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AEW Dynamite returned to TNT this week for another stacked episode of entertainment that included Darby Allin being named the new number one contender to the AEW World Championship and the return of Jon Moxley.
All Elite Wrestling is now in the position where they can stretch out many of their storylines that have been created in recent pay-per-views and one of the main themes on the show currently concerns Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes.
The Nightmare Family could well have some competition since The Inner Circle made their debut this week on live tv when Jericho brought his new stable to the ring and cut an interesting promo. As part of this promo, Jericho fired several intentional shots at his former employers, and here is an in-depth look at all three.
#1. "We aren't next, we are now"
Over the past few years, NXT has become one of WWE's most popular brands. The developmental brand's motto is all about the fact that NXT is training the next group of superstars who will one day dominate the main roster. However, NXT is now live on the USA Network at the same time as AEW Dynamite on a Wednesday night.
This week on AEW, Jericho pointed out that his new group which he referred to as The Inner Circe, were not next, they were now. This was an obvious shot at the fact that WWE forces many of their stars to jump through hoops in NXT before being promoted to the main roster, stars like Samoa Joe, EC3, Austin Aries and Finn Balor were all forced to perform in NXT before being promoted to the main roster despite their success elsewhere.
The fact that NXT is now seen as competition for AEW means that the company could fire more shots at developmental in future.
#2. Shots at WWE creative
Jack Swagger is now known as Jake Hagar in All Elite Wrestling and it appears that he has become part of Chris Jericho's "Inner Circle." As part of his promo on this week's show, Jericho introduced his new stable which includes Sammy Guevara, LAX, and Jake Hagar, but the latter seemed to cause Jericho some issues.
Jericho tried to introduce Hagar under his new name but the audience started to chant "We The People" which was Swagger's slogan when he was part of The Real Americans alongside Cesaro in WWE. This chant evidently got to Jericho, who went on a rant about WWE's creative team to force the audience to stop.
"We The People' sucks and it's dead and buried. It was a stupid idea from bad creative and all that's gone."
Swagger himself wasn't used very creatively in WWE despite being a former World Champion, but it's thought that his move over to AEW could bring much bigger opportunities for the former MMA star, especially now he has aligned himself with AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.
#1. Shots at WWE and Cain Valesquez?
Jack Swagger made his way to AEW last week and was their big debutant as part of their first live show on TNT, much like how WWE allowed Cain Velasquez to debut on WWE TV as part of their first live show on FOX.
The former UFC star has stepped into a feud with Brock Lesnar, but both men have been defeated inside the Octagon. Velasquez has only suffered three defeats in his UFC career much like Brock Lesnar who has become WWE's poster boy.
Jake Hagar has an MMA background as well, having fought two matches in Bellator and won both via submission. Chris Jericho decided to touch on this record and seemingly fired shots at many other MMA fighters when he introduced him to the AEW audience this week by bringing his undefeated record into play.
"Jake Hagar is the most feared MMA fighter on the planet today, and guess what? He's undefeated and that's a shoot. That makes him the toughest man in AEW, that makes him the toughest man in the entire professional wrestling business, baby."
