Skip to playerSkip to main content
rt316
  • 35 minutes ago
Transcript
00:00:00And if I finish my career with AEW and the first inductee or the second inductee or the 10th inductee
00:00:05to AEW Hall of Fame, that's great too, but I'm in the Hall of Fame in my head and in
00:00:12the heads of anybody that appreciates the work that I've done. It's good enough for me, man.
00:00:24Welcome to TMZ's Inside the Ring. I'm Branson Quirk. I'm Roger Corral. And we have wrestling royalty. Wrestling royalty, baby.
00:00:31That's like at the very least we could say that. Yeah, at the very least. I shouldn't even be speaking.
00:00:38Do we call him sir? We should. Yeah, we should. We're telling him sir. Right. I mean, last time we
00:00:43had someone that you considered royalty. Yeah.
00:00:45Put down the red carpet in the front. I didn't have enough time this time. Why didn't you put a
00:00:50red carpet for him? I'm sorry, dude. I should stock up on carpet. That's a little. I know. I'm sorry.
00:00:54But if you don't know, MJF was here. Yeah. We put out the red carpet for him and he was
00:00:58real upset about it. Yeah. And now. He hated it. He might be upset about it. I actually showered at
00:01:02lunchtime for this. You did? In the gym. Okay. Here. Yeah. I got my hair good. You look good. Don
00:01:07Callis actually taught me this. Always want to be looking good. But then he scolded me for it afterwards. Okay.
00:01:12Yeah. So. Well, anyways, without further ado.
00:01:15Where's Jericho? I'm sitting right here.
00:01:19This bit won't end. We're trying to get the illusion that. Here's the best part. I was going to sit
00:01:24like this, but you guys are both sitting like that. So I don't want the whole group to sit with
00:01:27our legs crossed. So I have my legs uncrossed. But I will be watching with an eagle eye for when
00:01:32one of you guys uncrosses. Then I'm crossing.
00:01:34Oh, I mean, if you want to cross, I'll do it. Let's. Yeah. There you go.
00:01:37If you're going to have me thinking about that.
00:01:41Wrestling royalty. How do you act in front of the queen? Do you cross your legs? Do you not cross
00:01:44your legs?
00:01:45Oh, I need to call Don Callis. Yeah. He's the one that taught us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:01:48We've been trying to get into those parties, by the way. Don Callis parties? Yeah.
00:01:52They're not very fun. Oh, is that so?
00:01:54It's just a bunch of gummies and wham being played.
00:01:57Finally, we got some information. Yeah. We've been trying to get information on the.
00:02:00He would not tell us. He would not tell us. Well, Jericho, welcome. So welcome to TMZ.
00:02:04Uh, you've been here a few times. I have. Great to have you back. Yeah.
00:02:07Always great to be back here. Awesome place. Awesome time. Good place. Congratulations on all your success.
00:02:11Thank you. Thank you. Going through the roof. So yeah, it's cool for me to be here.
00:02:14Thanks so much. Hey, how's LA treating you? What are you doing out here?
00:02:17Talking to you. I'm always out here doing stuff. There's always stuff going on, um, when you're in town because
00:02:22it is LA.
00:02:23So lots of people live here. There are always meetings to be had in Hollywood, you know, cognoscenti that you
00:02:29need to discuss and that sort of a thing.
00:02:31But, um, but yeah, I mean, once again, there's always reasons to come to Los Angeles and we actually have
00:02:37a good one today. Don't we?
00:02:38We do. We do. And, and we haven't told the audience yet, but Roger and I, we are going on
00:02:43your cruise.
00:02:44Right.
00:02:45The Jericho cruise.
00:02:46Yes. Chris Jericho's rock and wrestling rager. Seventh cruise of a seventh cruise.
00:02:50Woo.
00:02:51And you guys, 11th, 7th, 11th, uh, Miami to, to Bimini, which is, uh, in the Bahamas.
00:02:57Right.
00:02:57And you guys will be joining us.
00:02:58We are.
00:02:59Thank you for the invite.
00:03:00We are. Thank you, by the way, for the invite. We are, we're, we're over the moon excited, but we
00:03:04are even more excited because you have a couple of announcements that you want to make about that.
00:03:09And I mean, yeah, there's, there's something that we're doing, uh, on this cruise that we've never done before.
00:03:15Obviously it's the seventh version of the Jericho cruise. And we are for the first time ever.
00:03:24That was good.
00:03:25Thank you.
00:03:26Uh, doing a live episode of AEW collision from the boat itself.
00:03:33Wow.
00:03:34Saturday, November 7th, the collision will be live from Chris Jericho's rock and wrestling rager at sea.
00:03:39Thanks to the Norwegian Pearl. Thanks to sixth man. Thanks. Thanks to Tony Khan for, for facilitating this, but this
00:03:46is monumental.
00:03:47We had a dynamite that we taped. This is live.
00:03:52Yeah. How are you doing this? The logistics, my goodness.
00:03:54Yeah, man. I mean, obviously when you do something like, like the cruise for seven years, um, and I know
00:04:00this is your, your, your first, but there's people that have been on all seven of them, believe it or
00:04:04not.
00:04:05Wow.
00:04:05Uh, and the, and the idea is you want to keep it fresh and keep it new so that people
00:04:10never know what to expect.
00:04:11And we just had the idea of like, why don't we try and do, see if we can do a
00:04:16live collision from sea.
00:04:19That's a little harder because of satellites and wifi and cables, you know, how many miles of cables you need
00:04:25to put.
00:04:25So we just said, what if we do it just in port before we actually leave for, for, for the
00:04:32port, uh, leave, leave for the ocean.
00:04:34Right.
00:04:34And usually we'll leave late afternoon, four or five boat pulls away. Fawzi starts.
00:04:39This time we'll stay in the dock, still have the party going on, but at eight o'clock collision will
00:04:45air live, uh, from the Jericho cruise.
00:04:48Um, lots of logistic, lots of bells, bells and whistles, lots of things we had to figure out, but we
00:04:53made it work.
00:04:53And it's the first time ever. And we're really, really excited about it.
00:04:56Are you going to be in action?
00:04:57I'm not sure. Cause once again, this is Tony Khan is the booker of our shows.
00:05:02So you're going to see the whole, I mean, the biggest, probably AEW roster that we've ever had.
00:05:09Cause most of the time when we're at sea for four days, who wants to be on the cruise?
00:05:13Who doesn't want to be in the cruise? I can't force people to go on it.
00:05:16How come you haven't had so-and-so? Cause he doesn't like cruises, right?
00:05:20Now you have a chance to see whoever Tony books that night for collision will be on the boat.
00:05:26Now they might leave later on that night, but the point is the cruise is going to start off with
00:05:29an actual all-star collision lineup.
00:05:31And then we'll have the, the, the, the, the, the section of AEW, uh, performers that want to stay for
00:05:37the whole cruise.
00:05:37But then we've got the entire rest of the roster that you already can see that have been signed up.
00:05:43And we've got the Jericho men's oceanic tournament. Uh, we've got the women's oceanic tournament for our oceanic championship belt
00:05:49that we created for the boat.
00:05:50We've got micromania, which is unbelievable. Have you seen micromania yet?
00:05:53I have not. And that's what I'm really pumped for. And I've been talking about it for a few days.
00:05:58They are so entertaining and so much fun. And they literally run like 300 shows a year.
00:06:05Wow.
00:06:05They've got different crews of, of, of many minis, little people wrestling, but they have three shows, three separate.
00:06:13It's like the WWE old school. There's the A leg, there's the B leg.
00:06:16They do this every, every week.
00:06:19And we, we came up with the idea of having them on and it's just a whole party as well.
00:06:23The whole thing is just a party, um, from beginning to end since we started it until now, every act
00:06:30that's on it, I've booked, or if I haven't booked, I've vetted them.
00:06:33I want only good rock and roll bands with a cool party vibe.
00:06:38Same with the comedians that come on. They understand what they're getting into.
00:06:41Brad Williams is one of the biggest names in comedy. He's.
00:06:44You have everything on this, dude.
00:06:45Yeah. Everything. And Brad, because he loves the ship so much, even though Brad has gone from playing clubs when
00:06:50we started to playing big theaters and arenas.
00:06:52Now he still makes time to do the cruise. I can't afford to pay him what he gets, but what
00:06:57we did do is we made him kind of in charge of the comedians.
00:07:00He's the, he's the guy that's in charge of booking whoever we have with us.
00:07:05And so he finds comedians that are, um, kind of wrestling friendly, understand what the cruise is.
00:07:11Our comedy shows have gone through the roof. We have to, I think we move them to the biggest room
00:07:16possible and it's still overflowed.
00:07:18Rock and roll is huge. The wrestling is huge. We've got magicians. We've got paranormal. We've got.
00:07:24Paranormal.
00:07:25Oh yeah.
00:07:25Okay.
00:07:25Now we're starting to get, explain the lights go out.
00:07:27I saw, I saw that on the, on the, on the lineup. So what, what is that? What, how does
00:07:33that work?
00:07:33So when, when you'll find out when we get scared, cause I'm scared.
00:07:37Yeah. This, this all started when Fozzie played the kiss cruise in 2015 and I was on board and I
00:07:43said, like, it was interesting to me that while we were playing on the deck that the, you know, the
00:07:47amps weren't moving and the drums weren't moving.
00:07:49Like you're, you're, you're solid. And I thought you could wrestle on this. You could literally wrestle on this.
00:07:54So that's kind of when we started, I started to have this idea. What if I put together a cruise
00:07:57of all the stuff that I like wrestling, music, comedy, I'm a big paranormal.
00:08:03Guy. So I bring a guy on called Dave Schrader who does basically ghost stories. Or one time he went
00:08:10to see if he could attract, raise a UFO from the bottom of the ocean.
00:08:15Oh boy.
00:08:15Like those shows are sold out. His shows are amazing.
00:08:19And there's a whole element of people that whenever Dave has his shows, they go because it's part of what
00:08:24I like. And if I was on a boat, what would I want to see?
00:08:26I'd like to hear some cool paranormal stories or I'd like to try and raise an alien from the bottom
00:08:31of the ocean. Like why not? Right.
00:08:33So all of that stuff came from, it was almost like, what do I like to talk about on Talk
00:08:38is Jericho?
00:08:38Let's put all of those elements onto this cruise. And when you first start, you don't know what you're doing.
00:08:44You're throwing darts at the board and you're, you know, it was expensive and I lost a lot of money
00:08:48the first time, but you're learning.
00:08:49And now we've got it down to a real science to where we put together the schedule and we make
00:08:56it so like when you take your kids to Disneyland and you chart out where you want to go, you
00:09:00can almost do everything if you really squeeze it all in.
00:09:03Or maybe there's some things you have to wait until next time. And that's kind of how I put together
00:09:07the cruise where it's a nonstop barrage of entertainment and fun and things to do.
00:09:11And when you're done, you're almost like, oh my gosh, like I need a vacation from this vacation.
00:09:15You mentioned UFOs. Do you believe in mermaids? Do you see mermaids?
00:09:18I haven't seen one yet, but I'm not to say there's no such thing.
00:09:21Okay.
00:09:21I mean, if the Jericho cruise, if there's a mermaid out there and you want to make your mark, the
00:09:26Jericho cruise is the place.
00:09:28And on the island, correct me if I'm wrong, it's going to be your birthday during this time?
00:09:33Oh.
00:09:33Well, the whole, the whole, yeah, the whole week end is basically the birthday bash sort of thing.
00:09:40And yeah, so we're going to, we always spend one day at shore.
00:09:45And this is actually in Bimini, which is an island created for cruises.
00:09:50And we're putting together, I know there's going to be a hearty party.
00:09:53Oh.
00:09:54Matt and Jeff.
00:09:55Hearty party.
00:09:55Hearty party.
00:09:56Great.
00:09:56I think Jeff's band, Paroxx, YGN, is going to be playing a few times.
00:10:00I think they might be playing at that as well.
00:10:02I mean, it'll be, there's a party on the boat.
00:10:05There's a party off the boat.
00:10:06There's just parties everywhere.
00:10:08This is insane.
00:10:09I've been thinking about it every single day.
00:10:11You're a little nervous because you've never taken a cruise.
00:10:13But the thing is, is that like you've eased all my tensions as a person who's afraid of going on
00:10:18their first cruise.
00:10:20Just because of, you know, all the actions happening, there's always things happening.
00:10:24It makes me feel better.
00:10:25And also the boat is massive.
00:10:27It's the Norwegian jewel.
00:10:28It's the Norwegian jewel.
00:10:29Beautiful ship.
00:10:30I looked up the pictures.
00:10:30And this is what, it's true.
00:10:32And this is what they do.
00:10:33These guys run cruises for a living.
00:10:35So if someone comes on that's a little nervous or maybe gets a little seasick, they've got all the remedies.
00:10:40Right.
00:10:40Like, this is what we do, you know?
00:10:42And so I've had a lot of people over the years, because like I said, seven times, I don't know
00:10:47what talents.
00:10:48We have 200 maybe between all the bands and wrestlers.
00:10:50And a lot of times you get people who are like, I was kind of scared.
00:10:55When they're done, like, it was amazing.
00:10:58We didn't even feel it.
00:10:59Like, I want to go further.
00:11:00Yeah.
00:11:00I mean, really, really.
00:11:01I mean, we've really cultivated this whole experience to be, it's a unicorn.
00:11:06It's very unique.
00:11:07There's nothing like it.
00:11:08We have a patent on how you secure the ring to the deck.
00:11:12So if anyone else wants to do a wrestling cruise, they're going to have to think of their own way,
00:11:15because I own the way.
00:11:17That's crazy.
00:11:17No way.
00:11:18Because you don't even think about that, right?
00:11:19Yeah.
00:11:20The biggest thing when we first started was, how do you secure the ring to the deck?
00:11:25And I'm like, well, put some chains up.
00:11:27How hard can it be?
00:11:27He's like, no, you don't understand.
00:11:28Like, if there's, you know, there's not, but if there's some sort of weird, like, we don't want this thing
00:11:32sliding over and falling.
00:11:34And we created a way to make sure that it's completely secure.
00:11:40So, yeah, all of those things.
00:11:41There's so much work that has to be done to put together the cruise, even putting together the live collision.
00:11:46Like we said, like cables, there's the thousands of feet of cables.
00:11:52How does that work?
00:11:52And where does the generator go?
00:11:54And is there Wi-Fi?
00:11:55And how is the Wi-Fi?
00:11:55Is there a backup for the Wi-Fi?
00:11:57Because all that is involved in doing a live broadcast.
00:12:00So we've learned a lot.
00:12:02And we were able to get it all locked in and ready.
00:12:05And that's why, like I said, we're really excited for the first time in Jericho Cruise history to have the
00:12:09live broadcast of AEW Collision.
00:12:13And it's not so, it's not an anomaly because actually we can even talk about, Darby mentioned it last night,
00:12:19talking about PAC and God bless PAC.
00:12:22It was a great show last night.
00:12:24Great show last night.
00:12:25They referenced the golf course match they had.
00:12:27Yeah, great, Matt.
00:12:28You know, AEW likes to do, let's go to the golf course.
00:12:30Let's go to the Bay Area Sound where I work with Ciampa, which was basically on the bay.
00:12:35It was outside amphitheater.
00:12:36So, you know, we do like to have those unique places to wrestle in.
00:12:42And so that's why we thought the cruise would be perfect for Collision.
00:12:47And kind of piggybacking on what you mentioned for last night, Ben was on the second cruise.
00:12:53He had a great match with Mox on that cruise, which I think was actually on the taped dynamite that
00:12:58we had.
00:12:58So we're going to dedicate this cruise to PAC and to Ben Slatterly.
00:13:02And, you know, obviously we did it with Jay Briscoe when he passed away.
00:13:08Him and Mark rustled each other on the very first Jericho cruise.
00:13:11So, you know, you got to pay tribute to the fallen brothers and sisters, especially the ones that came on
00:13:17the cruise.
00:13:17We'll always think of something just to make sure that everybody, you know, remembers the man that was PAC.
00:13:24Yeah, that's a beautiful thing.
00:13:25Yeah, absolutely.
00:13:26And by the way, last time I checked, was 80% full on the boat right now?
00:13:3181% now.
00:13:32Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:13:33I mean, that's the thing.
00:13:34Like, we would love to be able to say it's 100%.
00:13:38You know, that's the world we live in.
00:13:40But 81% is still pretty rocking.
00:13:42And we still got another five or six weeks to go with this announcement.
00:13:45And it's going to be jam-packed no matter what.
00:13:47Well, it's more so I'm saying that because you can get tickets now.
00:13:49No, no, no.
00:13:50I wasn't downplaying it.
00:13:52There are still tickets available.
00:13:55ChrisJerichoCruise.com.
00:13:56And it really is the vacation of a lifetime.
00:13:58And another thing of our cruise is we are one of the only cruises that still sells cabins all the
00:14:02way to basically the day before we leave.
00:14:04So there's a lot of people that hear about it and want to be a part of it.
00:14:07And you don't want to miss it.
00:14:08It really is.
00:14:09It's just a rock and roll party.
00:14:11If you like wrestling, great.
00:14:12If you don't like wrestling, we've got so much other stuff going on.
00:14:15And that's, like I said, we've cultivated this real community.
00:14:18It's almost like a summer camp where every year people come to, George, I haven't seen you since last year.
00:14:24How you been?
00:14:25The annual event.
00:14:26The annual event.
00:14:26Yeah, that's nice.
00:14:27Hey, if you're a big Chris Fan Elite fan, he's going to be there.
00:14:29He's going to be there as well.
00:14:30He's coming.
00:14:32And there's, like, look at the lineup.
00:14:34You know, it's incredible.
00:14:34Yeah.
00:14:35So we're pumped.
00:14:36Yeah.
00:14:37I mean, we were the first to have an announcement of Austin and Kofi, new level.
00:14:42They're going to be there.
00:14:43I mean, you know, the Hardy, we've got a big announcement involving the Hardy Boys coming up soon as well.
00:14:50We've got so many announcements that you have to stagger them, you know.
00:14:53And then obviously this week was a little bit different because of Ben's passing.
00:14:55But so there's still a lot more to come.
00:14:58And we work really hard to make sure that it's something unique to the sixth one, which is unique from
00:15:04the fifth one.
00:15:04And whether it's your first cruise or your seventh, you're going to have a great time.
00:15:07That's the goal.
00:15:09That's my goal.
00:15:10How are you handling doing all of this in your life right now?
00:15:13You've got the cruise.
00:15:14You've got Fozzy.
00:15:15You've got AEW.
00:15:16You're having meetings.
00:15:18Movies, TV.
00:15:20What keeps you going every day?
00:15:22I mean, just the fact of being creative.
00:15:27I love, I love it.
00:15:28I love what I do, you know.
00:15:29And years ago, I've never considered myself to be only a wrestler.
00:15:36I'm an entertainer, right?
00:15:37And since day one, I wanted to be in a rock band and I wanted to be a wrestler.
00:15:40And then once you start getting some success in not just one of those forms, but two, now it's like,
00:15:45well, let me do a podcast.
00:15:46And then let's do a cruise and let's start going more into acting and doing auditions and having meetings and
00:15:53that sort of thing.
00:15:53So what keeps me going is I just continue to like the challenge of doing cool things.
00:16:00You know, and I'm very fortunate that I have a great fan base of people who appreciate the work that
00:16:05I do and look forward to seeing what's going to be next.
00:16:07I take great responsibility in that as well because people are looking for diversions and looking for cool things to
00:16:15want to do and see.
00:16:17So, yeah, all of those things tie in.
00:16:19It's just continuing to kind of, I guess, I never want to be complacent.
00:16:23I don't ever want to be a nostalgia act.
00:16:25Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I always want new things to do, you know, and create new
00:16:30moments.
00:16:31Speaking of that, I feel like your whole reign in AEW, you've always had a stable.
00:16:36You've always had a group, you know, when you start off with the inner circle and then it just kept
00:16:40going into the Jericho Appreciation Society and the learning tree.
00:16:44You're on your own now.
00:16:45Yeah.
00:16:46Is there a reason for that?
00:16:47And do you, does it feel different moving forward without a group?
00:16:52I mean, I think the groups were a product of necessity.
00:16:57Like when we started AEW, it was basically just me, Jim Ross, to a lesser extent Cody, Kenny and those
00:17:04guys, but they weren't really national stars, right?
00:17:09So I knew I had about a three-month window to make as many stars as I could.
00:17:13And of course, Tony and all of us working together wasn't just me, but inner circle.
00:17:17Let's put together a stable of guys instantly.
00:17:19And that's where we got, you know, Sammy and brought Jake Hager back and Santana and Ortiz, who I'd never
00:17:25met.
00:17:27But at least, okay, now we have a group of guys that we can start building along with Cody and
00:17:31then bringing Mox in and then having, you know, Darby and Jack Perry.
00:17:35And MJF was kind of under Cody's employ at that point.
00:17:39And then letting Kenny and the Bucks do what they do and Hangman Page and, you know, Britt Baker and
00:17:45kind of the early years of all of those new names.
00:17:49And suddenly within five or six months, we've got some actual stars.
00:17:53And then now the pressure is not just on me, it's on eight of us.
00:17:57And now it's 10 of us, 12 of us.
00:17:58So same thing with Jericho Appreciation Society.
00:18:01Let's do some, I didn't know anything about 2.0.
00:18:05Danny Garcia, I barely knew, but these are Tony wanting to work with these guys.
00:18:08Then he wants to put Sammy in.
00:18:09Then we get Tay and then we get Anna James.
00:18:11So we're like the Rolling Stones.
00:18:12There's like a bunch of guys.
00:18:13There's a couple of chicks.
00:18:14I was like, it looked cool.
00:18:15And I was like, I like this idea.
00:18:17And then same with Learning Tree.
00:18:18The whole thing was an idea for a vehicle for Big Bill to kind of jump out of.
00:18:22And then we just didn't, it just didn't work out with me being gone for a year and that sort
00:18:26of thing.
00:18:26Brian Keith as well.
00:18:28But still, the goal was always to give guys a bigger platform so that they could become stars on their
00:18:34own.
00:18:35And when I came back in April, I just didn't feel like I needed a stable.
00:18:41You know, I wanted to kind of, it was the self-titled era of Chris Jericho, hence Jericho.
00:18:51Yeah.
00:18:51I could have had another bunch of nicknames.
00:18:54You know, I trademarked a bunch, but I'm like, well, what's the difference between the Cornerstone or the National Treasure
00:18:59and the Learning Tree and Le Champion?
00:19:01It's like, I don't need that.
00:19:03It's like Jericho is enough to instill whatever memories you have from 35 years of doing this.
00:19:10You figure it out.
00:19:11It's up to you.
00:19:12And that's what's like, why is he just Jericho?
00:19:13What's he up to?
00:19:14Nothing.
00:19:15It's just a talking point.
00:19:16It's the Metallica Black Album.
00:19:18It's the Beatles White Album.
00:19:19You just see the Beatles.
00:19:21You don't need anything else.
00:19:22You see Metallica.
00:19:23You don't, you know what they do.
00:19:24And it was the same with Jericho.
00:19:26And that's kind of why I came back with just the last name and why I thought, well, let me
00:19:31just go on my own for a bit.
00:19:32And I think instead of having the factions, it was working with guys.
00:19:36Ricochet.
00:19:37Let's build Ricochet and the Gates of Agony.
00:19:39Let's do something with the Hurt Syndicate.
00:19:40Let's do something with the Bucks in Jericho for the first time ever.
00:19:44You know, and that bled over into working with Ciampa and now working with Nick Wayne.
00:19:50You know, the idea is to give these guys, it's almost a task.
00:19:54Like, here's your assignment when you work with Chris Jericho and let's build something.
00:20:00What is it?
00:20:01Is it a promo?
00:20:02Is it a work rate?
00:20:03Is it your persona?
00:20:04Is it your overall appearance?
00:20:05Is it your overall vibe?
00:20:08And so that's kind of what my job is at this point is to try and help build different guys
00:20:14in a different way.
00:20:16So maybe they learn something and I'm learning something, too.
00:20:18And the fans are seeing a different side of these guys.
00:20:20And suddenly, next thing you know, everybody's a little bit further up the food chain for that.
00:20:24Yeah.
00:20:24I see you as a barrier of AEW.
00:20:26Like, if you want to establish yourself as a name in AEW, you go through Chris Jericho.
00:20:31You know, and it really is.
00:20:33And it's so funny because a lot of times I get accused of certain nefarious things.
00:20:39And it's my whole mission.
00:20:41I mean, when we started AEW, I was 48 years old.
00:20:45Wow.
00:20:45I was 55 now, right?
00:20:46You look great, by the way.
00:20:47Thank you.
00:20:47Yeah.
00:20:48Thank you.
00:20:48I mean, I worked very hard on that.
00:20:50You know, if I'm in show business and I'm going to be at this level, you have a responsibility to
00:20:54look as good as you possibly can, you know?
00:20:57We've got to start thinking about that.
00:20:59Yeah, we have a month.
00:21:00You do, man.
00:21:00We have a month.
00:21:01Actually, we're trying to get our body.
00:21:02We're trying.
00:21:03You do.
00:21:03But my goal is always to build the company and build names from day one, like I just told you,
00:21:08for the inner circle and all the stuff that we did.
00:21:10And, you know, sometimes, most of the time it works.
00:21:14Sometimes it doesn't.
00:21:15But it's just the way it goes sometimes.
00:21:18But if you look at MJF, we literally had an angle for 366 days, a year and a day, literally.
00:21:25Wow.
00:21:25I would say that was the beginning of MJF's true ascension to being what he is now.
00:21:30You know, I mean, it really was.
00:21:31He'd worked with Cody for a bit, which was good.
00:21:33And then we did our thing.
00:21:34So, you know, if you look at any of the guys who are now our basic main event superstars, I
00:21:41mean, when I worked with Will Ospreay at Wembley, he wasn't even signed to AEW yet.
00:21:44We were hoping to get him to sign.
00:21:46Now he's a champion.
00:21:47There you go.
00:21:47Same with Bandito.
00:21:48When I had the first match with Bandito, that was a really great match.
00:21:52He gets signed to AEW.
00:21:54Now he's a champion.
00:21:55Yeah.
00:21:55You know, and that's the idea.
00:21:57I don't have to win ever again.
00:22:00Sometimes I do, because if not, then you're just losing all the time, which isn't great for stories.
00:22:04But, you know, it doesn't matter if I win or lose.
00:22:07It's about putting on the best performance and putting on the best match and helping guys or girls find something
00:22:13maybe that they didn't quite know that was there just yet.
00:22:16And suddenly you help.
00:22:17And that's what people did for me.
00:22:19You know, the Chris Jericho character.
00:22:21Chris Jericho's character was not good in 96 WCW.
00:22:24I thought you were great.
00:22:25Well, but when I first got there, right, you know, I didn't really know what I was doing.
00:22:29I was just a white meat baby face, stand up against the crowd so that guys can, you know, and
00:22:36then suddenly you work with Terry Taylor and you get some advice from Arn Anderson and you get some tips
00:22:41here and there.
00:22:41And suddenly you can do a little more of a character.
00:22:44Now I'm a whiny coward, you know, and then that gives you a little bit of, okay, well, if I
00:22:48really lean to that, people really start booing me.
00:22:51And suddenly I'm a guy that has a character that people are excited to see.
00:22:55Excited to boo me, but excited.
00:22:58And that's what wrestling is, is connecting with the audience.
00:23:01It's not just about bangers, which are great to have them, but personality and charisma and storyline and personas are
00:23:10the most important thing about being in pro wrestling and really making it to the top echelon.
00:23:15You have to connect with the audience.
00:23:172019 until now, what has surprised you most about AEW's growth?
00:23:24I mean, it's interesting, like when, when I first started talking to Tony to, to come to AEW, like I
00:23:31was, I had left WWE, but only to go work in New Japan.
00:23:34I wanted to work there for a while.
00:23:35And there was really no intentions of ever working anywhere in the States except for WWE.
00:23:39And then suddenly talking with Tony and then saying like, how much further can I go there?
00:23:43Let me, what if I go to AEW and it becomes a thing?
00:23:46That's an extra feather in the cap of the Jericho legacy.
00:23:51So I'm really impressed and proud of how quickly we grew.
00:23:57And the majority of that is based on Tony's passion, you know, his commitment to what we're doing and fighting
00:24:07through a lot of animosity and hoops to, to get there and be there.
00:24:14Um, I don't know if I'm surprised because what Tony does, he put together such a great roster of international
00:24:20amazing talents.
00:24:23And when they got there, we got there, we were all kind of on the same page.
00:24:26Like you mentioned, we mentioned PAC earlier, Ben, he was one of the first guys that I called, like Tony
00:24:31was calling and the bucks were calling, but I called Mox and I called PAC and, and, and Ben was
00:24:37working in Dragon Gate and didn't want to quite leave from there yet.
00:24:40Cause he had loyalty to Dragon Gate, but I was like, okay, that's cool.
00:24:43But when you're ready, trust me, you're going to love it because we're here for the right reasons for the,
00:24:48for the, for the, for the love of, of wrestling, you know?
00:24:51And then he came and he was, he was amazing.
00:24:53And it was like that for a few others that we've had, but now it was like, we don't have
00:24:56to recruit anybody.
00:24:57People just want to come because they've heard, they've heard about it.
00:25:01And, and we have structured our company different from WWE, which you have to, and there's pros and cons to
00:25:06both.
00:25:08No pun intended on either con, but I just think that we really did a great job in staying true
00:25:15to what AEW is, staying true to what Tony's vision is, which drives me a little crazy sometimes, but he's
00:25:22the boss.
00:25:23And when you understand that you work for somebody, our job is to make the boss happy.
00:25:28If the boss is happy with your work, if you're given an assignment and that's what you're supposed to do,
00:25:33you go do it.
00:25:34And that's it.
00:25:36And I think that's something that I'm really proud that we've got a whole roster of, gosh, probably hundreds of
00:25:42guys and girls at this point in time.
00:25:44And we're all working towards the same thing.
00:25:46And I'm not saying that other companies don't have that, but I feel, feel that real camaraderie here.
00:25:52So I think that's it.
00:25:53I think, I think one of the biggest benefits of AEW is like, I mentioned Metallica earlier.
00:25:59I'm a big Metallica fan because they first came out when I was 13 years old.
00:26:03Wow.
00:26:0314 years old.
00:26:04Kill them all.
00:26:06I've got into them on their second record, Rise of the Lightning, 1985.
00:26:09So now I have grown up.
00:26:11When I first started Metallica, nobody knew who they were.
00:26:13They were nothing, but there was a buzz.
00:26:15And then they suddenly get to become the biggest band, rock band in the world.
00:26:20But I was there.
00:26:21So I haven't, I'm invested.
00:26:23Yeah.
00:26:23I have skin in the game.
00:26:25I wasn't there when WWE started.
00:26:27I wasn't there when WCW started or New Japan or CMLL.
00:26:30I was there when AEW started.
00:26:32And so we're a whole segment of fans that grew up with AEW and saw the company grow.
00:26:38You have an extra loyalty.
00:26:41And like I said, you have skin in the game for something that was there, that started
00:26:44with you.
00:26:45And I think that's one of the reasons why AEW is such a very loyal fan base in a lot
00:26:49of
00:26:49ways, because they started with us.
00:26:51Dude, those fans are loyal.
00:26:52We've gone to shows.
00:26:54No one gets up to go to the bathroom.
00:26:55We did.
00:26:56I can't move because everyone's sitting down.
00:26:58I've never seen that before.
00:26:59I've never been to an arena where we were at the crypto arena for, um.
00:27:03Revolution.
00:27:03Revolution.
00:27:04Yeah.
00:27:04And I'm not, like, every match.
00:27:07Like, no.
00:27:07We even went up to get, like, water or snack or whatever.
00:27:11Empty.
00:27:12Yeah.
00:27:12People are loyal to their seats.
00:27:14I mean, and you're talking about, you know, sometimes it's a four and a half, five hour
00:27:18show.
00:27:18Oh, yeah.
00:27:19It's packed the whole time, yeah.
00:27:21Because Tony loves wrestling.
00:27:22If Tony could put on a 12 hour show and legally be allowed to do it, he would do it.
00:27:27Like, he just, I don't think, like, I'm a wrestling fan through and through.
00:27:30That's why I got into wrestling.
00:27:31That's why I still love doing it.
00:27:33I've never met a bigger wrestling fan than Tony Khan.
00:27:39And that's why, you know, it's a five hour show.
00:27:41He loves it.
00:27:41He loves every minute of it.
00:27:43Maybe not every minute of what the results are, but the concept of a five hour show.
00:27:47If he could do 10, he would.
00:27:49You know, you know, but that's infectious as well.
00:27:52And I think, you know, when I say we're all doing this for the right reasons, it's for
00:27:56the love of the business and to build something cool and unique.
00:27:59I think that starts from the top.
00:28:01It starts with Tony and goes on down from there.
00:28:02I have a question for you because, you know, times are different now.
00:28:06You know, in the WWE, you've got a lot of athletes that are recruited instead of, you
00:28:11know, like the traditional route of grinding through the indies for years before you get
00:28:15to it, which we've seen.
00:28:17I mean, some of these young athletes coming into wrestling can be a little arrogant, like
00:28:22they haven't, you know, done their, uh, made their, you know, their dues and everything.
00:28:27So how have you maybe in your experience dealt with someone who's a little arrogant coming
00:28:33into the business a lot different than you did back in the day?
00:28:36Well, but the thing is I had a little bit of arrogance too.
00:28:38You, you have to, um, I used to get a lot of trouble for that when I first started in
00:28:42WWE, not because I was outwardly arrogant, but you have to have belief in yourself and
00:28:46there's a fine line, you know, and you have to stand up for yourself, which is very hard
00:28:50to do at times.
00:28:50If you know, if you know what your instincts are right, sometimes you got to shut up, but,
00:28:56but, oh, I know I'm right.
00:28:57Just let me do this.
00:28:59And then you do it and it works.
00:29:01And then you start getting a little bit more clemency from the boss.
00:29:03Um, but yeah, the business has changed.
00:29:05The business always changes.
00:29:07Hockey's not the same as it was 10 years ago.
00:29:09Football's not the same as it was UFC.
00:29:11And you have to go with the flow.
00:29:12I remember the first time I ever wrestled with, I think it was Seth Rollins and he
00:29:17was going to go do two topes in a row.
00:29:20And I was like, you don't do that.
00:29:22You do one.
00:29:23Like in my, when I started, if you did two in a row, they'd be like, what are you doing?
00:29:27But then it was, that's just the way it is now.
00:29:29And now you do three in a row and like, you know, whatever, like, and that's cool.
00:29:33But you have to be, you know, if you're going to stay in the business and you still want
00:29:38to contribute at a high level, you have to understand that things change.
00:29:41Some of the stuff that changes in the business drives me crazy.
00:29:44Cause I came in kind of the last of the Mohican old school Stu Hart students and you were kayfabe
00:29:50and that was the way it was.
00:29:51I understand it's not the same.
00:29:52I wouldn't have a podcast for 13 years.
00:29:54If it was, I wouldn't be here talking to you if it was, but there are certain things
00:29:57sometimes I'm like, oh, bad news.
00:29:59Alan is rolling in his grave.
00:30:02But, um, but you know, but the arrogance of a young guy or a young girl coming into the
00:30:07business, you got to have it.
00:30:09Now it doesn't mean you're an asshole, but it means you have confidence in yourself,
00:30:14but you also have to know when to back off.
00:30:17But, and sometimes I have to tell people like, there's a few, I don't want to mention, but
00:30:20you're not as good as you think you are.
00:30:22You're not there yet.
00:30:24Like I wasn't Chris Jericho for me until 2008.
00:30:28when we did the Shawn Michaels suit and tie hypocrite.
00:30:33That's crazy.
00:30:34Feud.
00:30:34That's so far deep in our end.
00:30:36That's 18 years.
00:30:37Yeah.
00:30:37You know, for me though, that's, that's when I really, like when I, that's when I was calling
00:30:41myself the best in the world because the time I believed it, I am one of the best in the
00:30:45world, not from an arrogant standpoint, but from, this is a fact.
00:30:49There's nothing I can't get over.
00:30:50There's nothing I can't do.
00:30:51There's nothing I can't make work.
00:30:53And then you start getting, you know, confidence from, from, from Vince who then started giving
00:30:58me, like I said, a little more leeway up to what I was going to be doing and what promos
00:31:02I'd be saying, what ideas I have.
00:31:04And that takes a while to get to that point.
00:31:06I mean, I told the story on the promo we did with Nick Wayne a couple of weeks ago on
00:31:11Dynamite, which was amazing.
00:31:13I thought it was his first ever live promo, Nick Wayne.
00:31:17Never.
00:31:17He'd stood in the ring, but never talking and, and, and, and shouldering a promo.
00:31:22And he did an amazing job.
00:31:24But I told the story when I was 19, actually, no, sorry.
00:31:27When I was 21, we had a taping in Winnipeg.
00:31:30Don Callis was probably the booker, Tony Candela promoter.
00:31:33And, and, uh, what's that?
00:31:35He probably had a hair.
00:31:36Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:31:37Oh, he did.
00:31:38He had long hair.
00:31:38Yeah, he used to have long hair.
00:31:39And it was actually funny because there's two things that were relevant with that.
00:31:42I don't know if you saw the, the stat that said Chris Jericho has wrestled somebody
00:31:45that was born in 1928 and someone that was born in 20, 2005.
00:31:51Wow.
00:31:51And that would be Nick Wayne, 2005.
00:31:53And 1928 was Gene Koniski.
00:31:56The last match Gene Koniski ever had was at this taping in Winnipeg.
00:31:59And I was on his team.
00:32:00It was a six man.
00:32:01The other note of merit was Nick Bockwinkle was there doing commentary.
00:32:06Now, Nick Bockwinkle was an all-time great, AWA champ, like one of the guys.
00:32:12And he watched my match, which was amazing.
00:32:15But I asked him if he had any tips.
00:32:17And of course, back then, you know everything.
00:32:18And he's like, I love it.
00:32:19He's like, you work too fast and you do too many moves.
00:32:22Well, thank you very much, Mr. Bonkwinkle.
00:32:23The moment he turned his back, I was like, what the fuck does he know?
00:32:26Yeah.
00:32:26What does he know?
00:32:28Yeah.
00:32:28Like the arrogance to not even consider that maybe he's just jealous.
00:32:34I'm not the only guy.
00:32:35Every kid goes through that, you know?
00:32:38And that's kind of like Nick is going through that now as a character.
00:32:41But this is now we can unlock some stuff.
00:32:43And now he's had his first live promo and he did a pretty damn good job.
00:32:46And what was he wearing?
00:32:47A suit.
00:32:48You've never seen Nick Wayne in a suit cutting a promo live in front of thousands of people before.
00:32:52Now you have.
00:32:53And that's a reason why we're starting this feud together and why we're working together.
00:32:59so we can start getting put in those pressure positions and start looking more like a star.
00:33:06I tell people all the time, you can't wear shorts to the ring, dude.
00:33:08You can't.
00:33:10Because this is like, this is the place to be.
00:33:12AEW is national worldwide television.
00:33:15The top athletes in the world.
00:33:18We're the best Russell.
00:33:18You can't walk to the ring in shorts.
00:33:20Unless you're seeing that.
00:33:21Kevin Owen.
00:33:21I mean, unless it's your gimmick.
00:33:24But when you're coming out in gym shorts for a run in our promo, put some jeans on, dude.
00:33:28You know who likes it?
00:33:29Kenny Omega likes wearing shorts as well.
00:33:31He does, but then he'll come out in a three-piece suit at times.
00:33:34That's true.
00:33:35Because Kenny understands that aspect of it.
00:33:36For the big show element, you would wear, when we had Tokyo Dome shows, you would wear a suit.
00:33:41When we had WrestleMania, you would wear a suit.
00:33:43And I went through that phase.
00:33:44I don't wear suits anymore, but I always, Gene Simmons told me years ago, always look like a star.
00:33:50Always.
00:33:50If I go to the grocery store, you know, I'm putting on.
00:33:55You dress up?
00:33:55I mean, it's part of, I don't want to see Gene Simmons wearing shorts at the grocery store.
00:34:00Yeah.
00:34:01That's fair.
00:34:02Dude, when he arrived, my goodness, looked like a rock star.
00:34:05Because he is a rock star.
00:34:06No, you.
00:34:06Oh, sorry.
00:34:07When you arrived here.
00:34:07But there's an air to it, because you, I'm on talking with you guys, people watching, you want to look
00:34:13the part.
00:34:14And I've always had that element.
00:34:16And there's a little arrogance in that as well, but I don't care.
00:34:18Like, if you, Ozzy said it too, if you're going to be in a position, especially as you get older,
00:34:24where you're still going to be performing, you have a, we said this earlier, you have a responsibility to look
00:34:29as good as you possibly can.
00:34:30Because you want people to see you and go, man, he looks good.
00:34:33Not like, wow, he looks old.
00:34:34Yeah.
00:34:35Or he looks out of shape.
00:34:36Or he looks, whatever it may be.
00:34:38I believe in that.
00:34:39I bought into it years ago.
00:34:41Like I said, when I first started, I wasn't the biggest guy.
00:34:44Not even close.
00:34:45Being 5'11", almost, and 205 pounds in 1990, you might as well have been, you know, a dwarf.
00:34:54And because guys were 6'8", 300 pounds.
00:34:58We heard this about the Hulkster all the time, and he's fighting all these giant guys.
00:35:01And you got the warlord, and you got the barbarian, you got like, you name it.
00:35:03And even if the guy was low on the card, he was giant.
00:35:07Can't be a giant.
00:35:08But I can have a giant personality, giant charisma, and be the most charismatic person on the show.
00:35:15And all of that was like, I had no money, but I spent money.
00:35:18Dr. Luther's mom used to make my costumes, and I had no money, but she still made me something cool
00:35:22that no one else had.
00:35:24Wow, that's cool.
00:35:25You got to spend to make money.
00:35:26And you want people to go, wow, that guy's investing, you know.
00:35:29And so all of that stuff has still been ingrained in my head.
00:35:32And I tell a lot of the kids now, and I'm sure a lot of them are like, I'm supposed
00:35:36to wear leather pants like Jericho.
00:35:37No, you're not.
00:35:39But the first thing I told the Jericho Appreciation Society, the very first promo we ever did, I said, okay.
00:35:47I'd never met three of the four or really knew them.
00:35:51I said, listen, okay, pretend we're going to a party, and it's on top of the W Hotel in L
00:35:58.A. top floor.
00:35:59Great spot.
00:35:59And I said, like, who's your, like, give me something, Rihanna.
00:36:03Okay, Rihanna's having a party, and you're invited.
00:36:06And you can wear anything you want.
00:36:09But this is a big-time party.
00:36:12You got to look good.
00:36:13What would you wear?
00:36:15And I don't care what it is, but with that mindset, each guy showed up the next week looking different
00:36:20than they did the week before.
00:36:21And I was like, this is great.
00:36:22Now you understand what wrestling is.
00:36:25You got to look like a star.
00:36:26That's so crazy.
00:36:27Do you even think there's such a thing as a cruiserweight anymore?
00:36:30Because, like you said, when you started, you were, like, 205.
00:36:32You were taking on all the luchadors.
00:36:34Now everyone's jumping off the top rope.
00:36:36Everyone's doing all these moves.
00:36:38Is there even such a thing?
00:36:39It's hard to say because, like, when I went to Japan in 2018 to wrestle with Kenny, and then I
00:36:45did Naito, and I did Tanahashi, 18, 19, 20.
00:36:48I went from the small guy in 1990 to one of the bigger guys on the roster, and so I
00:36:52was doing more Bruiser Brody, like, lunatic-type crazy stuff, which is where the painmaker came from.
00:36:57And I'm like, I've gone from the cruiserweight, even though when you look at WCW cruiserweights, I was 220 pounds.
00:37:02I mean, we were all working hard and jacked up.
00:37:05But still, you were put in the cruiserweight category, so there was kind of a demeaning quality to that.
00:37:11You know, I remember Jim Neidhart and I had a match once, and I was going over.
00:37:14I was like, I can't lose to a cruiserweight.
00:37:16I'm like, dude, I'm the same height as you.
00:37:17I think it's not that much off than I am.
00:37:20Yeah, exactly.
00:37:21But he wasn't saying it to be a jerk.
00:37:23It's just that a cruiserweight had a negative connotation to it.
00:37:26Now, are there actual cruiserweights?
00:37:28Sure, there are.
00:37:29There are guys, if you go by weight classes, they're cruiserweights.
00:37:34Darby Allen technically is a cruiserweight, but he's as heavyweight as you get because he's a big-time star that
00:37:40works his ass off, and he's got big-time charisma.
00:37:42So by weight standing on a scale, you're a cruiserweight.
00:37:48But by weight of the persona that he has and his presence on the show, like I said, that's as
00:37:54much of a heavyweight guy as you can get.
00:37:57So the answer is no.
00:37:59By weight, yes.
00:38:00And by style, I mean, all of us are essentially cruiserweights now.
00:38:05Yeah.
00:38:05You know, but I think still, once again, I never subscribed to the fact of your size makes you a
00:38:13star.
00:38:13Because once again, I was a small guy.
00:38:14I used to wrestle with these guys in Calgary.
00:38:16They were 6'4 and looked like a Greek god, and they just were terrible.
00:38:21Like, they just weren't good.
00:38:22You know how it is.
00:38:23Guys, like you mentioned, some football guy, like, I'll be wrestling.
00:38:26Yeah.
00:38:26You know, and then our generation of guys started getting more steam, especially internationally, Japan, Mexico, Germany, England.
00:38:34And then you come back, and ECW's a thing.
00:38:36So now you can be a smaller guy and work that way.
00:38:38And then WCW embraces it, and suddenly, no pun intended, all the walls break down.
00:38:45And now we're all just putting on good matches, and it doesn't really matter anymore.
00:38:50Wow.
00:38:50Wow.
00:38:51Nick Wayne, you've been going hard against him for his puka necklace.
00:38:56What's the deal?
00:38:57How should a young man dress nowadays?
00:38:59Well, the reason why we started, like, we sat down before we did that initial promo.
00:39:06And it's like, well, what is our angle going to be?
00:39:09You know?
00:39:09I mean, once again, 2005.
00:39:11He's 21 years old.
00:39:13You know, I'm 55.
00:39:14You don't want to make it old guy versus young guy, because that doesn't translate.
00:39:17And I don't feel like an old guy, and I don't work like an old guy.
00:39:20So that's out of the window.
00:39:21Is it going to be legacy versus not?
00:39:23And then we just say, it's experience.
00:39:25You know, and he's got 10 years experience at 21.
00:39:28You know, 10 years from now, he's going to be unbelievable.
00:39:31But right now, you don't know what you don't know.
00:39:34You're Chris Jericho, and I'm Nick Bockwinkle.
00:39:36You know, and he was saying he wants to get rid of the puka necklace.
00:39:40And I thought, well, let's try and make that part of the story where it's not about the necklace.
00:39:43It's about the representation of the old Nick Wayne.
00:39:46The old Nick Wayne that could lose to Chris Jericho.
00:39:49Well, that's not going to happen ever again.
00:39:51This necklace is gone.
00:39:52The old Nick Wayne is out.
00:39:55The new Nick Wayne is in.
00:39:56The new Nick Wayne that wears a suit.
00:39:58The Nick Wayne that can hold his own in a promo against Chris Jericho.
00:40:01The Nick Wayne that might have a chance to beat Chris Jericho.
00:40:03We don't know yet.
00:40:04But the point being, it wasn't about the necklace itself.
00:40:06It was like a totem where that was signifying the end of this version.
00:40:12And now we're going into the next version.
00:40:15The next phase of Nick Wayne, who has potential to be a world champion.
00:40:19It's crazy how much your look.
00:40:20Like when Kyle Fletcher shaved his head, it was like, whoa.
00:40:23It changes your look.
00:40:24I never knew he had hair in the first place.
00:40:25Yeah, all of a sudden.
00:40:26If you go back and look at his hair, it just wasn't cool hair.
00:40:31I mean, he's honest.
00:40:32He shaves it and you see that, you know.
00:40:35And all that stuff makes a difference.
00:40:38It really does.
00:40:39If you go back to Y2J and then suddenly when I became,
00:40:45we're talking about the Shawn Michaels era, 2008,
00:40:48when I've got short hair, I've gone from long tights to short tights.
00:40:52The countdown is gone.
00:40:53And I said to the commentators, you are not allowed to call me Y2J anymore.
00:40:56Never say that word again.
00:40:58Oh, you told him specifically?
00:40:59Yes, because you have to make people understand this is a new guy.
00:41:02This is a new version.
00:41:03When Kiss took off their makeup in 1982, you knew.
00:41:07What happened to Kiss?
00:41:08They're the makeup guys.
00:41:09Not anymore.
00:41:10This is a new thing.
00:41:11So you have to subtly let people know that this is a new era,
00:41:17a new force to be reckoned with, a new style, you know.
00:41:20And the more drastic you can do that, the better.
00:41:23If it's shaving your head, that's fine, you know.
00:41:27If it's, it's funny, another Pac story, when we were in WWE,
00:41:31he was not happy with the treatment he was getting, the push he was getting.
00:41:36And at the time it was so stupid.
00:41:37They wanted him to be like a Mighty Mouse character,
00:41:39which was one of Vince's ridiculous ideas.
00:41:41And I said, dude, because his front teeth weren't there.
00:41:46He could take them out.
00:41:47I said, dude, shave your head, take your teeth out, and go into Vince's office.
00:41:53He's not going to know who you are because you look like a crazy man.
00:41:56You look like a barroom brawler in Newcastle
00:41:58that's going to kick the shit out of anybody that comes near him.
00:42:01And he didn't quite feel it.
00:42:02But I was like, man, if you shaved your head and took your teeth out,
00:42:06Vince would see you differently.
00:42:08And that's just an example of sometimes you have to do something drastic
00:42:11to let people know it's a new guy.
00:42:14And I've always done that.
00:42:15And whether it's a catchphrase or a look or a style of music
00:42:19or a Tron behind me or the wardrobe I'm wearing in the ring,
00:42:23you got to keep it different and make each era specific
00:42:28so that people know, okay, this is a new guy.
00:42:30Now the Jericho era, people will know.
00:42:33They'll see a picture and, okay, that's the Jericho era.
00:42:36And that's always what I wanted to do.
00:42:38David Bowie was a big influence of mine
00:42:40where I always thought, like, it's so cool how Bowie always morphed
00:42:45and evolved to where you could go to a Halloween party
00:42:49and there's 15 people dressed as Bowie, but it's all different versions.
00:42:53That's so funny.
00:42:54And that's what I wanted to do with Chris Jericho.
00:42:56And I get that every Halloween.
00:42:57People dress up as all different eras and they'll send me pictures
00:43:00and it's like Light Up Jacket era or it's Ponytail on the Top era
00:43:03or it's List era or it's, you know, it's Spikes era.
00:43:07It's, you know, Learning Tree era or whatever it may be.
00:43:09And that was always the goal.
00:43:11Once again, it just always keeps things fresh and new.
00:43:14Wow.
00:43:15Wow.
00:43:15You know what we should ask him about, actually?
00:43:17Yeah.
00:43:17I thought of something that Harvey would really like to talk about.
00:43:21So, and this is my, do you think, because, you know,
00:43:24you're Fozzy and everything, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
00:43:27Do you think that rap belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
00:43:29I know this is a totally left turn.
00:43:31We talked about this this morning on TMZ
00:43:34and it was a big argument in the room about it.
00:43:37It's interesting to me because
00:43:40the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is such an anomaly
00:43:42because there's so many great rock bands
00:43:44that have never even been thought about before,
00:43:46which drives me crazy.
00:43:47You know, like a band like Motorhead
00:43:49who influenced all the bands
00:43:50and still have never even gotten a nomination
00:43:53or Iron Maiden finally getting in this year
00:43:55after being together for 50.
00:43:56Like, it's very much crazy.
00:43:59I think rap music,
00:44:01Rock and Roll to me is more than just rock and roll.
00:44:04It's an attitude.
00:44:06It's pioneering a vibe.
00:44:08It's doing something that's never been done before
00:44:10and doing it with attitude.
00:44:12That's rock and roll.
00:44:13So it doesn't insult me
00:44:17when rap artists go in,
00:44:21but fuck, dude, put Motorhead in
00:44:23and get, you know, somebody like Thin Lizzy
00:44:25and, you know, the Motley Crue
00:44:27and all these types of bands that have been,
00:44:29Scorpions.
00:44:30Scorpions still play arenas all around the world.
00:44:32Never even been nominated once.
00:44:34They still play.
00:44:35I had no idea.
00:44:36I thought Motorhead was in there.
00:44:37I had no idea.
00:44:38That's wild.
00:44:39The fifth best-selling album of all time
00:44:41is Bad Outta Hell Meatloaf.
00:44:43Meatloaf's not in there.
00:44:44I mean, Meatloaf.
00:44:45Yeah.
00:44:45Everyone knows Meatloaf.
00:44:46Here's-
00:44:47People consider him a wonder, essentially.
00:44:50But he also toured arenas for 30 years.
00:44:52He did.
00:44:52So, and he actually had Bad Outta Hell 2,
00:44:55which was a huge success.
00:44:56So that takes that out of the way.
00:44:57Yeah, two records.
00:44:57Both of those are 10 million sellers.
00:44:5910 million each.
00:45:01So-
00:45:01You don't get those numbers.
00:45:02You don't.
00:45:03And you gotta change the rules.
00:45:05There's a couple artists that I think should be
00:45:09in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
00:45:11And bear with me on this.
00:45:12One is Spinal Tap.
00:45:14The reason is at 40 years later,
00:45:17everyone knows this band.
00:45:19They've influenced so much about rock and roll
00:45:21for the real reasons and for the mockumentary reasons.
00:45:25There was no such thing as a mockumentary before.
00:45:27And they still, like, you know,
00:45:29Paul McCartney's in the movie
00:45:30and Elton John's in the movie
00:45:31and Metallica's talking about Spinal Tap.
00:45:32They have made their mark on rock and roll
00:45:35far more than Missy Elliott has.
00:45:39Other one is Weird Al Yankovic.
00:45:41Genius of geniuses.
00:45:43You think so?
00:45:43I saw him, and I'm not a Weird Al Yankovic flag weaver.
00:45:47I saw him in concert last year for the first time
00:45:49and it blew my mind how much of a genius he is
00:45:52and all the stuff that he writes, his performance.
00:45:54And once again, here's a guy who's been playing arenas
00:45:56for 40 years who redefined what music is.
00:46:01There was no parody music before, whatever it is.
00:46:04You know, it didn't exist.
00:46:06And now you listen to him and, gosh,
00:46:08these lyrics he's writing for,
00:46:10there's a song that he did back to,
00:46:15I shopped on eBay.
00:46:18And just the lyrics, it's like, this guy is like,
00:46:21it's genius.
00:46:22So I was like, okay, Weird Al, Spinal Tap go in,
00:46:25Thorin Motorhead, and Ted Nugent,
00:46:27and I'm cool with Missy Elliott.
00:46:29And then you can do whatever you want.
00:46:30Obviously, Run DMC's a different animal.
00:46:32Yes, they are rock and roll to me.
00:46:34Yeah.
00:46:35But as you get further down the line,
00:46:36there's a few of them that are not quite rock and roll.
00:46:40Like Dolly Parton, rock and roll.
00:46:42She claims she was not rock and roll,
00:46:44but she's very rock and roll.
00:46:45She did things her own way.
00:46:47That's the spirit, you know?
00:46:48So put in a couple more of the heavy metal bands that I'm into.
00:46:53Well, we thought Frank Sinatra should be in there.
00:46:55Yeah, he kept arguing for Frank Sinatra a lot.
00:46:57But it was the same argument that he did things his way.
00:47:00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:47:01Yeah, I mean, it's a little bit,
00:47:02but there's not like there's a crooner Hall of Fame
00:47:06that means as much as Frank Sinatra.
00:47:08So it's a little bit hard,
00:47:10but I mean, I'm sure Frank Sinatra covered a bunch of Beatles songs
00:47:14and Elvis songs,
00:47:15and I know he did something at one point.
00:47:17Yeah.
00:47:18So, I mean, you know.
00:47:19And also, too, it's such a strange debate
00:47:22because it really doesn't mean anything.
00:47:23At least there's a brick and mortar Hall of Fame
00:47:26where you can go and look at it.
00:47:28Like W Hall of Fame, there isn't one.
00:47:29There's no such thing.
00:47:30We can't go to, you know, Stanford
00:47:32and go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
00:47:34because there isn't one.
00:47:35So that's much more subjective,
00:47:37whereas the rock and roll,
00:47:38you can actually go and see Elvis' jumpsuit
00:47:40and John Lennon's guitar and that sort of a thing.
00:47:42But to me, rock and roll is more of an attitude
00:47:44than the actual music itself.
00:47:46But if you're going to put in this rap artist,
00:47:48you got to put in, you know,
00:47:50the godfather of heavy metal and Lemmy and Motorhead.
00:47:53Extending beyond rap, someone like Taylor Swift,
00:47:56does it bother you to see these type of artists
00:47:58if they do get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
00:48:01Like at what point?
00:48:02Because you mentioned Dolly Parton.
00:48:03I don't think you could say Taylor Swift, though,
00:48:04because it's like, what did she do?
00:48:07Because I think the argument is like
00:48:08someone who's changed something,
00:48:10brought something new to the table.
00:48:11So I don't know if Taylor's done that.
00:48:13I don't know if that's great.
00:48:13Well, what Taylor has done
00:48:14is have the ability to sell a stadium
00:48:17five nights in a row all across the world.
00:48:20So the fact that she's a live musician
00:48:23playing live music that she wrote herself,
00:48:26it's rock and roll, man.
00:48:27Like as a female, like, you know,
00:48:30it's hard as a guy,
00:48:32but there's always such a,
00:48:34such a, what is she going to do?
00:48:35And here she is, the biggest artist in the world.
00:48:37That's rock and roll to me, man.
00:48:38And, you know, so I wouldn't,
00:48:39I wouldn't be opposed to having her going as well.
00:48:42But once again, dude,
00:48:43throw the Scorpions in as well, please.
00:48:46These are not mercy additions.
00:48:48These are hardcore rock and roll bands
00:48:51that have been selling out for 60, 50, 40 years
00:48:53that have songs that everybody knows.
00:48:56Yeah.
00:48:56You know?
00:48:56You mentioned it being subjective.
00:48:57It would still be an honor
00:48:58if Fozzy got an induction into the Hall of Fame.
00:49:01I mean, absolutely.
00:49:02And listen, I'm not having any, you know,
00:49:05I don't have any auspicious feelings that we'll get in,
00:49:08but the fact that we have a gold record
00:49:10that's about to go platinum, I'll take that.
00:49:12I mean, that's, but thank you.
00:49:14I mean, that is not easy to do.
00:49:15So, which is another reason why anybody
00:49:17who's even considered for the Rocker Hall of Fame,
00:49:19no matter what genre it is,
00:49:21that is the top of the top of the top of the iceberg.
00:49:24And most of us, at least for my generation,
00:49:26we were kids wanted to be in a band.
00:49:28So any band that gets in that's at that level,
00:49:31God bless you, man.
00:49:32I got nothing but respect.
00:49:33Yeah.
00:49:33Wow.
00:49:34Speaking of Hall of Fame,
00:49:35I did want to ask you this
00:49:36because a lot of people obviously think
00:49:38that you should be in the WWE Hall of Fame now,
00:49:40which we can all agree on.
00:49:42Of course.
00:49:42But do you think that it might take a long time
00:49:45before WWE would be okay with extending that to you
00:49:51only because, and I hate tribalism,
00:49:53I hate it, but it's there.
00:49:56And it seems like it's something
00:49:57that they would prevent from happening.
00:50:00I mean, once again, I had a great career in WWE.
00:50:02It was almost 20 years with a few years here off.
00:50:05And it was always my dream to be in the WWE.
00:50:08And did I create enough memorable moments
00:50:11and matches and characters and creations
00:50:14and rivalries and moments to be in the WWE Hall of Fame?
00:50:18Absolutely.
00:50:19That's all I need.
00:50:20And if I'm in, if I'm not in,
00:50:23if it's tribalism, if it's politics,
00:50:25I get that too, man.
00:50:26I've been in this business 36 years.
00:50:27I understand how it works.
00:50:28It's not personal.
00:50:30I'm not insulted.
00:50:31And if I finish my career with AEW
00:50:33and the first inductee or the second inductee
00:50:35or the 10th inductee into AEW Hall of Fame,
00:50:38that's great too.
00:50:38But I'm in the Hall of Fame in my head
00:50:43and in the heads of anybody
00:50:44that appreciates the work that I've done.
00:50:46That's good enough for me, man.
00:50:48Like it really is.
00:50:49You know, I don't need anything else than that.
00:50:51You know, and that might sound a little bit like,
00:50:53oh, but it's really true.
00:50:54Like I've had a real blessed life
00:50:56in that I've got a chance to travel around the world
00:50:58doing what I always wanted to do
00:51:00and making people happy by doing it
00:51:02or getting people angry by doing it,
00:51:05which is the same thing.
00:51:07That's Hall of Fame all across the board, you know?
00:51:09Any of a cruise.
00:51:10Any of a cruise.
00:51:11I don't know anybody else in the business
00:51:14that has their own cruise
00:51:15and not a lot of people in rock and roll either.
00:51:16So there you go.
00:51:17Very well said.
00:51:18It's very well said.
00:51:19Yeah.
00:51:19Speaking of legends,
00:51:21Mick Foley's in AEW now.
00:51:22How is that?
00:51:23Have you guys interacted?
00:51:24What are your thoughts on him in AEW?
00:51:25Mick has never changed.
00:51:27He's never changed.
00:51:28He just loves being around the talent
00:51:30and he's going to do what he does
00:51:31and sometimes he does things that are very wacky.
00:51:33But that's Mick.
00:51:34You know, he's welcome any dressing room that I'm in
00:51:39because he's just a very friendly, fun, good guy.
00:51:43You know, and, you know, he can still always have,
00:51:47he's still, it's Mick Foley.
00:51:49Having him on your show, you know, is always a plus.
00:51:52Yeah.
00:51:53You know, and another person on commentary now, Paul White,
00:51:56he's been incredible.
00:51:58What's your thoughts on him on commentary lately?
00:52:00I mean, it's perfect.
00:52:01Once again, here you have this seven foot guy
00:52:04that's now making his second career as a commentator.
00:52:06You know, you don't want to get too many shots of him
00:52:08because he looks so ridiculously big.
00:52:10And you forget, like, we've known him for so many years
00:52:12and he's one of my best friends in the business.
00:52:14He's just a sweetheart of a guy.
00:52:16He gets pretty angry and cantankerous too.
00:52:17But, you know, I'll see a picture of him and I from, you know, 2010
00:52:21where it was like, oh my gosh, like, holy shit, is he fucking big.
00:52:24Yeah.
00:52:25And you forget.
00:52:26But to see him at the commentary table, we had a great moment.
00:52:29on the Kevin Knight match in Vegas where I flew off the top
00:52:33and landed on Big Show or on Kevin Knight
00:52:36and then I went and sat on Big Show's lap.
00:52:38And it was such a great moment.
00:52:39And it's funny too because I was kind of subbed over sitting on his lap.
00:52:42And sometimes you get a picture which is not very flattering.
00:52:45So it's abs Jericho, abs Jericho, sit down on Big Show's lap,
00:52:48look like Jabba the Hutt for two seconds, get up and abs Jericho.
00:52:50And, of course, all the haters like,
00:52:52is this what you wanted to see back in WWE?
00:52:54And it's just like I'm looking like a big blob because I'm sitting like this.
00:52:57And it's like, but it was a really great moment that, you know,
00:53:01he's still my all-time favorite tag team partner that I ever had.
00:53:05Really?
00:53:06We had great, great chemistry together.
00:53:08It's probably easy to work off of, right?
00:53:10It was because here I am, the cowardly heel,
00:53:13and who's going to beat me when I got this guy behind me?
00:53:15You got a problem with me?
00:53:17Talk to my friend.
00:53:18And that's all I needed.
00:53:20I was going toe-to-toe with Shaq, toe-to-toe with freaking, you know,
00:53:25whoever.
00:53:25And it's like, I can go toe-to-toe with Shaq because you got to deal with my guy,
00:53:29Shaq, you know?
00:53:30And it was really great chemistry, and he's a really good guy as well.
00:53:34And he's like me.
00:53:35We're survivors from another time that are still, you know,
00:53:39still out there doing it.
00:53:41Obviously, he's not taking bumps at this point.
00:53:42I'm sure he wants to.
00:53:44But it's also pretty cool to see him out there every week commentating
00:53:47because that's the next step of our careers.
00:53:49What do you do when wrestling's done in-ring?
00:53:51If you still want to be in the business, that's not a bad way to continue forward
00:53:54if you can do it.
00:53:55Yeah.
00:53:56We actually spoke to him recently.
00:53:57He's so great.
00:53:58And he told us a story about, you know, Vince McMahon
00:54:01and how the minute that Vince called him Paul,
00:54:04that's when he knew something changed with the relationship
00:54:07or essentially that Vince was not, you know, quote-unquote, done with him,
00:54:10just like it's now moved on to another world.
00:54:13Did you have a similar situation or anything like that,
00:54:17like where things kind of changed once?
00:54:19Mine was opposite.
00:54:20Like I never really had a great relationship with Vince
00:54:23or a lot of maybe even respect, you might say,
00:54:26or belief, like true belief until the 2008 Shawn Michaels feud.
00:54:31That's shocking.
00:54:32Yeah.
00:54:33But that's two eras of Jericho and WWE.
00:54:36There's the 99 to, you know, 2008,
00:54:38and then there's the 2008 to 2017 or 18 or whatever it was.
00:54:42And that was a whole other, you know, almost maybe even better than the first
00:54:47because you go from working with, you know, Rock and Austin and Kurt
00:54:51and McFoley and Edge and, you know, Benoit and Eddie and those guys.
00:54:56And then suddenly here I am working with Roman and Seth Rollins
00:54:59and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and that level of guys
00:55:03who are now carrying the company.
00:55:04And I'd like to think that whatever work we did benefited them
00:55:07as well as benefited me.
00:55:08You know, I think we both were able to build each other up
00:55:12for all those names and all those guys.
00:55:14So, yeah, I never had a lack of disbelief from the office in WWE.
00:55:20I had a lot of times when I wanted to punch him in the face and vice versa.
00:55:24But it was never, the only time I felt that was in 2005
00:55:28when I knew that it was going to start going down.
00:55:33And I left for two years.
00:55:35Before you even say anything, your contract is up and here's what,
00:55:37don't even say it, don't say a number, don't say a word
00:55:40because I don't want you to think it's because I know you're going
00:55:42to cut my contract in half or whatever you're going to do.
00:55:44I need a break.
00:55:45And I left.
00:55:46And then when I came back two years later, it was a different mindset
00:55:50because pretty soon after that was the Shawn Michaels feud.
00:55:52And then suddenly I think I'd finally become what Vince always felt
00:55:56that I could become.
00:55:57And I was able to put all the pieces together
00:56:00and get the, you know, the Rubik's Cube where you want it.
00:56:03And finally there's the full Chris Jericho.
00:56:05And after that it was pretty much in the main event, top spot,
00:56:10every week after that.
00:56:12Do you think that was any growth within you?
00:56:14Like this might sound like a click-baity question,
00:56:16but who was the hardest boss to say no to?
00:56:19You know, you worked under Vince, you worked under Eric Bischoff and Tony.
00:56:22And like you said, everyone is arrogant in their own way.
00:56:25Yeah, well you don't, to get longevity in this business,
00:56:28you learn you don't say no to your boss.
00:56:31You say, well, how about we try it this way and give an alternative answer
00:56:36to just, no, I'm not doing that.
00:56:39Nothing will infuriate your boss more than just saying no.
00:56:42Yeah, tell me about it.
00:56:43I mean, I work for somebody that's paying me money,
00:56:46a lot of money to do what he wants.
00:56:48Now, Vince used to say, I just booked the shit, you make it good.
00:56:52And sometimes it's not easy, but that's the boss.
00:56:54Tony's the boss, Eric's the boss, Paco Alonzo's the boss,
00:56:57you know, Chono was the boss, Choshu was the boss,
00:57:00Tenryu was the boss, you name it.
00:57:02Paul Heyman was the boss, whoever was the boss.
00:57:03It's my job to make him happy with the work that I'm doing.
00:57:08So there's no boss that's easy to say no to,
00:57:12but every good boss you collaborate with.
00:57:15And that's the secret of being a good general, shall we say.
00:57:19And it's the secret to being a good boss.
00:57:21Tony's great to collaborate with.
00:57:23Vince was great to collaborate with.
00:57:24I didn't really have the opportunity to collaborate with Bischoff much
00:57:27because I was too far down the food chain.
00:57:29And by the time that I felt that I was worthy of that,
00:57:32I was pretty much out the door.
00:57:34So yeah, you work together to create the best possible match you can.
00:57:38And that goes to show,
00:57:39I remember I was working with Samoa Joe once in AEW
00:57:44and Tony wanted something and neither one of us felt it.
00:57:49And we basically said,
00:57:52maybe we should think about it or whatever.
00:57:53And Tony, you could tell he just was very disappointed,
00:57:57but he very much wanted us to do this.
00:57:59And the moment he left the room,
00:58:01Joe and I looked at each other and like,
00:58:03all right, how are we going to make it work?
00:58:06And we had a conversation.
00:58:07We had to reshuffle the deck and move this there,
00:58:10move this there and get rid of this and add this.
00:58:11Then we went back and told Tony.
00:58:12He's like, oh, that's so great.
00:58:13Thank you so much.
00:58:13Thank you so much.
00:58:14He's happy and we're going to make it great.
00:58:16It's completely different from what we originally wanted to do,
00:58:19but he's the fucking boss.
00:58:20He's the one who tells us what he wants.
00:58:22And if you don't like it,
00:58:23you go make $8 billion and start your own wrestling company.
00:58:26And that's what a pro does.
00:58:28That's what you do.
00:58:29And it's not always the way you want it,
00:58:31but I'm not the boss.
00:58:33I don't write checks, you know, on the Jericho cruise.
00:58:36That's a different story.
00:58:38And that's the truth.
00:58:39And there's guys who tell me, you know,
00:58:40and I got to deal with so-and-so.
00:58:43We got to get this.
00:58:44Who else is around?
00:58:45I get it all the time.
00:58:46You know, we have a certain thing planned.
00:58:47This guy, he doesn't feel like doing it.
00:58:49Like I remember one time.
00:58:50On the cruise?
00:58:50On the cruise.
00:58:51Oh, man.
00:58:51One time at the end, we always have the last match is the main event.
00:58:57The last night of the cruise, the last match is usually,
00:58:59it's always involving me.
00:59:00And it's me teaming with Dan Housen,
00:59:03or it's me with the Bucks,
00:59:04or it's me with this guy or that guy, whatever.
00:59:06And at the end, we have a large contingency of run-ins.
00:59:11And it's Hacksaw Duggan to hit you with the board.
00:59:14And it's, you know, Ultimo Dragon to come down and give you a kick.
00:59:17And it's Liger, or who's this?
00:59:19It's Tony Storm to come down and give everyone karate chops.
00:59:21And the idea was for Steiner to come down and do something.
00:59:24And for some reason, he didn't want to do it,
00:59:27or wasn't aware, or didn't show up.
00:59:29And it's like literally 10 minutes, we're going to do this thing.
00:59:32I'm like, Brad Williams, hey, dude.
00:59:35Hey, are you around?
00:59:36Yeah.
00:59:37Come down to the dressing room, comes down.
00:59:40And he's brought a little Scott Steiner chainmail thing.
00:59:44Ah, that's great.
00:59:45Just had it.
00:59:46Yeah.
00:59:46And I go, okay, so Scott's not doing the run,
00:59:47and you're going to do it now.
00:59:48And he's like, okay.
00:59:49And so we end up being Brad Williams suplexed this guy,
00:59:52and then Brad Williams does a what's up from the middle rope.
00:59:54And I'm like, dude, it's only rock and roll.
00:59:56It's fine.
00:59:56Let's just go with it.
00:59:57That's what you've got to be able to do,
00:59:59go with the flow and make your boss happy.
01:00:01And most of the time, it usually ends up working out pretty damn good.
01:00:05Well, I think it's going to be great that you guys are making your debut Jericho Cruise appearance.
01:00:11Yeah, very excited.
01:00:12The night that we are doing the very first AEW Collision live episode from the Jericho Cruise,
01:00:19from the Norwegian Pearl, in the dock, in the port in Miami, November 7th.
01:00:25And you guys are going to be there to see it with your own two eyes.
01:00:28Are you going to at least put us close to the ring so we can see?
01:00:31Listen, you're stuck behind the crowd there.
01:00:32You get what you pay for, man.
01:00:34Talk to my people.
01:00:35I don't deal with that stuff.
01:00:37Okay.
01:00:37Sounds good.
01:00:39Thank you, Chris.
01:00:39Thank you so much.
01:00:40Great conversation.
01:00:41Thank you, guys.
01:00:42One bite fast.
01:00:42Absolutely.
01:00:43And we'll see you on the cruise.
01:00:44See you on the cruise.
01:00:45All right.
01:00:45Thank you, guys.
01:00:46We'll see you back here on Tuesday.
01:00:48Thanks.
01:00:48All right.
01:01:00All right.