AEW News: Chris Jericho explains why he has a new finisher

What's the story?

Chris Jericho revealed during a recent Instagram video that he has a new AEW-exclusive finishing move – a spinning back elbow – called The Judas Effect.

Speaking on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, the 48-year-old explained the reason behind his decision to introduce a new finisher.

In case you didn't know…

AEW’s much-anticipated Double or Nothing event will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25.

The show has a stacked card of nine matches, including Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros, while Chris Jericho will face Kenny Omega in the main event.

The two men previously met in January 2018 at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 12, with Omega picking up the victory to retain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship after a gruelling 34-minute encounter.

Ahead of their rematch at Double or Nothing, Jericho has been working out at a gym in Tampa, Florida which is owned by WWE legend Batista.

The heart of the matter

Chris Jericho mentioned on his podcast that he has recently been training with Josh Rafferty – the man who helped train Batista for his WWE return and Jake Hager for his Bellator fights.

After perfectly executing a spinning back elbow in training, Y2J explained that he decided to make it his new finisher because he wants a move that, unlike the Codebreaker and Walls of Jericho, he can do to anybody.

“The secret to a great finish in wrestling is to be able to do a finish that you can do to anybody. Obviously, the easier the bump it is, the better it is.”

After citing Nikki Bella and her Rack Attack finisher as a move which proved to be dangerous long-term, he added:

“The spinning elbow to the face was a great idea because I could do it to anybody. People know it’s legit, everyone knows what it’s like to get punched or poked in the face or popped in the nose, and you could do this move any place, any time, anywhere to anybody, and it’s legit, it looks tough, it looks like it’s gonna hurt you… and it’s the perfect thing for a finish.”

What's next?

The wrestling world waits for Double or Nothing – and Chris Jericho’s new finisher – to find out if AEW really will prove to be a viable alternative to WWE.