Chris Jericho’s Painmaker Persona Submits Tommaso Ciampa At AEW Redemption

Chris Jericho settled the score with Tommaso Ciampa at AEW Redemption, submitting his rival in a brutal No Holds Barred match that saw the return of Jericho’s menacing “Painmaker” persona. The win avenges Jericho’s loss to Ciampa at AEW Dynamite Beach Break, closing out — for now — a feud that has escalated with each encounter.

The No Holds Barred stipulation gave both men license to bring weapons into the fray, and Jericho didn’t hold back, arriving with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. That kind of hardcore edge has become a hallmark whenever the Painmaker character resurfaces; it’s not the fun-loving, karaoke-singing Jericho fans have seen in other corners of AEW programming, but a colder, more calculated version built specifically for do-or-die situations like this one.

Ciampa, for his part, has made a habit of thriving in physical, unsanctioned environments since arriving in AEW, and his win over Jericho at Beach Break only raised the stakes for the rematch. Losing this one in such visceral fashion is a real gut-punch for a wrestler who has built his AEW run on toughness and unpredictability, and it will be worth watching how he responds — whether he pushes for a trilogy match or pivots to fresh opposition.

For Jericho, bringing back the Painmaker for the rubber match sends a clear message: this was personal, and he wasn’t interested in a fair fight after dropping the first bout. The persona has historically signaled that Jericho views an opponent as a genuine threat worth shedding his usual showmanship for, and reintroducing it here underlines just how seriously AEW has treated this rivalry. At this stage of his career, Jericho doesn’t need to chase every long-term feud, so the fact that he committed to this level of violence with Ciampa suggests the story isn’t entirely finished.

The deciding factor of a submission adds another layer worth noting. Jericho has one of the most decorated submission resumes in wrestling history, and closing out a No Holds Barred brawl by tapping Ciampa out — rather than through a weapon shot or pinfall — reinforces that even in chaos, his technical background remains a weapon in itself.

With the series now split at one win apiece heading into this decisive contest, AEW has built a natural narrative arc that could either close here or continue to simmer depending on how creative plans shake out. Ciampa has shown he can hang physically with a legend of Jericho’s caliber, and Jericho has shown he still has another gear to reach for when he needs it. Whether this Redemption result marks the end of the feud or simply the midpoint of a longer story, it delivered the kind of stiff, personal encounter AEW has leaned on to make its hardcore matches feel consequential rather than gratuitous.

Expect Jericho to address the win — and possibly tease what’s next for the Painmaker — on AEW programming in the coming weeks.