The Big Picture

Chris Jericho's status for Wednesday's AEW Dynamite in Fairfax, Virginia remains up in the air following recent backstage reports. Whether he shows up or not, his shadow over the company is massive. Over the last seven years, he has been a foundational pillar, a locker room leader, and sometimes a frustrating screen-time hog.

As we look toward Double or Nothing next month, it's worth evaluating his actual on-screen output. He has main-evented pay-per-views, launched dozens of catchphrases, and wrestled everyone from absolute legends to total rookies. Love him or hate him, AEW does not survive its infancy without his star power. Here are the top 10 moments of Chris Jericho's AEW career, ranked from worst of the best to the absolute peak.

The Top 10 Countdown

10. The Inaugural AEW World Championship Win (All Out 2019)

It wasn't a five-star classic, but it was structurally necessary for the survival of the promotion. Beating Hangman Adam Page to become the first AEW World Champion legitimized the entire project in the eyes of television executives. Jericho was the recognized face to casual fans flipping channels on Wednesday nights.

The match itself relied heavily on brawling and veteran pacing rather than the athletic fireworks we expect from modern main events. Still, the image of him hoisting the belt—before famously losing it at a Tallahassee steakhouse just hours later—set the tone for year one. It proved the company was a viable national touring brand.

9. Dropping the ROH Title to Claudio Castagnoli (Final Battle 2022)

Jericho’s run as "The Ocho" revitalized the Ring of Honor brand during a weird transitional phase for Tony Khan's secondary promotion. He leaned heavily into his sports entertainment roots, actively mocking the pure wrestling ethos that ROH was built upon. He threw fireballs, cheated constantly, and insulted the legacy of former champions.

The payoff at Final Battle in Texas was brilliant. He finally tapped out to the giant swing, giving the crowd exactly what they wanted. It was the perfect comeuppance for a wildly arrogant heel run. He elevated the belt and gave Castagnoli a career-defining singles win under the Khan umbrella.

8. The Action Andretti Upset (Winter is Coming 2022)

Nobody saw this coming on a random Wednesday night. Jericho was fresh off his ROH title run and took a clean, undeniable pinfall from an unknown local talent. The Texas crowd completely lost their minds as Andretti hit a running shooting star press for the three-count.

It was a direct throwback to the 1-2-3 Kid beating Razor Ramon in 1993. Unfortunately, this led directly into what fans groaningly call the "Jericho Vortex," where feuds drag on for months past their expiration date. The initial shock of the upset was incredible television, even if the subsequent booking killed Andretti's momentum completely.

7. The First Stadium Stampede (Double or Nothing 2020)

Pandemic wrestling was largely miserable, filled with empty arenas and awkward silence. This cinematic match single-handedly saved the pay-per-view and maybe AEW's momentum. The Inner Circle battling The Elite in an empty Jacksonville NFL stadium gave us some of the most ridiculous, entertaining spots of the era.

Jericho complaining about a challenged call via the replay booth while brawling through the concourse was comedic gold. He later took a One-Winged Angel from Kenny Omega through a platform in the stands. It showed his willingness to embrace absurdity when the traditional crowd-popping playbook was stripped away by COVID-19. It remains a bizarre high point of a dark year.

6. Defeating Eddie Kingston (Revolution 2022)

This match slapped from the opening bell. Kingston forced Jericho to dig deep into his old-school, hard-hitting Japanese roots from his WAR days. They beat the hell out of each other for nearly 17 minutes. Kingston dumped him on his head repeatedly, and Jericho responded with brutal strikes.

Jericho eventually won with a Judas Effect, but the story was the sheer violence of the encounter. He refused to shake Kingston's hand afterward, cementing his heel turn into the Jericho Appreciation Society. It was one of his best pure wrestling matches in AEW, proving he could still go in a high-stakes singles bout when the storyline demanded it.

5. The "Lexicon of Le Champion" (Dynamite 2019)

Sometimes a simple backstage promo spawns an entire empire of merchandise. Standing in the concourse with a clipboard, Jericho read a list of people he refused to wrestle, including Moxley, Cody, and a random guy from the production truck. He eventually demanded "a little bit of the bubbly" to celebrate his greatness.

It was entirely improvised on the spot. Within 24 hours, the phrase was everywhere and AEW was selling thousands of t-shirts. It highlighted his unmatched ability to get literally anything over with the audience. The segment established him as an entertaining, cowardly champion who desperately wanted to avoid actual physical combat.

4. The "Me and My Shadow" Musical (Dynamite 2020)

Wrestling is inherently ridiculous, and this segment embraced that fact fully. Jericho and MJF performing a fully choreographed, lip-synced rendition of a classic show tune in a steakhouse was unlike anything ever seen on a wrestling program. It was highly divisive. Some wrestling purists hated it and called it an embarrassment.

But it was a massive ratings hit and perfectly illustrated the massive, fragile egos of both characters. It set the stage for their eventual blood feud. It took serious guts to air something so radically different on a prime-time wrestling show, and Jericho pulled it off with total commitment.

3. The Blood and Guts Bump (Dynamite 2021)

The optics were heavily criticized online, but the commitment to the bit was undeniable. At the end of a grueling dual-cage match, MJF threatened to throw Jericho off the roof of the structure unless his team surrendered. They did, but MJF threw him anyway. Jericho crashed through the steel stage below.

Yes, the crash pad was a bit too obvious on camera, and the painted cardboard boxes were clearly visible. But a man in his fifties taking a fall from that height on free television is genuinely insane. It was a massive spectacle that capped off a brutal, bloody war between the Inner Circle and The Pinnacle.

2. The Inner Circle Formation (Dynamite Episode 1, 2019)

The first episode of Dynamite needed a major hook to keep viewers coming back for week two. It got exactly that when Jericho aligned with Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana, and Ortiz in a shocking closing segment. They systematically laid out The Elite and stood tall as the show went off the air.

It established the primary antagonist faction for the first two years of the company's existence. Jericho suddenly wasn't just a veteran singles star; he was a ruthless mob boss running roughshod over the roster. This stable gave younger guys like Guevara invaluable television time and structured the entire main event scene.

1. Dropping the Title to Jon Moxley (Revolution 2020)

This is still the absolute peak of AEW storytelling. Jericho's reign of terror collided perfectly with Moxley's runaway momentum as the hottest anti-hero in wrestling. The build was flawless, complete with Jericho spiking Moxley in the eye with a spike from his jacket. The championship match in Chicago was electric from the start.

When Moxley revealed he could actually see out of his injured eye, dodging the Judas Effect and hitting a double underhook DDT, the arena exploded. Jericho played the role of the vanquished, shocked tyrant flawlessly. It was the exact right time to change the title, executing a long-term storyline with zero flaws.

Final Thoughts

Chris Jericho will eventually retire, and when he does, his AEW run will be viewed as the most critical chapter of his late career. He legitimized a startup and gave it a recognizable face.

While the recent years have been plagued by overly long storylines and a desperate need to cling to younger, hotter acts, his initial three years were virtually flawless.

Honorable Mentions

  • His surprise debut attack on Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing 2019.
  • The bizarre Mimosa Mayhem match with Orange Cassidy.
  • Surviving Nick Gage in a terrifying deathmatch on Dynamite.