Chris Jericho: WWE Congratulated AEW on Debut 'Because They're Embarrassed'

Round 1 of the new Wednesday night rating wars between All Elite Wrestling and WWE's NXT went to the former promotion, with AEW: Dynamite garnering 1.409 million viewers on TNT versus the runner-up's 891,000 on USA Network.

WWE congratulated AEW the day after, and new AEW star (and ex-WWE superstar) Chris Jericho provided comment on the statement.

"Because they're embarrassed," Jericho told Complex Sports (h/t 411mania.com) when asked about why WWE produced the release.

"I know how they work. And the fact is, I haven't seen the actual rating but I'm assuming they know how it is, and I think we probably kicked their ass. They started this. Everything that they've done has been a reactionary move to us. We're not in a war with anybody besides ourselves. I don't care if you resurrect John and George and it's the reunion of the Beatles at the Super Bowl or whatever. All that matters is our show. You can put anything up against us, and we can't compete with that. We can compete with what we're doing."

Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for AEW's debut.

Of note, Matt Fowler of IGN.com gave the show an 8.4 grade out of 10, writing that "AEW soared high in its series premiere, drawing energy from the charged crowd of loud and proud fans who were there to experience each and every moment."

Larry Csonka of 411Mania.com gave it a 7.5 out of 10, writing that "the debut of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite was a very good professional wrestling show that felt like a wrestling show and not a show with wrestling on it."

AEW Dynamite will be back on the air Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.