This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite was notable for several reasons. The first round of the tournament to crown inaugural Tag Team Champions took place, and a new No. 1 for a shot at Chris Jericho’s World Heavyweight title was announced.
However, Jericho and his Inner Circle faction were the biggest talking points the show. In one segment, Jericho took shots at WWE while talking about Jake Hager, who went by the name Jack Swagger in Vince McMahon’s company.
Per Sportskeeda , during a promo praising Hager, the crowd started chanting “We the people,” which was Hager’s catchphrase in WWE. In response, “Y2J” dismissed the chant as an example of WWE’s creative team coming up with bad ideas for their superstars.
“Hey, calm down for one second. We The People sucked and it’s dead and buried. It was a stupid idea from bad creative and all that’s gone. Jake Hager is the most feared MMA fighter on the planet today and that’s a shoot. That makes him the toughest man in AEW, that makes him the toughest man in the professional wrestling business, baby. He’s not afraid to challenge any fighter, wrestler, boxer, MMA guy, former MMA guy, street bum, bare knuckle fighter, you name it, Hager is ready. Look at him, he’s a giant.”
While it’s likely that Jericho and AEW were trying to stop the chants because of the catchphrase’s association with WWE, it’s worth noting that Hager still uses it in Bellator MMA. He’s shouted it out loud before his last two fights, so it’ll be interesting to see if he continues to do so going forward now that he’s an AEW superstar.
The reason why Jericho saved most of his praise for Hager is because the company has big plans for the mixed-martial artist. As The Inquisitr reported yesterday, the company’s executives have been impressed by his enthusiasm so far and want to give him a major push.
THE INNER CIRCLE ARE HERE #AEWDynamite #AEWBoston pic.twitter.com/4VcG0iTCEV
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 10, 2019
Hager got into a brawl with Adam Page after Dynamite’s main event, suggesting that the pair are ready to battle each other at AEW’s upcoming Full Gear pay-per-view.
Chris Jericho, on the other hand, will defend his championship on next week’s show against Darby Allin, who defeated Jimmy Havoc last night for a shot at the prize. Should “The Painmaker” successfully defend his title, he’ll face Cody Rhodes at the next pay-per-view.
Faction warfare looks set to commence in AEW, but if Jericho keeps taking shots at WWE, the company might find itself at war with their rival promotion.