All Elite Wrestling‘s latest gimmick match is apparently the result of a request from Warner Bros. Discovery to promote one of its other major brands.
According to a report from F4WOnline.com‘s Dave Meltzer, Warner Bros. Discovery asked All Elite Wrestling to help promote this year’s Shark Week event. Meltzer addressed the report on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, explaining that part of the stipulation for the upcoming Chris Jericho versus Eddie Kingston match is related to Discovery asking All Elite Wrestling to do a tie-in of some kind on Dynamite.
Chris Jericho versus Eddie Kingston is scheduled for the July 20 episode of AEW Dynamite; the bout will not only be a barbed wire death match, but the “Shark Week” tie-in comes into play as the Jericho Appreciation Society will be locked inside a shark cage that will be suspended above the ring.
Shark Week is an annual programming event that began in 1988; this year’s programming block will start on July 24.
At #AEWDynamite: #FyterFest Week 2, @MadKing1981 & @IAmJericho will battle it out in a Barbed Wire Deathmatch LIVE, with #JAS suspended in a shark cage, as part of #SharkWeek. Tune in on Wednesday July 20 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/8pm PT on @TBSNetwork! You won't want to miss this one. pic.twitter.com/5ez26aJV2H
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 9, 2022
Eddie Kingston defeated Chris Jericho in their first match at AEW Revolution in March but their feud has been one that was first hinted at back in November 2021. Jericho recently addressed how health issues caused him to be hospitalized in December, explaining how he survived a pulmonary embolism while on tour in the UK.
“I remember saying, ‘I can’t do another show like this,” Jericho explained. “We need to figure out what’s going on.’”
At the time of the health scare, Jericho had just started a program with Eddie Kingston and 2point0, but his own health and Kingston’s broken orbital bone allowed them to slow things down and get to where they are now on AEW programming.
Read More: Chris Jericho Survived A Pulmonary Embolism, Details 2021 Health Scare
