Chris Jericho: How I Knew It Was Time To Turn The Inner Circle Babyface

Chris Jericho says he knew, at the start of the AEW angle involving himself and MJF, that it would culminate in turning the Inner Circle into a babyface stable. 

MJF and Jericho began teasing the former's addition to The Inner Circle in October last year, leading up to his eventual departure and starting his own team - The Pinnacle - along with Shawn Spears, FTR, Wardlow and Tully Blanchard. 

Jericho has said the idea was to eventually have MJF form his own faction on the back of leaving the Inner Circle, turning Jericho's group face in the process, telling a different kind of long-term story than what wrestling fans were used to.

Speaking to the New York Post, Jericho said: "Doing this for as long as I have, you can always tell. Also, I believe in long-term storytelling. Kind of the idea when MJF joined the Inner Circle was eventually to have him start his own group.

"What I wanted, which has never been done before, is to have the entire Inner Circle turn from heel to babyface. There was no reason to end the Inner Circle, but as far as the Inner Circle as heels there wasn’t much more we could do with it.

"But we knew that, because that’s why we started this angle in September, knowing that when we go to February or so it would be time to do the massive switch.”