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#3 Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens feud
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens were the best of friends in WWE. Their friendship was so over that when Kevin Owens became the WWE Universal Champion; something changed in the relationship. Kevin Owens no longer needed Jericho, and he made him pay for it.
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Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens's bromantic tragedy was the best storyline at WWE at the time. The plans were in place to main-event WrestleMania 33 with the WWE Universal Championship on the line. But of course, that was changed in favor of Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. Chris Jericho said:
“I can’t get any higher than where I’m at. Even though I’d been to the top, if you can’t put Jericho and Owens in the semi-main event at WrestleMania, especially when at one point, it was slotted to be the main event. In the eyes of the old man [Vince McMahon], a main event is a mainevent. From a business perspective. I’ll take first over anything. Second is, to me, not a filler spot, but it’s a spot where you get your 15 minutes. To be on second, with this angle that we had, when it was designated at first, I was told by Vince, ‘You’re gonna win the World Title from Kevin Owens in the main event of WrestleMania.’ Three days later he changed it to Brock vs. Goldberg and didn’t tell me.”
It should be noted that this change played a role in Chris Jericho leaving WWE and then eventually joining AEW. It's an interesting thing that a specific change led to something bigger and better for Chris Jericho.
#2 Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12
A match that no one thought possible outside the halls of WWE was now a reality. Chris Jericho brought his A-game to a match with the one-and-only Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12.
Chris Jericho challenging Kenny Omega in a completely different setting was a huge creative boost for Jericho. He was no longer constrained by WWE, though technically he was still under contract but did inform Vince McMahon ahead of time.
The match received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer, but someone else was also watching, and it was Tony Khan. Meltzer said that Khan saw the subscriptions jump, and that's where the idea for an AEW began.
In some shape or form, Chris Jericho had a lot to do with creating AEW, and as a result, the business is better for it.
