Chris Jericho Reveals His First Idea for the Name of the Inner Circle That Tony Khan Didn’t Like, How He Initially Suggested MJF

– During the latest edition of Talk Is Jericho, AEW World champion Chris Jericho interviewed Sammy Guevara. During the show, Jericho talked about the initial plans for the Inner Circle stable and who AEW talked about joining the group before it settled on its current lineup (Jericho, Guevara, Santana & Ortiz, and Jake Hager). Below are some highlights.

Chris Jericho on the original plans for the stable: “It’s interesting because when we first started talking about the Inner Circle — I can’t remember what the initial name for it was. This is exclusive stuff. Tony’s original name — I can’t remember what it was. I didn’t like it as much. And then I came up with the idea of Fist, which would be five fingers forms a fist, and I just thought it would be some cool merch. Tony didn’t care for that one, but I had done something for BTE where I mentioned my ‘Inner Circle.’ And the [Young] Bucks were like, ‘That’s a cool name. What about the Inner Circle?'”

Jericho on how he initially suggested MJF for the group and how they came up with the other members: “So, then who’s in it, right? And one of the ideas originally was the Lucha Brothers. And I thought, ‘They’re too much superheroes. I want like killers.’ And Santana and Ortiz? Perfect. Then, I suggested MJF, and it was like, ‘We should keep him on his own.’ And then your name [Sammy Guevara] was mentioned, perfect. Sammy’s great. Now, we need a big guy. Who’s it gonna be? And they wanted to use — they just signed a boxer from the UK, and I was like, ‘He’s not big enough.’ I said, ‘[Jake] Hager’s the guy.’ So, we got him, and that’s kind of the whole thing getting together. It was very much each guy plays a role and has a certain part within the system of the circle.”

Jericho on how a random name from BTE became the name of the stable: “Yeah, you never know. It’s like “Spanish God.” I just came up with that in the ring, and you liked it. Now, you’re wearing a Spanish God jacket…”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Talk Is Jericho, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.