Nick Hausman of HausOfWrestling.com addressed Chris Jericho’s comments about never signing an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) in an online exchange with CM Punk’s lawyer Stephen P. New during his Rumor and Innuendo podcast podcast this week.
Regarding Jericho, Hausman stated the following:
“One of the things that is so disconcerting to me about the universal praise that Chris Jericho receives, and I’m not going to deny the points that MJF made about the impact Chris had in the early days of AEW, but when you have that kind of clout, and you have that kind of power, it’s very important to use that responsibly. There are issues with Chris behind the scenes, where I know a lot of people who were hurt by Chris and his actions. You know, it’s very uncomfortable to me to see him lauded like he is and only having the focus on that, because I do think there are a lot of questionable stories about Chris that will find their way out over time when people are ready to tell those stories, that will cast him in a very different light. I mean, Harvey Weinstein won a lot of Oscars, Harvey Weinstein produced a lot of very popular films. Harvey Weinstein is now in jail … I’m not saying that is happening to Chris, but the narrative can quickly turn if you’re hiding a lot of skeletons in your closet.”
On Saturday, there was speculation about an alleged incident involving Jericho and former AEW star Kylie Rae. “Chris Jericho” trended on Twitter, with some fans demanding that he be fired from AEW. The live crowd at Worlds End also booed Jericho, and chants of “NDA” were directed at him.
During the AEW Worlds End 2023 post-show media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan was asked about safety concerns in regards to any alleged sexual harassment in the past and going forward. Here was Khan’s response:
“I think it applies to everyone in the company, women and men, and it’s something we’re very serious about and we’ve had a policy in place and certainly, anytime there is anything like that, we would make sure we do everything we can to prevent it. AEW has the best safety record, I believe, of any pro wrestling company in the world. I believe we have the most safe environment. I believe we have the best safety record of any pro wrestling company, and I would hold the record of AEW on safety against any wrestling company in the world and I think AEW is the safest place for pro wrestling. If any of our wrestlers ever have a concern, they always have an open line to talk to me and I believe anybody would sit here and tell you, they always can talk to me anytime they are concerned about anything.”
“If there was anything that came to light to me, I would take it to the disciplinary committee and that’s how we’ve been doing it. Our disciplinary committee has been doing a great job and everybody knows they have an open line to me or anybody on that committee.”
Khan was later asked if Chris Jericho has been any under internal investigation at any time for sexual misconduct or anytime of misconduct:
“I can’t speak to internet and unsourced rumors. I spoke earlier to Kevin and mentioned the policy we have in place and the disciplinary process. We’ve always followed that and I believe is the safest wrestling company in the world and we have the best track record for safety, and I would hold it up to anybody and anytime anybody has any kind of a complaint, they have an open door to say it to me or anyone in the office and we would look into it, anytime.”
Khan was then asked again about Jericho and Khan said the following:
“I can’t speak to that. We have a disciplinary policy, we have a disciplinary committee that things are referred to. Everybody at AEW, anybody who has ever wrestled in AEW has an open line to talk to me or this group, and always has. That’s how we’ve always acted and that’s why I believe AEW has the safest environment and is the safest place in pro wrestling and it’s why AEW has the best safety record in wrestling. I believe we maintain that.”
(quotes courtesy of Jeremy Lambert)
