Action Andretti made his AEW television debut on Dynamite: Winter Is Coming in December 2022 by defeating Chris Jericho in a major upset. The shocking outcome immediately drew comparisons to the May 17, 1993 bout between Razor Ramon and “The Kid.” Following the match, AEW President Tony Khan announced that Andretti had signed a full-time deal with the company.
On The Sessions with Renee Paquette podcast, Andretti discussed his surprise victory over Jericho and the days leading up to the match.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On being grateful for the opportunity: “Where to even begin with that? The emotions that were there, the opportunity I was given, knowing that I had to crush it, knock it out of the ball park. There was a lot of nerves going into that. It’s a big test and you gotta’ make the most of that. Just to have an opportunity like that. It’s crazy to me. I’m very grateful that Tony [Khan] gave me that opportunity to even step in the ring with Jericho to begin with, for him to believe in me to just go out there, let alone go out there and get the victory over him. It was an insane feeling, that crowd in Texas crazy. I again thank those fans in Texas cause they really made that moment special for me.”
On flying to Texas for Dynamite not knowing the plan: “I didn’t really know what I was doing when I went out to Texas. When I saw the announcement that ‘Chris Jericho would be live in action,’ I was just like; if there is any way that I got put in this situation where I went out there with him, that would just be an insane game-changing thing for me. Wow, what if that’s me? What if there’s a possibility that could be me out there?”
On learning he would be doing more than a squash: “When I found out I was gonna be wrestling him, I was just like wow! This is gonna happen tonight. I’m going to go out there and get a chance on Dynamite, I gotta look my frikkin’ best out there. When I found out it was gonna be like a legit match, I’m not just gonna go out there and get squashed, you’re gonna be able to showcase yourself and show what you can do in that ring? It was crazy. I couldn’t believe that I had the chance to wrestle Chris Jericho. I’m just a kid on the indies, just have been grinding the past four years, and I get an opportunity to show all the hard work I’ve been putting in. It was an incredible opportunity and I’m just very thankful Tony gave me the chance to get out there and very glad I went out there and made the magic that happened.”
On the responses of Jericho and Tony Khan: “Tony was very happy with the match, very fired up, which I love to see. ‘Let’s f**kin’ go!’. That fires me up so much, I loved it. Chris was very happy with how it came out. I’m just very happy those guys believed in me, very grateful that they trusted me out there to go out and perform to the level they thought I would. Chris was very happy, and to make those guys happy, it makes me know that I’m doing something right.”
