Chris Jericho reflected on the time he did big business for NJPW, which ultimately helped AEW get off the ground. The Wrestle Kingdom 12 match between Kenny Omega and Jericho under the NJPW banner in 2018 is often credited for convincing Tony Khan to start AEW. During an appearance on the “AEW Unrestricted” podcast, Jericho shared why he thinks that match ultimately helped Khan see the potential in starting his own wrestling promotion.

“I think it was the fact that there was so much of a buzz, but the cold hard fact of the business that it did, because New Japan World, which is New Japan’s streaming service, I believe subscriptions went up like 300 percent, if not more, when that match was announced,” Jericho said. “I know in the arena, in the [Tokyo] Dome, it sold an extra 15,000 tickets, which out of 50,000 tickets, think about that. That’s 30 percent of the tickets sold just from that match. So, I think a combination of the tickets and the business of the streaming is where Tony really thought, ‘I could do this.'”

Jericho recalled the early days of AEW when the deal with WarnerMedia was based solely on ad revenue. The former AEW World Champion said he doesn’t know what would’ve happened had the company stayed on that agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained why network executives quickly ditched the original deal for something far more substantial.

“The demos that we were getting were so big, that’s when the network decided to sign us, rip up the [ad revenue] share, and sign us to a four-year, $160 million deal,” Jericho said.

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit the “AEW Unrestricted” podcast with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.