"You're killing a great moment" - Chris Jericho discloses major pitch by him recently rejected in AEW
A significant idea pitched by Chris Jericho was apparently nixed by Tony Khan earlier this year.
After The Inner Circle was disbanded, The Wizard created a new stable to go with his heel turn, named the 'Jericho Appreciation Society.' The faction consists of Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker. Sammy Guevara, Tay Melo, and Anna Jay also recently joined the ensemble.
According to Jericho, the sing-along nature of his entrance song Judas was seemingly in contrast to his current heel persona. Hence, The Wizard suggested a new version of the track be used as his entrance theme to prevent fans from cheering him. Speaking on the Swerve City podcast, he said:
"When I turned heel and we did the Jericho Appreciation Society, Rich Ward actually came up with a remix for Judas. It's a little less sing-along and it was different. Tony didn't want to do it. A lot of people go, 'You're such a heel, why do you have a song that everyone sings to.' He had a great point. If we kill the song, you get one week of heat, then what do you do with your music? We have something that organically was created by our audience when they started singing Judas."
Chris Jericho further explained Tony Khan's reasoning behind rejecting the plan:
"The whole concept of what wrestling is, is to get people cheering and get people involved. Once the match starts, I'll get the heat. That song is so much a hallmark of Dynamite and AEW, to not play it just because I turned heel would be a disservice to something we created that is special." (H/T: Fightful)
The last time AEW Dynamite was in Houston, the fans sang Chris Jericho's (@IamJericho) theme song Judas in full acapella with no music.
It's one of the greatest moments in AEW's history and, to me, an iconic moment for Jericho.
#AEWDynamite https://t.co/b1lEqwIGMr
Chris Jericho also whole-heartedly agreed with Tony Khan's take on the situation and retained his original theme song despite turning heel.
Chris Jericho recently lost his world title match against Jon Moxley
While The Wizard is currently on a phenomenal run in AEW, his momentum was halted by Jon Moxley on last week's Dynamite.
A lot of tension between Champion and Challenger; it's MOX vs. JERICHO 2 for the #AEW Interim World Title! #AEWDynamite #QuakeByTheLake is LIVE on TBS! https://t.co/A7dFfdcPmT
After weeks of buildup, Chris Jericho finally faced The Purveyor of Violence with the Interim AEW World Championship on the line. While the match initially saw Jericho take control, Moxley eventually gained the upper hand after escaping his opponent's submission attempts.
Moxley later got the JAS leader to tap out to his Bulldog Choke, thus ending the match with a conclusive victory. With the return of CM Punk, it seems unlikely that the veteran will get another title shot in the near future.
Do you agree with Tony Khan's take on Jericho's entrance music? Sound off in the comments below.