Chris Jericho has dubbed himself "The Learning Tree" of AEW, though there are those who feel the 53-year-old former WWE Champion is using younger talent to elevate his position in the company.
Talking on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, the inaugural AEW World Champion hit back at those who criticise him for the way he's positioned in AEW (and the general belief he uses up-and-comers to remain relevant).
"You want to feature them as much as possible," Jericho said of AEW's rising stars. "That's the one of the things critics would say, 'Oh, Jericho's selfish and blah blah blah,' but that's how you get fans to understand who these guys are. I did it with Danny Garcia, I did it with Sammy Guevara, I did it with MJF, I did it with Orange Cassidy. 'Who are these guys?'"
"And then you work with them and then people get more comfortable with who they are," he added, taking at least some credit for helping to highlight those and other wrestlers he's stepped into the ring with in AEW.
Still, with 34 years of experience as a pro wrestler, Jericho knows the role he plays at this stage of his career and plans to continue working with those who likely grew up watching him on TV.
"My job is to just kinda stand obviously in the forefront because of just the name value and the legacy that I have," Jericho explained. "But the bottom line is to always make sure that those guys continue to grow and get ahead and most importantly get confidence. When you get confidence in this business, that's when you get great, and you can handle any situation."
Bringing up his feuds with Hook and Jack Perry, Jericho shared his belief that they gained confidence after sharing the ring with Le Champion
"You're getting to figure out who you are as a performer and where you stand in the business and in the company, and that's where guys really continue to grow."
In 2019, Chris Jericho was one of AEW's biggest acquisitions, and he's remained a top star in the company ever since. Unfortunately, even after becoming the first-ever AEW World Champion, Jericho's star has never risen quite as high as when he was in WWE.
However, he's previously dismissed the possibility of being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and doesn't seem keen to return to the company.
"I had a great 20 years there, but I’ve had a great going on five years here in AEW; I love working here, like I love working with Tony Khan," Jericho said. "And WWE is [a] completely different animal now than it was when I left in 2017. So it’s not something that I really thought about."
Stay tuned for updates on Jericho and AEW as we have them.