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In this week's edition of the AEW News Roundup, Chris Jericho revealed the origins behind his 'Wizard' persona, a former NXT Superstar discusses how the Adam Cole promo destroyed his character.
A WWE legend sent a venomous message to Jungle Boy after losing his AEW tag team title.
#5 Chris Jericho discusses his new 'Wizard' persona
Chris Jericho is a master of reinvention. The AEW star has refreshed his character multiple times throughout his long career. He recently adopted a new persona called 'The Wizard' in AEW.
In an interview with TSN, Le Champion explained that the entire idea originated from his feud with Eddie Kingston and his attack backstage on the Mad King when he used a fireball:
“‘The Wizard’ just came up because we wanted to do a fireball and nobody had done a fireball in years, so when I did it, I saw the reaction – once again, read the room – and I just said one day on commentary or on a promo ‘I’m a wizard’ because I threw a fireball. Isn’t that what wizards do?... I just love the concept of ‘The Wizard.’ What is it? Nothing! What is it? Everything!" [H/T TSN]
The week after on Dynamite, Jericho declared himself a 'Wizard'. This is the latest nickname for the former AEW World Champion after A Little Bit Of The Bubbly, the Demo God and the Influencer.
In the same interview, the 51-year-old delved into his creative process:
“I sit down with a pen and paper and write down a year’s worth of ideas and material and it’s all genius and it all comes together exactly the way I planned, but it’s not like that. You’ve just got to go with the flow and read the room and see where you’re at week by week and go where the story takes you. You let the story lead you, rather than try to lead the story.”
Jericho recently won Hair vs. Hair match against Ortiz on AEW Dynamite and his faction, the Jericho Appreciation Society, is scheduled to have a Blood and Guts match in a few weeks against Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, and the Blackpool Combat Club's Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson.
#4 Former NXT Champion discusses the Adam Cole promo that killed his character
Former NXT Champion Karrion Kross, now known as Killer Kross, has pointed to a promo from his former rival and current AEW star Adam Cole that essentially killed the dominant character he portrayed on the black and gold brand.
Back in 2021, the two wrestlers were locked in an intense feud over the NXT Championship. Cole infamously cut a ruthless promo that pointed out Killer Kross' star treatment. The rivalry soon petered out as Adam Cole left for AEW and Kross was called up to the main roster.
In an interview with John Poz on Two Man Power Trip, Kross said:
"When I read it on paper I was like it has a very ECW-like vibe. The whole time I was thinking to myself they spend so much money on air time in the Kross character. And they wrote that promo – it was meant to feel real."
The star admitted that the promo seemed bizarre to him after all the investment WWE put into his character.
"They just shot their investment in this entrance in the head with that promo. They told him to say that. But I felt that was a bizarre decision, but there’s a lot of people that are going to check out after he says this," Kross said.
Kross had an underwhelming run on Raw and was released from the company shortly after. However, Adam Cole has since established himself in AEW and was recently the Owen Hart Cup Tournament winner. It's clear that both wrestlers have experienced different trajectories in their careers since that eventful promo and feud. It remains to be seen if Kross will be seen again in another major wrestling company, perhaps in AEW? It would be a great reason to rekindle the rivalry in Tony Khan's company.
#3 AEW Daniel Garcia reveals Triple H's reaction to his WWE tryout
AEW star Daniel Garcia revealed that he once attended a WWE tryout, where he interacted with WWE EVP Triple H. In an interview on the Talk is Jericho podcast, the Jericho Appreciation Society member said that he was praised by Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg, before the King of Kings approached him:
“I thought I did really well. They asked me to stay another extra day to have a squash match on NXT against Tyler Rust. The match went really well. I remember I went through the back and Shawn Michaels loved it, Road Dogg loved it, and A-Train loved it. Triple H shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome to the team.’ I think he thought I was signed, but I wasn’t at the time. In my mind, I’m like, ‘I guess I’m going to NXT.’” (h/t WrestlingNews.com)
Daniel Garcia never made an appearance on the former black and gold brand, but he wrestled on an episode of 205 Live in 2018, during which he lost against Drew Gulak. The 23-year-old said:
“I did actually work for WWE. I wrestled Drew Gulak on 205 Live in like a 15 second match. He beat me up pretty bad. It was pretty nasty, pretty ruthless. Then I had a WWE tryout in January of last year, so 2021, and I had a match on NXT right after the tryout. I did one loop of Dark in September of 2020, and then I had my tryout in January of 2021,” Garcia said.
The rising star, however, felt disrespected when former WWE Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman, told him that they would sign him quicker if he had interest from any other company:
“I talked to Canyon Ceman right before I left. He said, ‘Let me know if any other place has interest because we’ll sign you sooner.’ In my mind. I’m like, that’s disrespectful to me. If you want to sign me, just sign me."
WWE's loss is ultimately AEW's gain as Garcia is now a full-time performer for Tony Khan's promotion, appearing on television regularly as a member of the faction led by Chris Jericho.
#2 Matt Hardy reacts to the AEW tag team title Ladder match on Dynamite
AEW star Matt Hardy reacted to the main event on the latest edition of Dynamite between The Young Bucks and Jurassic Express for the AEW Tag Team Titles, which saw the new champions being crowned after a gruelling ladder match.
The Hardys were also supposed to be part of the main event title match but were removed after Jeff Hardy was arrested, leaving older brother Matt in the cold.
He would get on Twitter to share his reaction to his fans, writing:
"Watching this #AEWDynamite Ladder Match between @youngbucks & #JurassicExpress very closely. I’m very disappointed I’m not in this match in front of this fantastic STL crowd. I promise I’ll bounce back."
Matt was justifiably disappointed as it was rumored that the Hardys were initially slated to win the AEW Tag Team Championships before Jeff's unfortunate discretion. It remains to be seen whether the brothers can bounce back from this latest setback and achieve their goals down the road.
#1 WWE legend sends venomous message to Jungle Boy's mother
Christian Cage has mentored the Jurassic Express for nearly a year, standing by their side as they won the AEW Tag Team Championships. However, on this week's Dynamite, Jurassic Express lost the title to the Young Bucks. After the match, the WWE legend shocked the world by attacking his protege, delivering a Killswitch and his patented Conchairto chair shot on the helpless Jack Perry as the show went off air.
As the cameras stopped rolling, Cage was seen approaching Jungle Boy's mother and family at ringside before unleashing a verbal tirade against them. During their confrontation, Christian can be heard saying:
"You liking what I did to your son?...He's gonna be eating his birthday cake out of a straw tomorrow he's a piece of sh*t! you raised a piece of sh*t."
It solidifies Christian's heel turn, which has been teased for several weeks, going as far back as March's Revolution Pay-Per-View. After an underwhelming AEW tag title run where the champions have lost regularly in non-championship bouts, it seems that Cage has lost patience with them. We could see a student vs. mentor-type rivalry going forward, which will hopefully elevate Jungle Boy's status within the company.
