Tony Khan: ‘Chris Jericho had a choice, and he wanted to be in AEW’

It was just one week ago that Chris Jericho showed up on Dynamite to tell everyone in Winnipeg (where he’s from, you idiot) and in AEW that he is “home.” This came after many months of speculation that the artist formerly known as Y2J could be headed back to his other home, WWE, where he would embark on a retirement tour and leave his boots in the ring like John Cena and AJ Styles.

He got to explore his options, and maybe he came close to heading back to Connecticut, but Jacksonville had the right offer and, if we’re to believe Tony Khan, the man who runs the joint, he truly wanted to be in AEW. That’s what he said on Coach & Bro (via Wrestling Observer):

“I do know that Chris had a choice, and he wanted to be in AEW. He would be the best person to ask. But I know that I’ve been in communication with Chris. He told me he definitely wanted to be in AEW and very specifically in Winnipeg on that date. We’ve had that circled for a long time going back to last year.”

Khan wanted it known, clear and loud as day, that Jericho really loves AEW:

“It was a choice that Chris made, rather being in AEW than wrestling anywhere else, and I think that’s awesome. So I can’t say for sure Coach exactly what his mind was or what he was thinking but he definitely has been consistent that he loves AEW and that he wants to be here and I’m glad he chose to be in AEW and that’s a choice he made because he was a free agent.”

I’m reminded of the tell all interview Jericho did with Jon Moxley after his WWE exit back in 2019 where they spoke on creative freedom being such a big driver of their respective decision to leave and sign with AEW. Perhaps that’s still true all these years later.

Thoughts?