AEW superstar and former world champion Chris Jericho recently spoke with WrestleZone to talk all things pro-wrestling, including AEW continuing to deliver quality content during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights are below.
Talks about the buzz that still surrounds AEW:
It’s great having bubbly [holds up a bottle of the Bubbly] but it’s not like the Bubbly was the reason it was a good year professionally. I think that I just take things as it comes and the fact that we’re the coolest wrestling company in the world with the most buzz, and in some weeks we’re beating RAW and SmackDown in the demographics—in Canada we beat SmackDown in the ratings this week. That, to me, is the most exciting thing.
How AEW has top talent from all over the world:
We took a chance to create a whole new style of wrestling and it really made a difference. People were waiting for it and it wasn’t done half-assed, it was done very smartly and we knew we had to be different, which we are. We’ve got a dream roster for any General Manager in any sport and we’ve got our blue-chip future All-Stars, we’ve got the guys in their prime, the top-scorers, and then you’ve got guys like myself and Dustin Rhodes who have won multiple championships, “Stanley Cups”, whatever you want to say.
Thinks that crowds will come roaring back once they safely can:
I think we’ve got it down to a science right now and we’re only just beginning. We were on such a roll before the pandemic from an attendance standpoint and I think we’ve continued that roll from a quality standpoint of our show. I think once we go back on sale that we’ll be just as hot if not more so because people see that this is the real deal. We didn’t curl up and die or phone things in, we just kept going business as usual. We’d love to be traveling around the country and the world to sold-out crowds—unfortunately, we can’t right now—but we’re putting out the product right now that’s going to enable us to do that when things change.