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Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has lived through many eras of professional wrestling, but in each one, TV ratings have always played a part in who gets featured and who doesn't.
With that in mind, Chris Jericho has pointed out one member of the AEW roster who he believes is a true ratings draw. Someone who, whenever appearing on screen, has people fixated on the TV, and has people scrambling for the remote if they aren't watching either Dynamite or Rampage.
The star in question is former WWE Superstar Swerve Strickland, who not only excels in the ring but also has some high-profile connections outside of wrestling. He could very well be the next mainstream breakout star from the world of pro wrestling.
Speaking on "WTF with Marc Maron," Chris Jericho spoke about how important TV ratings are to a wrestling show, and that after checking the numbers in recent months, Swerve Strickland keeps people watching.
"If you get put in that top position and you don't draw and people don't watch your matches... TV ratings are so important. I read the minute-by-minute TV ratings every week to see, how did I do? How did this guy do? Who is drawing every week? You can kind of see this pattern of whenever he's on, the ratings go up. Swerve Strickland is one of those guys. He's not a ratings bonanza, but whenever he's on, the ratings go up." (H/T Fightful)
The Demo God also praised TBS Champion Jade Cargill for being a ratings draw, while stating that AEW president Tony Khan is so obsessed with facts and figures, he will dictate the booking of a series of shows based on how well certain wrestlers did in certain positions.
"They [Swerve & Jade] are stars, and I want to see what this person is doing. That matters. If you don't draw...my boss, Tony Khan, is a numbers fanatic. If you are put in that position and the ratings go down, you won't be put in that position anymore. That's part of it. You have to connect and people have to watch you on screen. If not, you won't be on screen in that position, or maybe you won't be on the main show, you'll be on the next show. There are levels to that too." (H/T Fightful)
AEW's TV ratings are released weekly via Brandon Thruston at Wrestlenomics, with Rampage's numbers being released on a Monday and Dynamite's on Thursday.
Chris Jericho finally got some momentum back this week on AEW Dynamite
After starting 2023 in the same way he ended 2022, by losing, Chris Jericho vowed to buck that trend on the January 25th edition of Dynamite in tag team action.
Chris Jericho teamed up with Sammy Guevara to take on Ricky Starks and Action Andretti in the night's opening contest. Starks and Andretti have both picked up singles victories over "The Ocho" in recent weeks, seeing him lose back-to-back matches in AEW for the first time ever.
In the end, it was the Jericho Appreciation Society who picked up the win with Sammy Guevara hitting the "GTH" on Andretti to gain the pinfall. It should be noted that Andretti almost had the match won, but a little interference from Daniel Garcia swung the match in the favor of the JAS.
Did you enjoy this week's AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments section down below!
