Chris Jericho took a pinfall loss in a tag team match on this week’s AEW Dynamite, but he insists that he’s still on a quest to destroy every trace of Ring of Honor. “The Ocho” then announced he’ll defend his title against a former ROH World Champion on next week’s Dynamite, and that it’s an open challenge. But who could it be? Let’s examine the list of potential options.
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Jericho has already beaten Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Bandido and Dalton Castle. He also took Jerry Lynn, who hasn’t wrestled since 2013, off the board by giving him a piledriver on the championship belt after his win over Castle.
Who Definitely Won’t Be Challenging Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite?
Not counting Jericho, 30 men have held Ring of Honor’s top prize. But there are a few names you can cross off the list as potential challengers. Xaver (John Bedoya Jr.) tragically passed away in 2020, CM Punk is both out with an injury and likely leaving AEW, James Gibson (Jamie Noble) still works for WWE, Takeshi Morishima has been retired for years, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly are both out with injuries while Tyler Black (Seth Rollins), Roderick Strong, Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens) and Cody Rhodes are all under contract with WWE.
AEW also likely won’t bring some of the more controversial figures of the wrestling industry in like Austin Aries and Michael Elgin. And unless Warner Bros. Discovery has changed its stance, Jay Briscoe likely won’t be selected either.
Who Will Challenge Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite?
That narrows down the list quite a bit. Low Ki hasn’t been consistently booked on a national stage since early 2021 but could be brought in for a one-off match. Nigel McGuinness just left WWE but hasn’t wrestled in years. Jonathan Gresham didn’t seem to leave ROH on the best of terms after dropping the title to Claudio. Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards could both appear and play into the “Forbidden Door” aspect as they’re working for Impact and MLW, respectively. Jay Lethal is already booked for next week against Darby Allin, Matt Taven and Rush are both heels and a Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho match seems like something Tony Khan would save for a pay-per-view like Final Battle.
That narrows it down to the three most likely options — Homicide, PCO and Christopher Daniels. Homicide has been wrestling primarily with the NWA but could be brought in for a night, PCO could pop the crowd with his usual insane antics and Daniels could make his triumphant return to AEW television and try to defend the honor of ROH. Who do you think it will be? Let us know in the comments!
