Chris Jericho has detailed how his surprise AEW return came to be and how he was able to keep it secret.
The first-ever AEW World Champion was absent for over a year prior to his return on April 1. With Jericho away for an extended period, rumours intensified that the veteran had left All Elite Wrestling and was set for a WWE return. However, in what was revealed to not be an April Fool’s Day joke, Jericho’s music hit and the former World Champion appeared live in Winnipeg.
Speaking with Renee Paquette on AEW Close Up, Jericho admitted that the return was months in the making. The AEW star also added that his dad picked him up from a private jet, along with all the things he had to do to keep the appearance under wraps until the last second:
“It was kind of months in the making. I actually flew in a private jet the night before because I didn’t want anybody to see me. My dad picked me up, I was like ‘No one is supposed to see me.’ I wasn’t at the TV hotel and basically sat in my room for 24 hours. I didn’t see any of my friends. One of my best friends was there, he flew in from Vegas for the show, and he didn’t even know I was going to be there. It was a really cool moment, and nobody knew. Tony knew and a few other people, but even when I got picked up at the hotel, the driver was like, ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’ We waited outside on the street and I didn’t even take the elevator to the lobby because if it got stuck, I’m gonna miss it! I ran down the stairs. I wasn’t leaving anything to chance. We drove down to basically behind Gorilla, waited in the car until 30 seconds before, got out of the car, and walked right out in the arena.”
“I’m Home”: Chris Jericho Addresses The Winnipeg AEW Fans
Keeping things short and sweet, Jericho simply said, ‘Winnnipeg, I’m home’ in his first appearance in over a year. Recalling advice he received from Pat Patterson while in WWE, Jericho elaborated on not giving the fans too much at once:
“It was something I learned in WWE where sometimes you don’t have to say a lot; that’s why that promo was two words. It’s a Pat Patterson thing, ‘Why throw everything out at once?’ You got the initial pop of being back on the show, let’s leave it and then explain more the following week. It was great too because the Winnipeg reaction was great, but it got better in Edmonton and better in Vancouver. It kept getting better and better. It was a reset and kind of threw a proverbial cup of cold water in everybody’s faces because nobody knew what was going on, and then it was done.”
Jericho was interrupted by Ricochet and The Demand following his return, which led to him feuding with the high-flyer through to Double or Nothing. At the pay-per-view, Team Jericho defeated Team Ricochet in a Stadium Stampede match. Jericho’s next match will see him face Tommaso Ciampa on the Beach Break special on July 8.
Featured image: AEW
