Exclusive: Chris Jericho Raves About AEW’s Four Pillars Ahead Of Double Or Nothing Title match

Chris Jericho is many things. He has been Le Champion. For much of AEW’s four year history he has been the ‘Demo God’. He is, at some points, The Painmaker. Let us not forget that he has also been the leader of The Inner Circle and is now the figurehead of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

But perhaps most importantly, Chris Jericho is the man who is helping build All Elite Wrestling’s future.

He is not doing it alone, of course, with the likes of Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley also heavily credited in recent months with their roles as locker room leaders in AEW. They too have worked up and down the card with many potential stars of tomorrow.

But for Jericho, his work will be on full display in this Sunday’s main event at AEW’s Double or Nothing Pay-Per-View in Las Vegas.

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The former Y2J will not be an active participant in the match, however. But his fingerprints will be all over it.

This is because half of the combatants in the fatal four way for MJF’s AEW Title have sat under Jericho’s learning tree for large swathes of their AEW careers.

The Four Pillars Fight For The Title

Sammy Guevara has been an integral part of both The Inner Circle and the Jericho Appreciation Society. Current World Champion MJF, meanwhile, was once aligned with Jericho as part of The Inner Circle, before turning on his mentor and putting on one of AEW’s most memorable feuds, in 2021.

Now both men find themselves headlining a marquee PPV event for the promotion’s biggest prize. Two of AEW’s ‘four pillars’ alongside the bout’s other two competitors; Darby Allin and Jungle Boy Jack Perry.

Speaking exclusively to SPORF earlier this week, Jericho expressed his admiration and pride for all involved in the upcoming title match.

“That’s why I worked with Max for a year and why I’ve had Sammy with me pretty much since he came into the company, with the exception of a few months. Those guys were always earmarked to be stars.

“And Darby and Jungle Boy too, I worked with them the first few months of AEW’s existence and realised they were both amazing.”

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Jericho has made a point of working with a plethora of All Elite’s young roster. Although online, as is so often the case with wrestling Twitter, said work has not always been met with much appreciation from some corners of social media.

“It’s funny when I get buried online for ‘burying’ the young guys, it’s like you really don’t understand what I’m doing and don’t even really watch the show because it’s been the exact opposite of that.

“And I think we’ve done a great job in building these guys. To have four of them in the main event and to see how they’ve all flourished as talkers, because they can always wrestle but character and talking is the most important thing. So I really enjoy that side of it, to see those guys in that spot.

Chris Jericho – Building AEW Title Winners Since 2019

Jericho, now 52, was crowned as AEW’s inaugural World Champion, bubbly and all, back in 2019 when he defeated ‘Hangman’ Adam Page. Page himself has since gone onto become one of the company’s most important stars, winning a World Title himself, along the way.

Similarly MJF, who spent months alongside then opposite Jericho, benefitted massively from working with one of the very best the business has ever had and now sits atop the AEW mountain as not just their World Champion, but as one of the industry’s brightest stars and a bona fide generational talent.

Guevara too has experienced title success. The 29-year-old Texan is a three time TNT Champion and has been by Jericho’s side for much of his All Elite tenure. The tutelage from his legendary mentor clear for all to see. Guevara is one of the game’s most natural heels.

It is a role wrestling fans have seen Jericho embrace to a tee for his entire career. Although, to the best of my knowledge, Guevara has not yet referenced Dexy’s Midnight Runners in a promo, like Jericho once did, so he still has plenty of work to do.

Earning It

It is easy to see why Jericho is so ready to shut down those dismissing his work as a series of burials. MJF and Guevara are undoubtedly better workers for their time on and off-screen with him.

But Jericho is also more than aware that it isn’t all about him.

“My goal and mission when I came to AEW was to build as many stars as we could, quickly, because you only have a short window of time that people are interested in this new promotion. Chris Jericho may have got them to the show but it can’t all be about me.

And build Jericho has. And he is proud of those who he has helped along the way to this main event position.

“Yeah I’m proud of them. And they’ve earned it. No one deserves it. ‘You deserve it’ is my least favourite chant. It should be ‘You earned it’, because they’ve earned that chance and that spot and they’ve done a great job with it.

Chris Jericho Has His Fingerpints All Over Double Or Nothing’s Main Event

It is hard to disagree with Jericho’s assessment. Guevara is a prodigy who has not been without his fair share of controversies. Yet the former TNT Champion has worked through these issues. Now he stands as a main event player for one of the year’s biggest shows. It is unlikely to be his last trip to the marquee.

MJF, meanwhile, to many has been born for this role. But having all the tools in the world doesn’t guarantee success. You have to know how to use them. Jericho has undoubtedly helped the young Friedman put his tools to their best possible use. Now he’s one of the most revered workers in the world. A talker who draws comparisons with Roddy Piper. A ferocious in-ring worker too.

For Jericho, this Sunday also brings Adam Cole. An unsanctioned match that promises violence aplenty. It will surely be one of the most talked about matches on the show. As Jericho’s so often are. But you get the impression that for Chris Jericho, his most important work will be on display in the main event.

AEW Double or Nothing is available via PPV on Fite TV this Sunday, May 29th

Featured Image credit: AEW