On December 14, wrestling legend Chris Jericho shocked attendees of GCW Highest In The Room 3 by making a surprise appearance. In an unexpected turn of events, he attacked Matt Cardona, enabling Effy to secure a victory. Jericho didn’t stop there, though, and proceeded to assault Effy as well.
This unanticipated appearance by Jericho aimed to create hype for his forthcoming ROH World Title defense against Cardona, scheduled for Final Battle 2024.
Jericho recently got candid about the planning behind his unexpected cameo on the Z100 podcast. He mentioned, “We were considering Matt’s schedule because the idea of doing something in an independent show enticed me. Matt, being the King of the Indies, and the thought of creating buzz— I wanted to put a spotlight on this. I noticed that Matt had a show in Los Angeles at GCW, and coincidentally, I was performing at the same city with KUARANTINE, my KISS cover band. How serendipitous! We simply had to utilize this opportunity. That’s the essential reason why it happened. It wasn’t a peace offering with GCW; it was more of a coincidence. Matt performed earlier and we made it work.”
Originally, Cardona was penned to face Ricky Starks. However, remarks made by Effy about AEW President Tony Khan and Shahid Khan reportedly led AEW to withdraw Starks from the event.
In Final Battle 2024, Jericho emerged victorious over Cardona, retaining his ROH World Title successfully.