Chris Jericho - An Elite year for Le Champion

On January 8th, 2019, Chris Jericho shocked the world of professional wrestling when he burst into AEW's press rally in Jacksonville, proclaiming, "I'm Chris Jericho, and I am all in with All Elite Wrestling! Surprise! I think we just took things to a different level, didn't we?"

Well, we're now officially one year on from that moment, and there is no doubt that AEW and Chris Jericho have taken things to a completely different level!

Le Champion is at the very top of the AEW mountain after having what can only be described as one of the very best first years in any promotion of all time - and probably the best first year any new promotion has ever had.

The 49-year-old kicked off his AEW tenure by proclaiming that he wasn't here to change the world but to change the whole Universe and, from the Lexicon of Le Champion to a little bit of the bubbly, there's no doubt that Jericho has done just that.

Shortly after confirming he was all in with All Elite Wrestling, Jericho was filmed officially signing a three-year contract with the company and shaking hands with Founder, President, and CEO Tony Khan and then, as they say, the rest is history.

Jericho would kick off his AEW run by defeating long-standing rival Kenny Omega at the promotion's inaugural event Double or Nothing in May before becoming the inaugural AEW World Champion with a victory over 'Hangman' Adam Page at All Out.

While we're on the subject of firsts, the first-ever episode of AEW Dynamite would see the show end with Jericho creating the Inner Circle - introducing Jake Hager to AEW as the pair aligned with Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz.

Over the course of the year, not only has Jericho won the AEW World Championship to become Le Champion, but he also successfully defended said title against Darby Allin, Cody Rhodes, and Scorpio Sky.

It's not just in the ring that Jericho has broken new ground since going all in. Whether it be from having his AEW World Championship belt stolen to coining new catchphrases that would both break the internet and make their way into the lexicon of wrestling fans all across the world - and not only that but capitalizing on them by releasing must-have products.

It’s just been announced that @AEWrestling will be releasing their own official sparkling wine, #ALittleBitOfTheBubbly, courtesy of @IAmJericho and @StephenAmell.#AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/v1kZzuWa2r

— Gary Cassidy (@consciousgary) November 28, 2019

The man at the top of the AEW mountain right now has played an instrumental role in putting the company on the map AND keeping professional wrestling incredibly interesting over the past year. That's something that doesn't look like stopping with Le Champion currently trying to recruit Jon Moxley to the Inner Circle - the storyline that has had fans gripped to their seats for the past month or so of AEW Dynamite.

Now, THAT's an impressive year, and that's before we even mention Jericho wrestling in NJPW or his very own sold-out cruise - the Rock 'n' Wrestling Rager at Sea!

Looking back, there's no doubt that Chris Jericho can toast a successful year of being All Elite with a little bit of the bubbly!

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