Welcome to another edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we bring you the latest stories from the world of All Elite Wrestling.
A 26-time champion recently recalled being stripped of a chance to main event WrestleMania by former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho highlighted a few similarities between Randy Orton and a popular AEW star.
We round off today's edition with a story about Bully Ray namedropping multiple All Elite Wrestling stars as potential candidates to dethrone a current champion. So without further ado, let's begin:
#3. 26-time champion recalls Vince McMahon taking away his opportunity to main event WrestleMania 33
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens entered into a highly personal feud on the road to WrestleMania 33 after the latter laid a vicious beatdown on his partner.
The two stars clashed in the second match of The Show of Shows for the United States Championship, where Owens emerged victorious. However, as per Jericho on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, there were plans for the duo to main event The Grandest Stage of Them All:
"Kevin Owens and I had the best for Wrestlemania '17, and Vince [McMahon] told me at one point it was gonna be me versus Kevin for the World title, main event Wrestlemania. First time I'd ever win the World title as a babyface, and the story warranted it. You know 'you deserve it' means nothing to me," said Jericho.
The Wizard further detailed the situation surrounding his 'Mania bout with KO:
"The story warranted it, and then he changed his mind. That's fine. I'm a big boy, minds change. But then he put the Kevin-Jericho match on second. And anybody that knows the second match in the shows is not a great spot to be," added Jericho.
The show was eventually headlined by a clash between Roman Reigns and The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred Match.
#2. Chris Jericho claims AEW star Eddie Kingston reminds him of WWE Superstar Randy Orton
During his appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Chris Jericho stated that there are a lot of similarities between Eddie Kingston and Randy Orton.
He said that while the two portray opposite gimmicks, both stars underestimate themselves quite a lot. The Wizard then claimed that Kingston will become a world champion in the future:
"Eddie Kingston reminds me of Randy Orton, and I'll tell you the reason why. Polar opposites in image and gimmick, but neither one of them quite realize just how good they are. They kind of think it's funny to kind of downplay themselves, but they're both so good, and Eddie doesn't quite get it yet. When he does [get it], he's gonna be a world champion. Not that he doesn't now, but he still has an inner demon. I think those are going away, because he realizes just how good he is, but I saw from the start," said Jericho.
It will be interesting to see if The Mad King manages to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career like Randy Orton.
#1. Bully Ray names potential stars who can dethrone Chris Jericho for the ROH World Championship
Chris Jericho recently won the ROH World Championship by defeating Claudio Castagnoli on the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite. He successfully defended the title on this week's Wednesday night show, getting the better of Bandido.
While speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray namedropped Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, and Jay Lethal as potential opponents who can dethrone the Jericho Appreciation Society leader:
"I like Jericho and Samoa Joe. Even though I think Jericho and Lethal would be a great match, I don't like the fact that Lethal tapped out to Jungle Boy a couple of weeks ago, I don't think they have huge plans for Lethal. Although, they could heat him up again. Danielson, an obvious answer, but we've seen BD and Jericho a couple of times already but he definitely could be the guy," said Bully Ray.
The American Dragon is set to face The Wizard for the ROH World Championship on the October 12, 2022, edition of AEW Dynamite. It remains to be seen if Danielson can beat Jericho for the gold in Canada.