Chris Jericho says the Inner Circle story is fun to watch unfold each week, and no one watching can truly say they “know” what will happen next.
Jericho recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about the new rock documentary he produced, I’m Too Old For This Sh*t: A Heavy Metal Fairy Tale, available now on Amazon and various streaming platforms. During the conversation, Jericho was asked about the longevity of the Inner Circle stable, a group he previously said he could envision as being a “DX style” group that stands the test of time. That comment originally came in September, long before any of the problems in the group started.
Fans have seen the Inner Circle at odds in recent weeks, including last Wednesday when Sammy Guevara quit the stable on AEW Dynamite, but Jericho rebuffs claims by fans that “know” what’s coming next. Jericho says each episode is part of a bigger story and outside of some unavoidable issues, it’s all gone according to plan. He added that people can watch and try and guess or be “in the know”, but it’s more exciting from a storytelling perspective to watch it unfold each week.
“Nobody ever knows for sure. I mean, people always say, ‘Oh yeah, we knew this or that.’ No, you don’t. You don’t know anything until it happens. If you look back from October 2, 2019, the Inner Circle stories have always been one of the best on the show every single week. It’s even to the point where the only story is that we ever had that really kind of took a turn is when we smashed Nick Jackson’s head under the garage door on March 11 [2020] in Salt Lake City, and then that was our last live show and everything else got canceled. We were building up towards Rochester on the 18th and then Blood ‘n’ Guts in New Jersey—that got taken away, so we had to regroup. But had we not had the pandemic take that away, there probably wouldn’t have been a Stadium Stampede, which to me still, one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history.”
“So, you take what you’re given and morph and work your way around it and continue to build. And that’s one thing I think AEW has done in spite of the pandemic. Thank goodness we’re in front of crowds now—even though they’re smaller ones—for six months, we had no crowd, but we still put on great programming. The stories we’ve told, from Jericho/Cody to Jericho/Moxley to Inner Circle vs. The Elite then going to Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy and now Jericho/MJF and the Inner Circle, it always makes sense and it always leads to the next thing and always intertwines and I take great pride in that.”
“It’s exciting to see every week how the story unfolds and I always say, like when I go to a movie, I don’t want to know what the beginning, middle and end is. I want you to surprise me and see it kind of unfold the way that the director and the storytellers want it to unfold. So, when people always try and guess what’s going on—and maybe one week they’ll bury something because they didn’t like what happened or whatever—it’s just one part of the story,” Jericho explained. “Here’s the story [and here’s how it breaks down] each week. One scene leads to the next, but I think our fan base knows that, and I think that’s why our numbers continue to grow. Demo God is no joke, our demos are through the roof. I know that our TV partner is very happy with it and we’re kind of looked upon as the cool wrestling company, the cutting edge wrestling company and that’s exactly what we are.”
