Summary

Mike Bailey said the atmosphere changed immediately when Chris Jericho made his return on the April 1 episode of AEW Dynamite.

Speaking during a recent interview, Bailey said the surprise was big enough that the locker room cleared out when Jericho's entrance music hit so people could watch how the crowd reacted. Bailey added that the reaction in Winnipeg helped set the tone for the rest of the night, including the main event.

Jericho's return ended an absence from wrestling that had lasted close to a year. It also came after recent discussion around his AEW status before he reappeared on Dynamite.

Quote from Mike Bailey

"Obviously, it was a huge surprise for everyone when Judas started playing at the beginning of Dynamite. The whole locker room emptied out to go see the audience’s reaction to Chris Jericho. You heard it, you saw it, they were live and they were excited. Later that night, just to be the main event on the show where Chris Jericho returned in Winnipeg, the energy was incredible and it set the stage perfectly for an all time episode of AEW Dynamite."

What Chris Jericho's return changed for AEW Dynamite

Jericho's return gave AEW an immediate jolt on a night the company clearly wanted to feel important, and Bailey's description of the backstage reaction shows that the surprise landed inside the building as strongly as it did in front of the cameras.

With Jericho already advertised for Wednesday's Dynamite, AEW now has a clear follow-up point after the return instead of letting the moment stand on its own. That gives the company a direct way to build on the crowd reaction Bailey described.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.