Chris Jericho has reinvented himself countless times throughout his legendary wrestling career, but his latest evolution may be the simplest one yet. While appearing on Ringer Wrestling’s The Masked Man Show, the AEW star opened up about why he decided to lean fully into being known simply as “Jericho.”
The conversation centered around Jericho’s long history of changing personas and nicknames over the years, from Y2J to The Wizard and The Learning Tree. This time around, Jericho said the idea behind dropping “Chris” came from iconic music albums that didn’t need flashy titles because the names alone already meant something to fans.
“Well, whenever I get asked that, I always say the current version cuz if I didn’t, then I’d be like, ‘What am I doing?’ But I like the idea of what I’m doing now with with Jericho. And just by by by not using that first name a lot, it created this whole intrigue online. Like, what’s he doing? What’s the idea? What’s the reason?”
Jericho explained that he no longer feels the need to create endless new aliases because his name already carries decades of history tied to different moments in wrestling fans’ lives.
“Honestly, it’s like a self-titled album. That’s where I kind of got the idea from. Um I could create you know, a a dozen other uh nicknames, but how many more do I need? Everyone knows who Jericho is.”
The former AEW World Champion compared the concept to legendary albums from Metallica and The Beatles, saying the simplicity itself became the identity.
“And when you hear that name, then you can go remember whatever memories that you have on your own. So, it really is like, you know, Metallica, the black album. You don’t need to It didn’t need to be called that. You know who Metallica is. You know what’s going on. The Beatles, the white album. Same thing.”
Jericho added that the stripped-down presentation has allowed him to organically evolve without forcing another dramatic reinvention onto viewers.
“So, that’s kind of what the idea is for for the Jericho era. And I like it. I like I like kind of what’s been going on and kind of going with the flow and seeing what what’s working and what’s not.”
After more than three decades in the wrestling business, Jericho continues finding ways to keep fans talking while still tying his current work back to the legacy he has already built. Whether fans first discovered him as Lionheart, Y2J, The Painmaker, or through AEW, Jericho clearly believes the name alone now speaks for itself.
What do you think about Chris Jericho dropping his first name and simply going by “Jericho” in AEW? Do you think it fits this stage of his career? Leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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