Chris Jericho continues to spread the message of The Learning Tree.
AEW shared a new video of an in-character Jericho on his tour bus, where he talked about his segment on AEW Dynamite being a ratings success. Jericho said he had the second-highest rating on the show, continuing a string of ratings success.
“It’s four out of six weeks where the Learning Tree’s segment was one of the highest-rated on the show, and that’s pretty cool! Thanks to you guys,” Jericho said.
Jericho said he looks forward to seeing everyone in Denver, and fans can expect him to get even more TV Time.
“Because my ratings are so high, I’m probably going to be on the show more than a lot of the younger guys who aren’t quite delivering the numbers right now. But that’s OK, they’ll learn. And more Chris Jericho and more Learning Tree is better for Dynamite and it’s better for you,” he said. “More importantly, it’s better for me, because that way I get to explain all of my lessons to you.”
On the May 31 episode of AEW Rampage, Jericho announced that he was stepping down as a commentator on Rampage to spend more time on Dynamite and Collision. Matt Menard was announced as his replacement.
The GOAT of reinvention
Former TNA/IMPACT ring announcer David Penzer spoke with WrestleZone while promoting his new book, Sitting Ringside: Volume 1. During the conversation, Penzer talked about the storyline rivalry he and Jericho had in WCW and their friendship that remains today.
Jericho frequently antagonized Penzer on TV, including ruining his jacket. The next week, Jericho would apologize, claiming it would never, ever happen again.
“First of all, that was all Chris’ idea. It was a 100% Chris’ idea. I might have thrown in something, he might have said, ‘I don’t like it.’ And I’d shut my mouth again, just riding down the road. But Terry Taylor got it approved and we ran with it,” Penzer said. “The funny thing that always cracks me up — people like to talk about ‘The Greatest of All Time’ and I don’t know if that’s an argument that I want to get into — but I do think that Chris Jericho is the Greatest of All Time in the wrestling business of reinventing himself successfully.
“I can’t think of another person who’s come close to doing it how many times he’s done it. And, always drawing money, he’s selling merchandise and all that. So… But this was like one of his first ones. And the thing that always cracked me up is, he would rip off my tux jacket and then he’d take my chair like you said and hit it against the ring post,” he explained. “The next week he’d come out, he’d bring out a new tux jacket, apologize, which made sense. But then he’d bring me a chair. It’s like, ‘I’m in a building with 5,000 chairs. Why do you need to bring me a chair?’”
Penzer says it was little details like that which make him a brilliant performer.
Read More: Sebastian Bach: I’m As Much Of A Wrestler As Chris Jericho Is A Singer
