NJPW: 3 reasons Chris Jericho shouldn’t win the IWGP Heavyweight Title

For Chris Jericho, Focus Should Be On All Elite Wrestling

By now, there isn’t a wrestling fan with access to the internet who hasn’t heard about All Elite Wrestling. Since the beginning of the year, AEW has built toward Double or Nothing on May 25 and teased a TV deal.

For wrestling fans, there hasn’t been as exciting a time to be a fan in recent memory.

Chris Jericho made waves of his own, though largely expected, when he put his name on the dotted line with AEW. For years, Jericho has danced between being a WWE part-timer and frontman of Fozzy, dipping back into wrestling when the mood struck him.

When he began to surface in New Japan, things became interesting. As Jericho would tell it, Vince McMahon was fine with Jericho competing for NJPW overseas, but The Painmaker’s own pledge was that he wouldn’t work for another company on US soil.

That all changed when Jericho made a surprise appearance at last year’s All In event by attacking Kenny Omega. While he wasn’t technically wrestling for another company (and there wasn’t even a company to speak of), it was a sign of the changing times for Jericho’s career.

A few months later, Jericho would defeat Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Title and hold that title for over 200 days. On January 4 at Wrestle Kingdom 13, Naito got his revenge and reclaimed a title that has been unable to escape his orbit.

Just like that, Chris Jericho was gone.

Days later, Jericho would appear at AEW’s Jacksonville press conference to announce that he was a full-fledged member of the All Elite roster.

With the inception of AEW, a handful of top names were gone from New Japan. Jericho, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes all walked away from the company with one important distinction – Jericho and Omega’s contracts, at least, allow for continued appearances with NJPW.

While it was no secret that Jericho and Omega had some flexibility in their contracts, it did come as a bit of a surprise to see one of them show up at a New Japan event so close to Double or Nothing. Just over 2 weeks after the inaugural AEW event, Jericho will appear at NJPW Dominion.

Although Jericho’s appearance has sparked, and will continue to spark, interest amongst wrestling fans all over the world, it seems like a necessary stopgap more than the start of a lasting feud. With the G1 Climax kicking off in July, Okada needs fodder to fill time before the summer.

More importantly, Jericho winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title would steal focus away from his position in AEW. If, right after the first official All Elite event, one of your top names pops up in another company and wins their championship, what does that mean for All Elite?

For me, it diminishes the value of AEW and the championship they’ll eventually have. If Jericho were to return to AEW with the IWGP Heavyweight Title in tow, suddenly the conversation shifts away from AEW and onto NJPW.

Though it may garner interest in the short-term and lead to an interesting moment on the New Japan timeline, it wouldn’t help Jericho, Okada, New Japan, or All Elite. Jericho doesn’t need the IWGP Heavyweight Title to cement his legacy – he’s already a legend in the business.

On the other hand, New Japan is aching for a dominant champion heading into the summer months, and a successful defense will do far more to build Okada and NJPW.