Chris Jericho Open To AEW-NJPW Invasion Angle, Opposed To Invading IMPACT Wrestling

Would you like to see AEW invade NJPW?

Aidan Gibbons smiling in front of a green screen in an Adidas hoodie

May 3, 2021

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All Elite Wrestling has formed working relationships with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling over the past several months and Chris Jericho revealed he would be open to an AEW-NJPW invasion angle during an interview with Comicbook.com.

"There's a couple of matches there that I would love to have. [Minoru] Suzuki and Jericho. I think [Will] Ospreay and Jericho. I think Kenny and myself as a tag team against Tana and [Kazuchika] Okada or against [Kota] Ibushi and Okada. That's a Tokyo Dome main event," Jericho said.

"So all of those matches are in the pipeline. I love Japan. I've been there 60 times since 1991. And when I was there, gosh, a thousand years ago, January 4th, 2020, I guess Tanahashi, I had one of my favourite matches I've ever had. So there's no reason to not go back other than the fact that we literally can't right now, unless you want to spend two weeks in a hotel room. Which I'm not going to do, and [Jon] Moxley is not going to do, and Kenny's not going to do," The Painmaker continued.

"So I think when that opens up, that's the type of invasion angle I think would make some big money. Because New Japan is one of the biggest companies in the world with some legit, legendary mainstream stars. And I just love the concept of AEW invading them in Osaka, Dominion in June, and then doing a Tokyo Dome invasion show, and then coming back to do a Madison Square Garden invasion show in our backyard, or Staples Center, something along those lines. So that's an invasion that I really could get off on and get behind for sure."

Le Champion doesn't feel the same way about an AEW-IMPACT Wrestling invasion angle, though, and he doesn't believe such a storyline would benefit AEW "right now."

"Our roster is jam-packed as it is and I think our involvement with IMPACT has been pretty much what it should be. I'm not saying this in an egotistical way, but AEW is at a completely different level than IMPACT is. So anything that we're doing with them benefits them a lot more than it benefits us, in my opinion. And I think the fact that they've had Kenny Omega there, they've had Private Party there. That's a bonus for them," Jericho added.

"Chris Jericho will never go to Nashville and work in an empty studio in front of somebody. There's just no reason for me to do that. If those guys came over to invade, who are they going to [bring]?"

"If we needed to make it big, we could. But right now, our roster is so jam-packed, and we're doing such a great job of creating our own stars as it is. You could always do an invasion at some point, but I just don't see why that really benefits AEW right now when we've got so much going on and so many of our own guys who are really breaking through to the next level. I want to keep the focus and spotlight on that."

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