Chris Jericho Says He’s An Employee Of AEW, Not An Independent Contractor

Chris Jericho clarifies his status with All Elite Wrestling, citing his employee status.

Wrestler independent contractor status’ have long been a hot topic, especially for former Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura. When the legendary wrestler and announcer talked to All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho on “The World According to Jesse,” “Y2J” revealed that he’s actually listed as an employee as opposed to an independent contractor, per his deal.

“I don’t know everybody’s specific deals, but I am an employee of AEW. So there are inroads for that, at least for me. I’m a registered employee of the company. There are options that are opening up to this sort of vibe. When you play for a sports team — The Khan Family owns AEW, Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham FC -0 there’s a different vibe there. It’s more of a big time sports mentality rather than the old school ‘the way things are done’ wrestling mentality. There is a time when you have to change that. Just because it is that way, doesn’t mean that it’s right,” said Jericho.

Beyond that, Jericho talked about the process of deciding to sign with All Elite Wrestling after being with WWE since 1999. Jericho believes that if WWE doesn’t adapt to the way AEW is handling things, it’s going to hurt them.

“AEW has health care and dental for the performers. You’re talking about a big sports team mentality instead of the every man for himself mentality the business has had for years. It’s something that appealed to me. I worked for WWE for 18 years. It’s hard to leave the place you’ve been for so long. There are loyalty and sentimental standpoint. From a business standpoint, there was no choice. AEW was better across the board, from the guarantee I was given, the contract I was given, the employee status, the healthcare. There’s a lot more of that going on, and I think that’s going to continue to grow, which will force eventually WWE to follow suit, or else everybody will want to leave to come to AEW, which is already happening anyway,” Jericho said.

You can see the full episode of “The World According to Jesse” above.

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