Chris Jericho recently spoke with TMZ Sports about a wide range of topics, including the possibility of Becky Lynch joining AEW after her WWE contract expires on Saturday.
It’s been reported that Lynch is taking a hiatus from WWE and will not be going to AEW.
Jericho said, “It’s very important. Because the best thing that ever happened to pro wrestling in the modern era was AEW existing. My dad played for the NHL for 10 years. And he was playing for the New York Rangers in 1972 when Bobby Hull signed with the WHA. Got a million dollars to jump from the NHL. And what did that do? It raised everybody’s salaries. He went from $35,000 to $135,000 just so they wouldn’t go to the WHA.
“That’s what happened when All Elite Wrestling started. When Chris Jericho signed there, suddenly everybody’s getting these huge raises in WWE to not come to AEW. Tony Khan, our owner, owns the [Jacksonville] Jaguars. You know, they have a lot of money in the family, so he can play that game all day long. And that’s why we brought in Will Ospreay, and Mercedes Mone, and Kazuchika Okada. You mention Becky Lynch, five years ago, Becky would have no other options. Not saying that she’s coming, but there is an option. And who knows what could happen? No one thought that Jericho would come to AEW. No one thought that [Jon] Moxley would come. Or Bryan Danielson. Or Adam Cole. Or any of these guys that have come over. So it’s exciting for the fans. And it’s exciting for the wrestlers, the talent. Because now suddenly if there’s a bidding war, that just benefits us.
“So I think it’s very important. And listen, that was one of the things of being in the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars with Nitro and Raw, you never knew who was going to show up. And when somebody new would come from whatever side it was to the other, it made things so much more exciting. So many more matches that you can have. So many more possibilities of seeing guys go up against each other that you never thought about. So it’s a really exciting time in wrestling, and that’s another reason why.“
