Why Does Chris Jericho think AEW wrestlers need to work six months with Vince McMahon? Jericho, whose career includes several campaigns in the WWE, recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about a variety of topics, including what he thinks would benefit AEW's current roster:

“I say this all the time in AEW, I think everybody could use six months working for Vince McMahon. Because that’s what you really understand what wrestling is, the wrestling business, and how the business works. I loved working for him and I loved going head to head with him and creating ideas and debating ideas and arguing ideas.”

Jericho explained the pros and cons of working for Mr. McMahon:

“But he always used to say, ‘I’m not here just to teach you wrestling lessons I’m here to teach you life lessons.’ He did teach me a lot of life lessons, the guy’s a really f**king a cool guy. You know, from my experiences with him and he’s not easy to deal with, an asshole sometimes, but he’s your boss. You’re not supposed to be friends with your boss all the time. But then you can still get on the private jet and drink for four hours.”

There are plenty of stories of Vince McMahon's eccentric behavior as well as his motto to do things the Vince McMahon way or the wrong way. Whatever the case, Vince McMahon's success as a wrestling promoter is unparalleled and there's a strong case to be made that a large part of his success is due to his commitment to do things a certain way and for his wrestlers to go along to get along.

Is Jericho Indirectly Criticizing AEW Management?

Could Jericho's comments about not being friends with your boss all the time an indirect way of criticizing AEW President Tony Khan's management style? Tony Khan has been criticized for acting too much like a friend to his roster and too little like a boss.

Whether or not Jericho was referencing Tony Khan is a matter of interpretation but "Le Champion" was crystal-clear on how wrestlers have to behave in the WWE:

“There’s a way that the WWE works where you don’t say no to anything. I mean, they asked you to do press you do it, they ask you to sign 1,000 action figures you do it because if you don’t, you know there’s gonna be consequences and big ones. And that’s just kind of I think everybody in AEW needs to understand that sometimes.”

H/T TJR Wrestling for quotes

What do you think of Chris Jericho's remarks? Do you think he was making a not-so-subtle critique of Tony Khan's leadership style?

Photo Credit: AEW