"I am a Sports Entertainer"

Matt Menard: "You guys love that song, dontcha? [Crowd cheers] You guys love it! You love being in on the fun, well you know who you have to thank for that song? You know who allows you to sing it? [Points to Chris Jericho] This man, right here, Chris Jericho. [Crowd cheers] Because I'm tellin' ya, right now. If it was up to me, THERE'D BE NO 'JUDAS', THERE'D BE NO SING-A-LONG, THERE'D BE NO NOTHING! [Crowd boos] And that's why Chris Jericho is a better man than me."

Angelo Parker: "AND THAT IS ALSO WHY THIS MAN DESERVES TO BE PRAISED! THAT IS WHY THIS MAN DESERVES TO BE IDOLIZED, NOT ONLY FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS IN THIS INDUSTRY, BUT FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS... As a human being. [Crowd cheers] SO WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADIEU, I GIVE TO YOU: 'THE INFLUENCER', 'THE BIG ONE', Chris Jericho!" [Crowd cheers and chants for 'Jericho']

Chris Jericho: "Think about this, the earth has been around for 4 and a half billion years and--yet --you are lucky enough to be alive during the Chris Jericho Era. [Crowd cheers] How fortunate are you, right? You're welcome, for that. Think about this, too. For over 30 years, you have been living vicariously through me as I take you through classic 5 star matches, riveting promos, angles & storylines that you'll never forget. Hell, I even helped build companies, including this one! [Crowd cheers]

If there was no Chris Jericho, there would be no AEW, it's true. I helped build the company, I carried it on my back for the first 3 months of it's existence. No Jericho, no you, you're welcome. [Crowd cheers] But instead of praising me, you undermined me, you take me for granted, you insult me on social media, [points to camera] I read what you write, it's very hurtful, very hurtful. You've got the greatest total package, performer, in the history of this business right here and you don't appreciate me!

You don't appreciate me, the roster of AEW doesn't appreciate me, The Inner Circle never appreciated me, Sammy Guevara walked out on me, Santana & Ortiz disrespected me and their little buddy--Eddie Kingston-- had the AUDACITY to embarrass me on national pay-per-view by making me tap out! [Crowd chants 'Eddie'] Listen, you can cheer for him all you want, he's not coming out, there probably not coming out ever again, thanks to us. Okay, keep that in mind. THEY DON'T APPRECIATE ME, but these men do, and that's why we are the Jericho Appreciation Society. [mild cheers]

We appreciate each other, because we realized--very quickly--we can't relate to the rest of the AEW roster. We aren't like the rest of the AEW roster, because they are... Nothing more than... Pro Wrestlers. And a Pro Wrestlers never been legendary, a Pro Wrestler has never been a millionaire and, as a legendary millionaire many times over, the only reason I was able to do it was because I am NOT a Pro Wrestler, I am a Sports Entertainer! [Crowd boos] I'll say it again, I AM A SPORTS ENTERTAINER!" [Daniel Garcia grabs the mic from Jericho.]

Daniel Garcia: "I just heard you say something and I just have to get this off my chest real quick, If you're going to stand here and call yourself a Sports Entertainer... Well then, I am too! [Crowd boos] My name is Daniel Garcia [looks to the camera at southeast corner] and I am a SPORTS ENTERTAINER!" [Crowd boos]

Chris Jericho: "The epitome of a sports entertainer, right here! Daniel Garcia, the mask of the red death, a man more horrifying and terrifying than anything Edgar Allan Poe could ever think of! But why does he appreciate me, I'll tell ya why. January 6th, 2019, a group of independent wrestlers where in a terrible car crash in Buffalo, one of them shattered his fibula, his tibia, they he could never walk again, they said he'd never wrestle again. When I heard about this, even though I had never met none of these men, I donated thousands of dollars to their recovery and not only did that man heal his tibia and fibula, learn to walk and come back to this business, [points to Daniel] that man was this guy right here, Daniel Garcia. [Crowd cheers] [see Note 1] [Daniel, inaudibly, mouths 'Thank you, Chris.']

He appreciates me, then you got Matt Lee and Jeff Parker, 2.0. And by the way, that's a stupid name from bad creative and you'll never hear it again! [see Note 2] [mild cheers] We don't use made up names in the Jericho Appreciation Society, we use our real names! [points to each member as he says their names] Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Chris Jericho, and now these two men are going to use their new names-- real names-- for now on. [Points to each member of 2.0] 'Daddy Magic' Matt Menard and 'Cool Hand' Angelo Parker! And why do they appreciate me? About a year ago, I got a call from my former-best friend, Kevin, who said 'Hey, I need some help with some buddies of mine who just got fired. Can you please put them on 'Talk is Jericho' so they can, maybe, get a job?' So I brought these two men into my house, I never met them before and at the end of that podcast, I realized these guys have passion, these guys have desire, I want to try and get them a job, and look what happens, AEW hires them, they are here, that's why they appreciate me! [Crowd cheers]

And then I got the big man, right here, my ride-or-die, Jake Hager. This man has had my back since 2010, we've traveled the world together, we broke bread together, he saved my life in Dubai, he's always been the one man I can trust! He's my closest advisor, he's my closest confidant, he is the Hand of the King! And Hand of the King, tell 'em who we are and what we do!"

Jake Hager: "We are the JAS and WE BEAT UP PRO WRESTLERS!"

Chris Jericho: "So there you have it, The newest reinvention of the master manipulator and the last true genius in this business, Chris Jericho! And remember this date, March 16th, 2022, because this is the day that the new era begins in AEW, the era of the Sports Entertainer! This is the Jericho Appreciation Society and that-- that's entertainment."

- Credit: Thanks to inmate JediSaiyanMaster1203 for transcribing this promo.

- Note 1: Daniel Garcia, Kevin Blackwood, Kevin Bennett, Nick PufPaff were involved in a car crash in 2019 due to black ice. Chris Jericho, alongside other pro wrestling personnel, were major contributors to a GoFundMe for the Buffalo Brothers' recovery fund.

- Note 2: Chris Jericho references the "We are the Inner Circle, baby!" promo.