At the Double or Nothing rally AEW held on January 8, 2019, the company showed the biggest indicator yet that they could potentially compete with WWE on near-even footing, with the shocking arrival of a surprise signing- Chris Jericho!
With Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega as the first main event of AEW, most fans were probably expecting Jericho to be the face and Omega the heel. Nope, it was the other way around.
And then at Double or Nothing itself, they somehow managed to top themselves with the surprise appearance of JON FUCKING MOXLEY!note While most people were expecting him to come to AEW eventually, few people thought he would do so just a month after leaving WWE.
A smaller but still amazing return is AWESOME KONG returning to the ring after a three-year absence.
AEW also stunned the Double or Nothing crowd and fans watching at home with the cameo of Bret Hart, who introduced the AEW World Championship belt.
Fyter Fest saw the return of Shawn Spears (the former Tye Dillinger), immediately introducing himself to AEW with a high-five. And by that we mean with a chair. To the back of Cody's head. This revived the debate about unprotected chair shots in wrestling (not helped by Cody being busted open hardway due to a botch with how the chair was gimmicked), but it can't be said that it didn't cause a reaction. Even the AEW crowd, who were probably primed to see something very not-WWE, had no idea what to make of it.
