It's clear that the relationship between Chris Jericho and Tony Khan has generally been fruitful, but the co-owner and President of AEW shot down an idea that could have worked out well on television. On the surface, it looks like the veteran wrestler gets to do about anything he wants inside All Elite Wrestling. Sometimes Dynamite and Rampage feel like a playground more for Jericho than anyone else on the roster.
From The Wizard gimmick to his stint on commentary and involvement in several gimmick matches, it doesn't seem like Jericho gets told "no" all that often. This is what makes some of his recent comments even more surprising. He strives to be the biggest heel in the company, but the crowd singing every word to his entrance song, Judas, as he walks to the ring nukes the vibe entirely. Jericho is then forced to scramble on the mic to recover any heat that he was aiming for in the first place. There was a solution to this problem, but Khan shot it down.
Jericho recently appeared on the Swerve City podcast and revealed the following about his most recent heel turn and the idea TK didn't like. "When I turned heel, and the Jericho Appreciation Society was born, Rich Ward actually came up with a remix of Judas. It's a little bit less sing-a-long-y, and it's different. Tony [Khan] didn't want to do it. He wanted to keep the original song." Jericho went on to explain why that call was made. "We have something that was organically created by our audience in AEW where they started singing Judas. So, do you want to cut your nose off to spite your face and take away one of the trademarks of our shows just because you're a bad guy?" (h/t and a thank you to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription)
Pros & Cons To AEW Fans Singing Judas
To their credit, AEW and the JAS have tried to garner heat by turning off Judas as Jericho walks to the ring, denying fans the opportunity to participate in the ritual. Still, it's tough to buy anyone as a top heel when they are serenaded on the way to the ring. If a bad guy is doing a good enough job at being evil, they'll get booed, no matter what they walk to the ring to.
Considering Jericho's band, Fozzy recorded the song; it's not too difficult to understand why he wouldn't fight Khan too hard on this front. It's been his entrance song since the Alpha vs. Omega showdown at Wrestle Kingdom 12 and has served him well. It's just tricky for AEW fans to get too far beyond the concert aspect of Jericho's current shtick once he begins to wrestle.
Sources: Swerve City, WrestlingInc.com