"They want to behead Chris Jericho" - Former AEW World Champion lashes out at his critics; defends The Learning Tree

Chris Jericho has been with AEW since day one. The wrestling legend is arguably the biggest star on the roster, and he remains one of the most polarizing figures in the business. After reinventing himself, now as The Learning Tree, Jericho has been forced to defend his latest creative idea.

The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah started wrestling in 1990 at the age of 19. AEW's current FTW Champion has introduced numerous gimmicks and character changes over the years, from Lionheart to Y2J, The Painmaker, The Demo God, and so on. The Learning Tree now leads a stable of the same name in AEW, featuring Big Bill and Bryan Keith.

The villainous group came from fan frustration with Jericho's increased TV time, and despite "Please retire!" chants, the company has continued to feature the storyline.

Jericho recently appeared on The Creative Imbalance and pointed to how it became clear that The Learning Tree was more serious than funny, described as a cross between American Psycho and Devil's Rejects. He agreed that the storyline may be polarizing but went on to defend the material following reports on his creative control in AEW.

"Yeah, polarizing if you want to say that, or whatever the word may be, but bottom line is (...) it delivers. It's one of the top-rated segments on the show every week, people are into it, and as much as people cry from the hills that they want to behead Chris Jericho, and kick me off planet Earth, and send me off in [sic] space in a shuttle, that's a very small amount of people," Chris Jericho said. [From 16:03 to 16:27]

Jericho added how The Learning Tree character was helping up-and-coming talents.

"Because I just go by, what are the people reacting to in the venue? What are they watching? And once again we've got a hit character with a lot of potential that's helping a lot of different people move up the ladder, and that's kind of what it's all about." [From 16:28 to 16:42]

Jericho is coming off a successful title defense over Minoru Suzuki on last week's Blood & Guts edition of AEW Dynamite, which came days after he and Big Bill defeated The Outrunners on Rampage. Before that, the former AEW World Champion retained over Samoa Joe in a Street Fight on Dynamite 250.

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Chris Jericho and top AEW star set for All In Weekend concert

All Elite Wrestling is headed back to the UK later this month for a live Dynamite and Collision in Cardiff, Wales, on August 21. It will then host the All In Celebration on Saturday, August 24 at Boxpark Wembley, and the 2024 All In pay-per-view the next day at Wembley Stadium.

Jericho and his band Fozzy will continue their 25th anniversary with a show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on Friday, August 23. Two special guests have been announced to open the show—AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and rapper Flash Garments, who did Strickland's "Big Pressure" theme song.

Strickland is set to defend the World Championship against Bryan Danielson at All In 2024. All Elite Wrestling has not announced an opponent for Jericho as of this writing.

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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Creative Imbalance and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.