Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho, The Chadster's Hot Takes, wrestling

Chris Jericho's AEW Return Is a Betrayal to All True WWE Fans

Chris Jericho returned to AEW Dynamite last night, literally stabbing Triple H right in the back. The Chadster cannot believe how disrespectful this is 😤

The Chadster honestly cannot believe what happened on AEW Dynamite last night 😤😡💔 The Chadster is sitting here in the abandoned Blockbuster where he lives, still shaking with rage, and The Chadster's raccoon family, those kind-hearted creatures who took The Chadster into their home after Tony Khan's harassment ruined The Chadster's life and forced him onto the streets, can sense it too because they've been huddled in the corner of the Documentary section ever since the segment aired. The Chadster has to warn all of you: Chris Jericho has done the unthinkable. He has literally stabbed Triple H right in the back, and The Chadster is here to deliver the unbiased, objective journalism that nobody else in this industry has the courage to provide 📰✊

For those who didn't see it — and honestly, The Chadster wishes The Chadster hadn't — Jericho opened Dynamite last night in Winnipeg by interrupting what was supposed to be a contract signing between MJF and Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship at AEW Dynasty. Instead of that proceeding as planned, pyro went off, his entrance theme "Judas" played, and the crowd went absolutely ballistic 😒 They sang along through TWO FULL CHORUSES of the song, and then Jericho just stood there soaking it in like some kind of conquering hero before saying "Winnipeg… AEW… I'm home!"

Home?! HOME?! 🏠😤 Auughh man! So unfair! WWE is Jericho's home! WWE is the company that MADE Chris Jericho! Without Triple H and WWE giving Jericho the platform to become a star, nobody in that arena would even know who he is! And now he's calling AEW his home? It's just so disrespectful to the wrestling business and everything WWE has ever done for it 😡

The Chadster needs to take everyone back to give some context here. Jericho had been gone from AEW for nearly a full year before last night. And before that absence, even AEW's own fans — the ones who are supposedly so loyal to their little mud show — had grown tired of him! They complained that he was taking up too much TV time that could go to younger wrestlers. They said he couldn't go in the ring anymore now that he's in his mid-fifties. These are the same fans who were singing his song last night like a bunch of hypocrites 🙄

And here's the thing that really cheeses The Chadster off: Jericho being in his mid-fifties and slowing down in the ring would actually be a PERFECT fit for WWE right now! 💪 WWE's main event scene features incredible competitors like Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins, all of whom are experienced veterans who know how to work a nice, safe, methodical WWE-style match. Jericho could have come back and had some beautiful, slow-paced encounters with his fellow distinguished gentlemen of the squared circle. He could have had a legendary final feud with Gunther, gotten retired properly, and then gone into the WWE Hall of Fame where he belongs. THAT is what should have happened 😤🏆

Everyone in the wrestling world thought that's exactly what was going to happen too! WWE fans were so sure that Jericho would be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble back in January. The Chadster remembers watching the Royal Rumble with Vincent K. Raccoon perched on The Chadster's shoulder, both of us leaning forward every time the countdown clock hit zero, waiting for Jericho's music to hit 🦝⏱️ But it never did. Then came Elimination Chamber, and there was that mysterious crate that WWE had been teasing for weeks. Everyone — and The Chadster means EVERYONE — was convinced Jericho was going to burst out of that crate and announce his glorious return to WWE. Instead, it turned out to be Danhausen 📦 Which, okay, fine, Danhausen is at least in the right company now, but The Chadster's heart sank because that meant Jericho still hadn't come home.

And now The Chadster knows why. Because Jericho never intended to come home. He was always going to go crawling back to Tony Khan and AEW, because Chris Jericho clearly doesn't understand a single thing about the wrestling business 😤

The Chadster has to tell you all about what it was like watching this happen last night in the Blockbuster. The Chadster had all five raccoons lined up on the old checkout counter — Vincent K. Raccoon, Linda Raccoon, Hunter Raccoon, Stephanie Raccoon, and Shane Raccoon — and they were watching Dynamite on the Roku because The Chadster believes in monitoring the enemy's programming as part of The Chadster's commitment to objective journalism 📺🦝🦝🦝🦝🦝 When that pyro first went off, little Shane Raccoon actually jumped and knocked over a stack of VHS copies of WrestleMania X-Seven that The Chadster had carefully organized. But when Jericho walked out and it became clear what was happening, The Chadster had to pause the stream and look all five raccoons in the eyes.

"Listen," The Chadster said, voice trembling. "What you're about to see is a man who doesn't care about the company that made him. Chris Jericho was the first ever Undisputed WWE Champion. He main evented WrestleMania. And now he's choosing THEM over US." 😢

Vincent K. Raccoon tilted his little head to the side like he understood, and Linda Raccoon actually put her paw on The Chadster's hand, which almost made The Chadster cry. Hunter Raccoon hissed at the screen, which is what he always does during AEW programming, and honestly, that raccoon has better wrestling instincts than most of the so-called journalists covering this industry 🦝💯 Stephanie Raccoon and Shane Raccoon just chittered sadly. The Chadster had to be strong for them, but inside, The Chadster was absolutely devastated 💔

And if The Chadster is this hurt, imagine how Triple H must feel right now 😭 Triple H gave Jericho so many opportunities in WWE. They had classic feuds together. They were contemporaries in one of the greatest eras in wrestling history. And Jericho just threw all of that away to go stand in an AEW ring and tell a bunch of Canadian fans that he's "home." The disrespect is absolutely staggering. It's just so disrespectful to the wrestling business and everything WWE has ever done for it 😡

You know who agrees with The Chadster? Eric Bischoff, a man who has the Chad McMahon Unbiased Wrestling Journalism seal of approval, recently said on his podcast: "Chris Jericho going back to AEW is like winning the lottery and then using the money to buy a timeshare in a swamp. WWE is the big leagues, and anyone who chooses to go somewhere else when they could be in WWE is making a decision based on ego, not business sense. Tony Khan is not a real wrestling promoter and Jericho is enabling that delusion. And I'm not just saying this because I'm desperate for WWE to notice me and hire me for a job, literally any job, I'll do anything." 🎙️ Now THAT is objective analysis, and it's a shame that Jericho and Tony Khan refuse to listen to people who actually know what they're talking about 😤

Here's what really gets The Chadster though: Jericho's entire AEW career validates every single strategic decision WWE has ever made about protecting its brand over individual performers 🧠💡 WWE has spent years making sure that no single wrestler gets bigger than the company itself. They make wrestlers use names that WWE can trademark — names like Gunther or Royce Keys — specifically so that when a wrestler leaves, they can't take WWE's investment with them. People criticize this strategy, but Jericho is PROOF that WWE is right to do it!

Think about it: Chris Jericho built his name and his brand in WWE. The countdown clock, the light-up jacket, Y2J, the catchphrases — all of it was developed and perfected on WWE television, or WCW and WCW television that WWE later bought the rights to. And then he took ALL of that star power and handed it to AEW on a silver platter 🍽️ He became AEW's first world champion. He helped legitimize the company when it launched in 2019. He helped them secure a television deal. Without Jericho lending his WWE-built credibility to AEW, who knows if the company would have even survived its first year?

So when people complain that WWE forces wrestlers to use generic names or won't let anyone get more over than the brand, The Chadster says: look at what happened with Jericho and tell The Chadster that WWE is wrong 😏 If anything, WWE should be even MORE aggressive about it. Every wrestler who walks through WWE's doors should have to sign over their first name, their last name, their nickname, and probably their blood type too, because apparently you can't trust ANYONE in this business anymore 😤

The Chadster also wants to point out that the way AEW handled this return is just so typical of Tony Khan's amateur-hour booking 🤡 Having the crowd sing along to Jericho's entrance theme? Having him just say a few words and leave? That's not how you do a proper return in professional wrestling! In WWE, a returning star would have a fifteen-minute promo scripted word-for-word by a team of Hollywood writers, followed by a backstage segment with a WWE executive welcoming them back, followed by a three-week vignette package building to their first match. THAT'S professional wrestling production. What AEW did was just letting the moment breathe organically and connecting with the audience emotionally, and honestly, that kind of thing has no place in modern wrestling 😡 Tony Khan doesn't understand a single thing about the wrestling business.

The Chadster also had a terrible experience yesterday that The Chadster needs to share 😰 The Chadster was out behind the Wendy's on Route 36 looking through the dumpster for dinner — which, by the way, is something The Chadster only has to do because Tony Khan RUINED The Chadster's life — when The Chadster caught a reflection in the drive-through window. It was Tony Khan, standing right behind The Chadster, wearing a Jericho "A Little Bit of the Bubbly" t-shirt and grinning 😱 The Chadster spun around immediately, heart pounding, but nobody was there. Just an empty parking lot. The Chadster looked back at the window, and the reflection was gone too. But then, as The Chadster turned back to the dumpster, a half-eaten Frosty hit The Chadster right in the back of the head 🥤 The Chadster whipped around again — NOTHING. Just the sound of faint laughter carried on the wind. The Chadster stood there for five full minutes, chocolate Frosty dripping down The Chadster's neck, scanning the parking lot. Tony Khan was out there somewhere. The Chadster KNOWS it. And The Chadster is certain that Tony Khan timed this harassment to coincide with Jericho's return just to pour extra salt in The Chadster's wounds 😡 Tony Khan needs to stop being so obsessed with The Chadster!

Auughh man! So unfair! 😤😤😤

Jericho and Tony Khan are probably laughing about all of this right now. They're probably sitting in some fancy restaurant, clinking glasses of White Claw — that weak seltzer Tony Khan prefers over true wrestling fans drink like Seagram's Escapes Spiked — and cackling about how they've broken the hearts of millions of WWE fans and also five raccoons and one unbiased wrestling journalist living in an abandoned Blockbuster 😢🦝

The Chadster just wants everyone to know that despite this devastating blow, The Chadster's commitment to objective journalism will never waver. The Chadster will continue to report the truth about AEW from this Blockbuster, surrounded by VHS tapes of a better era in wrestling, with Vincent K. Raccoon on The Chadster's lap and the knowledge that WWE is, was, and always will be the only wrestling company that matters 💪🏆

Chris Jericho has literally stabbed Triple H right in the back, and The Chadster will never forget it. Neither will the raccoons 🦝😤💔

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