Chris Jericho believes The Learning Tree elicits the right response.
Chris Jericho of All Elite Wrestling recently met with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. When asked about his Learning Tree stable and the negative reaction to it on social media, Jericho said the idea behind the stable was to take the negative social media reactions to him and get people to respond to it.
“I’m a big proponent of letting history guide you, not the other way around,” Chris Jericho said. “It allows me to evolve. The whole learning tree is taking negativity from social media and getting a reaction from it. That’s what wrestling is all about – getting people to react to what you do. There’s a serious side too – look at the brutal beatings we’ve given Samoa Joe, Hook and (Katsuyori) Shibata.
“I’ve made a career out of it and that’s one of the reasons I’ve done it at the highest level for so long, which makes some people angry. That’s what I do. I never wanted to be a nostalgia act, I never wanted to rest on my laurels. I’ve also never been afraid to take risks and do something different and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
“The Learning Tree” also features Big Bill and “The Bad Apple” Bryan Keith, whom Jericho praised highly as he said he wants to put younger talent in the spotlight.
“I think Big Bill is great – I loved him as Cass and I really wanted to work with him,” said Chris Jericho. “Tony Khan suggested Bryan Keith and that’s how the black sheep character was born. The chemistry is right and we’re putting something new in the spotlight – and that gives us some great stories to tell.”
“I’ve been accused of underestimating young talent. Even my last appearance in WWE, I worked with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins. I wanted to give them another opportunity to learn and I learned from them. That’s all I did in AEW. I worked early on with Hangman and Darby and Scorpio Sky and Jungle Boy and Orange Cassidy and MJF – who became a smarter and better wrestler. That’s what I love to do.”
READ MORE: Chris Jericho: Swerve Strickland is AEW’s team captain
Overall, what do you think of Chris Jericho’s comments? Are you enjoying the Learning Tree faction so far? Let us know what you think by posting it in the comments section below.
