WWE News: Commentators banned from mentioning former Superstar's name at Clash of Champions
Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz at the recently concluded Clash of Champions PPV. The entire story of the match revolved around The Miz winning the title and tie Chris Jericho with the most reigns in history with nine reigns.
However, it seems like the commentators were told to avoid mentioning Chris Jericho's name while they hyped up the possibility of the A-Lister winning the title for the ninth time at Clash of Champions.
On the post-show edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained why it didn't make any sense for WWE to even address Jericho's record if The Miz wasn't even booked to win.
"The one thing I thought was funny was when I mean not funny but because it was expected is, they were pushing that if Miz won that he would tie the record for most Intercontinental Championships of all time but they could not say Chris Jericho holds the record. It’s kind of like (if you can’t say it why bother saying it), especially the key why since he didn’t win. Like if he won, if he was going to win you can say that but the fact that he isn’t going to win and you can’t say Chris Jericho’s name why bring it up? It doesn’t even make any sense to bring it up."
Chris Jericho, WWE and the Intercontinental title record
Chris Jericho is one of the most decorated WWE Superstars of all time who has had nine reigns with the IC title. The Miz is currently on eight reigns and it's obvious that WWE wants the A-Lister to eventually takeover Y2J on the all-time list.
Jericho is currently the AEW World Heavyweight Champion and any mention of the Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla on WWE TV could result in negative results for Vince McMahon's company.
WWE has had a long history of avoiding former Superstars and talents who signed up with rival companies or left on bad terms. Chris Jericho is AEW's biggest star and with the impending Wednesday Night Wars on the horizon, WWE wouldn't want anything to do with Jericho.