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Chris Jericho
Background
Chris Jericho is one of the most tenured wrestlers, sorry, sports entertainers of the modern era. Undoubtedly one of the best in ring competitors of recent decades, Jericho is perhaps better known as a master of reinvention, continuously contributing to an ever changing wrestling landscape. The former Y2J has journeyed from the formative years of ECW to WCW’s hugely successful Nitro era and into WWE’s peak attitude generation. Over several decades, Jericho morphed his on screen persona. The man of 1001 holds transitioned from a fresh face babyface to a spoilt and victimized pest heel — an intellectual egotist to list brandishing malcontent and gothic rockstar to leather-clad gang leader.
A bold move away from the WWE and onto pastures new with NJPW was a seismic decision. It not only broke WWE’s monopoly on a stars creative agency, but also put a spotlight on the ever growing independent scene. A scene with the financial backing of Tony Khan and ambition of Cody Rhodes and the Jackson brothers, would manifest into the formation of a new competitor in the market.
Journey
Jericho was clearly an important talent in establishing AEW as a competing brand to WWE’s monopoly. A recognizable mainstream star who straddled various media’s, Jericho was significantly spotlighted from the outset. Khan would rely on Jericho’s star power to legitimize the burgeoning AEW in the eyes of the causal television viewer.
The self-styled Demo God capture the inaugural AEW World Title by defeating Hangman Adam Page at All Out 2019. A viral craze would follow as the new champion would celebrate with “a little bit of the bubbly”. Jericho would then close the debuting AEW Dynamite by attacking lead babyfaces Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega — thus forming the Inner Circle faction. Jericho would drop the AEW title to Jon Moxley after a 182 day reign and move onto a feud with the Elite. This feud would culminate in the first-ever cinematic ‘Stadium Stampede’ match.
With unbridled creative freedom, Jericho would focus his attention on feuding with up and coming stars on the roster, a move criticized in some circles as a ploy to maintain his relevancy. Credit though to Jericho for producing intriguing feuds with the likes of Orange Cassidy, MJF, Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks.
The dissolution of the then babyface Inner Circle stable and the formation of a new heel Jericho Appreciation Society would provide the veteran with a new direction and an opportunity to poke fun at the Vince McMahon led WWE. A move which almost immediately lost its relevancy as the McMahonerisms the stable spoofed were slowly erased by the change of creative stewardship at Titan Sports.
Future
In the immediacy, a feud with the returning Adam Cole was hinted at in the closing moments of last weeks Dynamite. This continues the pattern of Jericho standing opposite a fan favourite babyface and is a fine returning feud for the red hot Cole. Adam Cole could face Jericho’s AEW cohorts and accumulate wins on the way to an inevitable PPV showdown with the groups leader.
More long-term, a mentor and mentee feud with stablemates Sammy Guevara or Daniel Garcia could be intriguing. A babyface Jericho disrespected by the brash and arrogant heel Guevara would produce compelling matches and would break up an association which has remained intact since the inaugural Dynamite. A heel Jericho pushing and prodding an increasingly disillusioned Garcia would also seem a natural path for both characters. This feud has already been test driven and led to real momentum for the talented Garcia, momentum unfortunately undercut when Garcia opted to stay with the JAS group.
Verdict – Jericho is the always on the lookout for the next character shift, so predicting his in-ring future is tricky. AEW should continue to showcase Jericho in the gatekeeper role, feuding with and establishing younger talent.
Danhausen
Background
The very nice, though very evil Danhausen is perhaps the best recent example of an independent star converting online popularity into mainstream recognition. With the top selling t-shirt of 2022 on the lucrative Pro Wrestling Tees, Danhausen may not have made waves inside the AEW ring but has certainly garnered huge fan support outside it.
The Detroit native is no overnight success. Making his debut in 2013, Danhausen traversed the independent scene building a cult following with his distinctive horror inspired look and quirky persona.
Known for cursing his opponents, Danhausen signed for Ring of Honor in 2019 and compete for the company throughout the pandemic era. Although proficient in the squared circle, Danhausen built his reputation through online skits and inventive marketing. A reputation further monetized when signing a full-time contract with AEW in early 2022.
Journey
Danhausen would debut for AEW on a Dynamite special ‘Beach Break’ in January 2022. Appearing from underneath the ring during an Orange Cassidy vs Adam Cole Lights Out match, Danhausen would be immediately recognized by the live crowd but little was done from a narrative standpoint to explain his bizarre arrival.
Danhausen would continue to associate himself with Orange Cassidy and by extension the Best Friends stable, becoming a mascot of sorts and sometime in ring competitor.
His most significant storyline thus far though would be an association with Hook. Portrayed as an odd couple pairing, Danhausen would initially irritate the cool and collected Hook with his eccentric ways. When Danhausen ran afoul of heels Mark Sterling and Tony Nese however Hook would come to his aid and the tandem of ‘Hookhausen’ was formed. This culminated in a tag match at that years Double or Nothing Buy-In show before being quietly dropped from AEW programming.
Future
Danhausen need only look to stablemate Orange Cassidy to see how an apparent comedy wrestler can be transitioned into serious and featured matches. With lucrative merchandise sales and a passionate live crowd response, Danhausen will have little motivation in the short term to significantly change his persona.
On the vast AEW roster there is something to be said for standing out with a unique and often entertaining gimmick. Perhaps not everyone’s taste, Danhausen has carved out a niche within the product.
Danhausen is perfectly placed to continue to generate heat for vicious heels. An in ring attack on the sympathetic figure would generate goodwill for the saving babyface as already proven with Hook.
There is arguably little narrative direction for such a unique character but sometimes that’s ok. If wrestling is a buffet then Danhausen is the perfect comedic compliment to the technical in-ring style AEW often presents.
Verdict – Danhausen should be applauded for the ingenuity and creative skills he has employed to ascend to a national wrestling promotion. As a mascot to a mid-card stable Danhausen fits like a glove. Time will tell if there is potential for anything more ambitious.
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