AEW: Chris Jericho continues to evolve with new finisher
With AEW Double or Nothing vastly approaching, let’s take some time to talk about Chris Jericho and his brand new MMA finisher: The Judas Effect.
The evolution of Chris Jericho has been a fascinating one to watch over the course of a nearly 30-year career. Jericho is notorious for constantly and consistently tweaking both his character and his moveset every once and a while. We’ve seen him go from a Young Lion to an in-ring rock star to suit wearing blowhard and most recently, a face paint and fedora wearing potty mouth. His latest evolution is a more subtle one.
In the build-up to his match with Kenny Omega at All Elite Wrestling’s debut PPV, Double or Nothing – which airs live from Las Vegas just over 24 hours from now – Jericho has been training in the art of MMA. Mixed martial arts is a big task for someone nearing the age of 50, but the former WWE Superstar was up for the task.
As he revealed in a video he posted onto Instagram this time last week, he learned a special move during his MMA training; a move which he fully intends to use exclusively for AEW as a new finisher. He calls it The Judas Effect.
The Judas Effect can be described simply as a spinning elbow, but when you see it executed in action, it’s effect leaves an impression that is anything but simple. Frequent viewers of MMA and boxing can attest that the spinning elbow is one of the most lethal moves to ever be executed in a physical combat sport. As Jericho’s trainer, Josh Rafferty, explained in the aforementioned Instagram video, “most martial arts don’t even teach it any more; it’s that deadly.”
Take a closer look at that elbow below.
The spinning elbow has been known to either knock opponents out immediately or bust their head open like a faucet.
Chris Jericho has continued to add a bevy of moves to his arsenal with each passing year. Lion Tamer, Walls of Jericho, Lionsault, Codebreaker, etc. All moves that we know as old hat when it comes to his moveset, but we’ve never seen something like the Judas Effect from the Fozzy lead singer before.
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With this new move introduction, Jericho adds a subtle layer to his ever growing, always changing character. A move like this gives the air of an MMA expert to his aura. In addition, it provides an air of legitimizing Jericho as a dangerous a** kicker with a scary finish that he could execute out of nowhere. Expect big things to come for Y2J the more he hits this in AEW.