Chris Jericho has looked back on one of the most unique crowd moments in AEW history, revealing how the idea to ban his iconic entrance theme “Judas” actually came together behind the scenes.

During a recent interview, Jericho reflected on his long running storyline with Maxwell Jacob Friedman, which spanned an entire year and included a series of creative stipulations designed to test both him and the audience. One of the boldest ideas was removing his entrance music entirely to see how fans would respond.

“It was a great moment. We were doing the storyline with MJF, and he had all these stipulations one of them was banning Judas from being played. The idea came up I think it was collaborative, the whole storyline lasted exactly 366 days, a year and a day that we should ban the song and see what the crowd does.”

Jericho explained that there were several different pitches discussed internally about how to make the moment work. Some within production wanted to guide the audience more directly, even suggesting visuals or printed lyrics to help fans sing along.

“There were a lot of theories in the production meeting about how to make it work. One producer was adamant we needed to put the lyrics on the screen with a bouncing ball. Someone else wanted to put lyrics under the chairs. Everyone had ideas. But Tony Khan and I talked about it, and he said, ‘When you go to a concert, people know the words or they don’t.’ That’s the organic nature of it. If you force it, it’s not going to be as cool.”

That philosophy ultimately shaped the execution. Rather than forcing participation, the moment was left entirely in the hands of the crowd. While the opening seconds were uncertain, Jericho recalled how quickly the audience found its rhythm, with some fans even pulling out their phones to follow along.

Looking back, Jericho considers the acapella rendition of “Judas” to be one of the most special experiences of his career. He noted that it stood out not just within AEW, but across wrestling as a whole, as a rare instance where live audience energy created something truly unforgettable.

“But that was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever been part of, and I think it’s actually a fairly underrated moment in AEW history and in wrestling history. That’s the only time I can ever remember that happening that way. It was the one time where Fozzy and wrestling collided perfectly.”