There had been a ceiling for years

WWE legend Chris Jericho recently talked about the influence his AEW signing had on the professional wrestling world. Y2J revealed how it helped stars in the Stamford-based promotion.

After leaving a lasting impact in World Wrestling Entertainment, Chris Jericho jumped ship to All Elite Wrestling in 2019. The legend was undoubtedly one of the biggest AEW signings at the time. Since then, Y2J has helped the Tony Khan-led promotion become a direct competitor to the Stamford-based promotion, which many other wrestling companies have failed to do time and time again.

During his recent interview with GamesHub, the host asked if his move to AEW has had any financial impact on the wrestling industry. Chris Jericho revealed that his move immediately raised WWE stars’ salaries.

He compared himself to NHL legend Bobby Hull, who joined a new company, and everyone in hockey started getting paid more because of that.

“It immediately raised salaries across the board at WWE as well. There’s a hockey analogy I love — a player called Bobby Hull left the NHL to join the upstart WHA. They paid him a million dollars. When he jumped, every player in the NHL got a raise. My dad played hockey and went from about 35,000 a year to 100,000 a year, which in 1972 was enormous. I’m the Bobby Hull of pro wrestling,” he said.

Jericho added that before he jumped ship to AEW, there was a limit to what top stars could earn in WWE, but after his move to the Tony Khan-led promotion, Vince McMahon raised everyone’s pay.

“The moment I left WWE, Vince was thinking, ‘It’s happening again — raise everybody’s pay.’ There had been a ceiling for years. The most you’d ever get paid was a million dollars guaranteed, regardless of who you were. That ceiling got blown up, and guys started earning above it for the first time. That changed everything in the best possible way,” he added. [H/T GamesHub]

WWE legend Chris Jericho teased his retirement from wrestling

During the same interview with GamesHub, Chris Jericho highlighted that he has been in the wrestling industry for 35 years, before teasing his retirement from in-ring competition, saying it could even happen in a year or two.

“What worries me about the guys working today is here I am at 55, 35 years in, with still some career left to go. I don’t know if it’s a year, two years, four years — I’m not sure,” he said.

It remains to be seen what Chris Jericho has planned for his future in the professional wrestling world.