Chris Jericho Acknowledges "The Buzz" About Becky Lynch Possibly Joining AEW
Lynch becomes a free agent this week.
WWE's streak of extending its main event talents' contracts comes to an end this week. After successfully landing new deals with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Drew McIntyre, WWE was unable to come to terms with Becky Lynch before her current contract expires at the end of this month. Lynch lost the WWE Women's World Championship at WWE King and Queen of the Ring as well as her subsequent title rematch this week on WWE Monday Night Raw. She is now expected to take a break from wrestling entirely, as she reportedly will not put pen to paper on a new wrestling contract, regardless of the company, for some time.
Chris Jericho Speaks on Becky Lynch's Free Agency
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Even if her intention is to stay with WWE, the possibility alone of Becky Lynch taking her talents elsewhere has stirred conversation within the wrestling industry.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, AEW star Chris Jericho weighed in on Lynch's free agency, noting her contract status is news to him.
"I don't. I just found out. You probably know more than I do," Jericho said. "Once again, the speculation of it is the best part. Whether it happens or doesn't happen, it doesn't matter that the buzz about it is there."
Jericho is an AEW original, having joined the company immediately upon its inception. Beyond what he does with AEW in the ring, he has seen the effect that the start-up has had on the wrestling industry as a whole.
"The best thing that ever happened to pro wrestling in the modern era was AEW existing," Jericho continued. "My dad played for the NHL for ten years. He was playing for the New York Rangers in 1972. Bobby Hull signed with the WHA and got a million dollars to jump from the NHL. And what did that do? It raised everybody's salaries."
Lynch is expected to stay with WWE, as her husband Seth Rollins recently re-signed a multi-year deal with the company, and the pair's parental status has many believing they will want to continue working the same schedule. That's not to say AEW won't make a play for Lynch, as speculation has already sizzled that AEW President Tony Khan's pocketbooks are deep enough to offer Lynch the largest contract in women's wrestling history.
"Five years ago, Becky would have no other options. [I'm] not saying that she's coming, but there is an option," Jericho added. "Who knows what could happen? No one thought that I would come to AEW, no one thought that Moxley would come, or Bryan Danielson, or Adam Cole, or any of these guys that have come over. It's exciting for the fans and it's exciting for the wrestlers and the talent because now, suddenly, there's a bidding war that benefits us."