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Is Chris Jericho actually in on the joke with new Learning Tree gimmick?
Image credit: ClutchPoints

Is Chris Jericho actually in on the joke with new Learning Tree gimmick?

Originally posted on ClutchPoints  |  By Matty Breisch  |  Last updated 4/25/24

When Chris Jericho defeated Hook at Dynasty, he was booed pretty hard by the crowd in St. Louis, some of it good-natured – as what is wrestling without booing the heel? – some of it very, very, very personal, with chants of “Please retire!” and “Go home, Jericho!” examples of the audience wanting “The Ocho” to leave not only the Chaifetz Arena, but AEW as a whole and never come back.

While Jericho did try to thank the fans who did cheer for him on social media, using a tone that perfectly split the difference between serious and sarcastic, at the fallout edition of AEW Dynamite after the Pay-Per-View, he was afforded a chance to address the audience straight up and the results felt a little different than some of his recent on-mic segments, with “Le Champion” talking to the audience in a condescending manner that felt very intentional, almost as if he was trying to egg them on to get the same reaction.

“Hey guys! It’s true, I am the new FTW Champion! It’s great, right? And there’s been a lot of negative connotation with the letters FTW, doesn’t mean ‘F The World,’ doesn’t mean ‘Forget The World,’ none of those things, I’m changing it right here, right now. From now on, this means ‘For The World’ Championship, because this is for all of you. We won this together, guys, thank you. And the whole wrestling world is buzzing, the internet is buzzing over this big victory, and I can see why. I mean, I’m only doing God’s work, and by that I mean the God of Pro Wrestling, Terry Funk told me years ago ‘Chris, it’s now your responsibility to teach the younger generation and take them to the next level,’ and that’s what I’m doing. So thanks to Terry Funk, once again, thanks to all of you. Thank you,” Chris Jericho told the AEW crowd in Jacksonville. “And how about thanks to Hook? Let’s hear it for Hook, right? What a great champion, and what a tough competitor in the ring. He beat the living h*ll out of me. His only flaw is there’s still certain things he needs to take from The Learning Tree. Lessons I wanna teach him, including getting rid of the dead weight that surrounds him like Taz, and Shibata, and all the collateral damage, the clowns that surround him. And more importantly, Hook, you need to listen to me when I tell you to stay down, okay? I told you to stay down at Dynasty, you kept getting back up. After two Judas Effects, you forced me to hit you in the head with a baseball bat. Right? Right? So that’s on you. But I know you’re at home listening, and thinking about the lessons you learned, and that’s exciting to me.”

See what I mean? Jericho is talking down to the audience as if he’s smarter than them in a very condescending way and is now suggesting that he can help out younger talent in the very same way plenty of fans have been accusing him of being a talent burier, going so far as to co-opt the “Jericho Vortex” some have jokingly called him on social media? Is this all intentional, or is he so deeply convinced that the crowd is booing him simply for being a heel that it can actually be incorrectly read as ironic? Either way, Jericho’s lines caught the attention of Big Bill, who marched down to the ring to have some words with the former AEW World Champion.

Big Bill actually wants to join the Chris Jericho Learning Tree.

After making his way into the ring, Big Bill, mic in hand, addressed Chris Jericho straight on, but he didn’t want a shot at the FTW Championship or to address a previous grievance, but instead wanted to inquire about his Learning Tree, as he too wants to be a top guy in AEW.

“Chris, I have been in the back listening to you, and I only have one thing to say: I need the guidance of the Learning Tree. Now Chris, everybody knows you are the Socrates of professional wrestling. Always willing to give advice, always willing to lend a hand, and always willing to take a less established guy and bring him right up to the top with you,” Big Bill declared. “That’s you, Chris. Now I know there is a long line of guys in the back, foaming at the mouth, chomping at the bit for the very opportunity to be a part of The Learning Tree. But Chris, take this into consideration: There is nobody bigger than me, and nobody better fit than I am for The Learning Tree. And Chris, you know it, deep down in your heart, you know I am the very best fit for The Learning Tree.”

Shocked by his request, Jericho responded in kind, letting Bill know that he will think about it.

“I gotta tell you, Big Bill, I’ve been watching you for a long time. I’ve been a big fan of yours for years,” Jericho responded. “I’m one of the reasons why you’re in AEW, did you guys know that? It’s true, yeah. So I’m gonna think about what you said, I’m really gonna think about it. I’m gonna be keeping my eye on you, Bill. I’m gonna be watching you to see if what you say is true.”

So what gives? Is Jericho the “Learning Tree” and also operating a learning tree, where he takes performers under his wing to form another faction like the Inner Circle or the JAS? Frankly, this is a very weird angle, and hopefully, they actually try to keep it that way instead of going all-in on the same old schtick.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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