Earlier this week, Chris Jericho embroiled himself in a social media drama with Stephen P. New, the lawyer of both CM Punk and Ace Steel, over non-disclosure agreements related to the now-infamous backstage brawl following AEW All Out 2022. Across various posts on X, Jericho claimed he did not sign an NDA regarding the incident and doubled down when questioned by New, penning a lengthy response blasting the lawyer over not being present while he was.
In recent days, allegations against Jericho have surfaced relating to former AEW star Kylie Rae. Despite being presented as a top female star in the company’s early days, Rae requested her release in late 2019 out of nowhere, leading to speculation at the time about what led to her sudden exit. Rae herself seemingly lent some credence to the claims, responding to a thread summarising the allegations with a heart emoji.
In his first live appearance since then, Jericho teamed up with Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, and Sting to take on Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Konosuke Takeshita, and Powerhouse Hobbs at AEW Worlds End. The impact of both incidents became apparent almost immediately as Jericho received a noticeably mixed reaction from the live crowd as he made his entrance, with boos becoming especially loud as his entrance music faded out.
The negative reactions became even more apparent during the match itself when chants of “NDA” broke out midway through the bout. Jericho also received seemingly universal boos every time he tagged in, most notably when he did his signature ‘Le Sex Gods’ pose with Guevara as well as after the match while celebrating his win.