Chris Jericho On Why He Returned To AEW Without a Group, His Goal Since Returning

Chris Jericho has been without a group for the first time in AEW since he came back in April, something he recently explained. Jericho has been the leader of a faction throughout his time in AEW from the Inner Circle to the Jericho Appreciation Society, to The Learning Tree. However, when he returned in April after almost a year off, he became just “Jericho” and has stayed on his own.

Jericho was asked about the matter in his appearance on TMZ Inside The Ring. The AEW star talked about the point behind his past stables and why it’s different now. You can see the highlights below:

On His History With Factions In AEW:

“I mean, I think the groups were a product of necessity. Like when we started AEW, it was basically just me, Jim Ross, to a lesser extent Cody and Kenny and those guys, but they weren’t really national stars, right? So, I knew I had about a three-month window to make as many stars as I could. And of course Tony and all of us working together; it wasn’t just me. But Inner Circle, ‘Let’s put together a stable of guys instantly.’ And that’s where we got Sammy, and brought Jake Hagar back and Santana and Ortiz, who I’d never met. But at least, ‘Okay, now we have a group of guys that we can start building.’ Along with Cody and then bringing Mox in, and then having Darby and Jack Perry, and then MJF was kind of under Cody’s employ at that point. And then letting Kenny and the Bucks do what they do, and Hangman Page and Britt Baker, and kind of the early years of all of those new names.

“And suddenly within five or six months, we’ve got some actual stars. And then now the pressure is not just on me. It’s on eight of us, and now it’s 10 of us, 12 of us. So, same thing with Jericho Appreciation Society. I didn’t know anything about 2 point 0. Daniel Garcia, I barely knew. But these are Tony wanting [me] to work with these guys. Then he wants to put Sammy in, then we get Tay and then we get Anna Jay. We’re like the Rolling Stones. There’s like a bunch of guys; there’s a couple chicks. I was like — it looked cool. And I was like, ‘I like this idea.’ And then same with Learning Tree. The whole thing was an idea for a vehicle for Big Bill to kind of jump out of. And then we just didn’t — it just didn’t work out with me being gone for a year and that sort of thing, and Bryan Keith as well. But still, the goal was always to give guys a bigger platform so that they could become stars on their own.

On Coming Back Without a Group:

“When I came back in April, I just didn’t feel like I needed a stable. I wanted to kind of — it was the self-titled era of Chris Jericho, hence ‘Jericho.’ I could have had another bunch of nicknames. I trademarked a bunch, but then I’m like, ‘What’s the difference between The Cornerstone or The National Treasure, and The Learning Tree and Le Champion?’ It’s like, I don’t need that. Jericho is enough to instill whatever memories you have from 35 years of doing this. You figure it out; it’s up to you.

“And that’s like, ‘Why is he just Jericho? What’s he up to?’ Nothing. It’s just a talking point. It’s the Metallica Black Album. It’s the Beatles White Album. You just see the Beatles; you don’t need anything else. You see Metallica, you know what they do. And it was the same with Jericho. And that’s kind of why I came back with just the last name, and why I thought, ‘Well, let me just go on my own for a bit.'”

On His Goal Since He Came Back:

“I think instead of having the factions, it was working with guys. Ricochet, let’s build Ricochet and the Gates of Agony. Let’s do something with the Hurt Syndicate. Let’s do something with the Bucks and Jericho for the first time ever. That bled over into working with Ciampa and now working with Nick Wayne. The idea is to give these guys == it’s almost a task. Like, ‘Here’s your assignment when you work with Chris Jericho, and let’s build something. What is it? Is it a promo? Is it a work rate? Is it your persona? Is it your overall appearance? Is it your overall vibe?’

“And so that’s kind of what my job is at this point, is to try and help build different guys in a different way. So maybe they learn something, and I’m learning something too. And the fans are seeing a different side of these guys, and suddenly next thing you know everybody’s a little bit further up the food chain for that.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit TMZ Inside The Ring with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.