Chris Jericho wanted MJF to join The Inner Circle, Reason why AEW didn't let it happen

There are a few factions in All Elite Wrestling, but none of them have been as successful and entertaining as The Inner Circle. The Chris Jericho-led stable will be regarded as one of the most influential groups in the promotion's history when all is said and done, and a lot of planning went into the creation of the group.

Chris Jericho was joined by his stablemates on the most recent edition of the 'Talk is Jericho' podcast, and they discussed how the faction came together, amongst various other topics.

Chris Jericho revealed that the idea for him when he arrived in AEW was always to have a faction. Tony Khan was a big proponent of the idea, and Chris Jericho was on board as he had never led a faction in his career. Once both parties were in agreement, they began to decide the talents who could be added to the faction.

The moment that I came to AEW the idea was for me to have a faction. Tony Khan wanted that and thought it was a good idea. I never had a faction before. I thought it was a good idea. Then we had to figure out who we are going to get involved in and throw around different ideas.

Chris Jericho said that he wanted Sammy Guevara in the faction after he saw the young wrestler at an NWA show and he even texted Tony Khan regarding the same.

Chris Jericho also revealed that he had initially pitched getting MJF into the stable, but AEW told him that the talented heel was going to do his own thing.

I saw you (Sammy Guevera) on an NWA show, and I texted Tony Khan and said we should bring you in. I can't remember the first choice, but I remember saying I would like MJF and they said he is going to do his own thing. I said I think Sammy is kind of the same idea. I wanted a young, upcoming charismatic guy.

Chris Jericho then also wanted a tag team, and the names of Pentagon and Fenix were brought up as potential additions. The former WWE Superstar, however, found their act to be too gimmicky for the faction and proposed the idea of getting in Santana and Ortiz.

Then I wanted a tag team. One of the ideas suggested was Pentagon and Phoenix. I said it was too gimmicky. I don't want gimmicks. I said, what about LAX, Santana and Ortiz?

AEW wanted Anthony Ogogo to join Chris Jericho's Inner Circle

The final piece in the puzzle was to have a big man in the faction, and Jake Hager fit the bill. Chris Jericho stated that he knew Jake well from their time together in the WWE and they worked out a deal which allowed Hager to wrestle and pursue his MMA career in Bellator.

AEW also pitched the idea to add UK Boxing Star Anthony Ogogo to the faction, but Chris Jericho had made up his mind on Hager. It's interesting to note that Ogogo is signed to AEW.

The final ingredient was Jake. We worked together many times in WWE. What got Jake on my brain again is we were both training with Josh Rafferty at Dave Batista's MMA gym. That's when Jake was getting into Bellator. I asked you if you still wrestled or were thinking about getting back in the business? One of the ideas is they wanted to have a guy called Anthony Ogogo. I think he is signed with us now. I think he is a boxer from the U.K. They asked what I think of him? I said he never wrestled. I asked how tall was he? They said he is 5'11". I said I need a big guy and I got the guy. I approached Tony Khan and you guys worked it out where you can still fight in Bellator. In the meantime, your career has skyrocketed." H/t Credit: WrestlingNews.co

The Inner Circle could have looked really different had the original plans and ideas come to fruition. We could have had Chris Jericho, MJF, Pentagon, Fenix and Anthony Ogogo in the faction instead of how it currently looks. How would that have been? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.