Chris Jericho Signs with All Elite Wrestling

In a move that may turn out to be much bigger than anyone currently realizes, the new “All Elite Wrestling” promotion that was announced just last week revealed their biggest signing to date in Chris Jericho.

While starting a new promotion is a major undertaking, while other talents signing 5-year deals is another sign of how serious this is, a guy like Chris Jericho signing whose status had earned him an open door policy with WWE where he can basically come and go as he pleases really shows how big of a deal AEW is.

All signs point to All Elite Wrestling being the challenger to WWE that pro wrestling has needed for many years. This whole movement really popped up out of nowhere and is suddenly the talk of the industry. It was a big deal to see The Elite get their merchandise carried in Hot Topic stores across the country not that long ago, then of course even bigger when they successfully sold over 10,000 tickets and filled up their “All In” event, but now they’ve done the unthinkable by creating a legitimate contender to WWE.

But why is it different from any other company that has formed in the past 15+ years since WCW’s demise? The simple answer is money. With the Khan family who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars backing the venture, the door is open to running the promotion at a very high level. The way they’re already signing talents to multiyear contracts, especially Jericho who could have easily got a deal with WWE or even New Japan, it gives us a slight clue of the level AEW is operating on.

The big question now is if they have a TV deal lined up. Anyone that knows the pro wrestling business knows that TV is the only way a major company can operate. WCW closed because they lost their TV, ECW was the same story. A house show company can’t operate at a high level and neither can a company that only runs a few big shows per year. We have a feeling something big is lined up and we’ll be covering that announcement next.

With Chris Jericho, PAC (formerly Neville in WWE) The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, SCU, and of course Cody Rhodes all under contract and more news surely coming soon, AEW is making waves in the wrestling business and we hope it delivers the alternative product we’ve been waiting for. Do they already have a TV deal that will begin another “Monday Night War” situation? We sure hope so, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!