Chris Jericho found out the hard way that he should watch promo videos ahead of time.
Currently aligned with Big Bill and Bryan Keith, The Learning Tree and his followers were recently challenged to a six-man match at Forbidden Door by Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata. However, on the June 22nd episode of AEW Collision, the match appeared to be in doubt as Keith seemingly suffered an injury to his triceps.
Appearing live on the June 26th episode of Dynamite, the group appeared live with Kieth’s arm in a sling, confirming that The Bounty Hunter would not be available for the upcoming pay-per-view. As Bill hinted that a Forbidden Door would be opening, Jericho first claimed that “He was here for the young guys before stating that they had found a replacement, introducing Minoru Suzuki via video package, who Jericho had previously teamed with on a number of occasions.
Stating that he had not watched the video beforehand, Jericho’s night went from bad to worse as Suzuki declined the invitation and instead wanted to challenge him for the FTW Championship as a shocked Jericho looked on while the NJPW legend mocked Jericho for being scared of him.
Hook, Joe and Shibata interrupted The Learning Tree and mocked Jericho for the events that transpired. A brawl ensued with the babyfaces standing tall and Jericho at a disadvantage heading into the pay-per-view. At the time of writing, Keith’s replacement has not been named.
Chris Jericho Not Retiring Anytime Soon
Ironically, The Learning Tree persona was birthed as a response to recent hostile crowd reactions that called for Jericho to retire, which the FTW Champion has leaned into as a delirious veteran. Despite being in the industry for more than 30 years, Chris Jericho recently explained why he doesn’t have a timeline for in-ring retirement.