔥 #AllElite https://t.co/a2OZhzXeNj
— Action Andretti (@ActionAndretti) December 15, 2022
I really just pinned one of the best to ever do this…. Follow your dreams, and don’t ever let anyone tell you, that you can’t!!! @AEW @TBSNetwork 🙌🏽
— Action Andretti (@ActionAndretti) December 15, 2022
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