AEW’s fans are some of the loudest in the business, and Chris Jericho, in particular, took offense at one aspect of their applause and ridicule. The Wizard is arguably the most experienced veteran of All Elite Wrestling lineups and has legitimate claims to be on professional wrestling’s Mount Rushmore. He has had massive matches in WWE, WCW, AEW and NJPW, and has successfully reinvented himself many times.
This current iteration of his heel character is a heat—seeking missile-both in the microphone and when he launches fireballs into the faces of his opponents. This has given Jericho the opportunity to speak boldly on several topics over the past few months. The Jericho Appreciation Society has remained a centerpiece of AEW programs since the days of Double or Nothing, and the veteran has been involved in a personal feud with Eddie Kingston for some time.
In a recent interview for the True Geordie Podcast, Jericho addressed wrestling fans who reproach during matches. “Anything happens during a match. Most of all, fans hate the fucking word that fans use. “Oh, you ruined it.” Shut your fucking mouth. . It’s a live show. Mistakes happen. Why? Because we are people, and we live.” He supported these thoughts, saying that fans do not repeat mistakes during other live performances. “If this happens during a hockey match, the fans don’t start chanting in chorus: “You screwed up, you screwed up.” don’t start chanting “You screwed up, you screwed up.” You go to a wrestling match and miss a throw from the hip. People start chanting. This is shit. This is shit. disrespectful. And wrestling fans are being disrespectful.” (h/t on www.sescoops.com for transcription)
You can see both sides of this argument. The general opinion has always been that when fans pay money, they can cheer or boo anyone and anything. However, Jericho doesn’t mind it. His point seems to be that if one move is executed incorrectly in the middle of a flawless 12-minute match, then negative chants are not really needed.
There have been several such examples recently. In WWE, Shotzi “failed” a couple of places during the “Money in the Bank” match on the stairs. The fan reaction was so harsh that the superstar deleted her social media accounts to preserve her mental health. It’s one thing to mock a match that just didn’t work out. However, AEW rarely, if ever, arranges such fights, and wrestlers deserve a little freedom to maneuver when it comes to holding such fights every week.
