Chris Jericho in Australia: Break The Walls Down

CJ_1
I sat down very briefly last week with WWE Superstar, Fozzy frontman, podcaster, author and actor Chris Jericho to discuss everything from wrestling to Donald Trump and The Beatles.
Chris Jericho is a very, very busy man. He’s a WWE Wrestler, but also the frontman for metal group Fozzy, a best-selling author with a third volume of his autobiography (“The Best In The World: At What I Have No Idea“) on the way.
He acts, so far mostly in small parts in made-for-TV movies, as well as his own satirical series, “But I’m Chris Jericho”.
http://youtu.be/MEnOw3P3CWU
He also happens to be, hands down, my favourite wrestler. When (and it happens relatively frequently) people ask me why I’m interested in pro wrestling when just about every other kind of sport generally bores me, Chris Jericho is the performer I tend to point them towards, because he covers both the physical and dramatic aspects of wrestling that appeal to me so very well.
See Also:
WWE Network set to launch in Australia on August 12th
WWE’s Daniel Bryan: The Quietest Superstar
Booker T: We can dig it
So when the WWE offered me the opportunity to sit down with him for a few minutes prior to the Sydney leg of their Australian tour, I leapt at the chance to talk wrestling, music and, somewhat surprisingly, Donald Trump.
Fat Duck Tech: Your past couple of returns you’ve worked extensively with younger talent, such as Fandango last year and Bray Wyatt this year. Has that been your call, or a WWE office call, or a mix of both?
Chris Jericho: The office. I do what the boss tells me to do. In this timeframe I wasn’t going to come back unless it was something that interested me to do, and the Bray Wyatt thing was something that i pitched months ago and they finally came through and said ‘we want you to do something with Wyatt’, and that’s how that went down.

There's a great interplay between Bray Wyatt's quiet, cult-like entrance and Jericho's bombastic arrival. (Picture: Alex Kidman)
There’s a great interplay between Bray Wyatt’s quiet, cult-like entrance and Jericho’s bombastic arrival. (Picture: Alex Kidman)

FDT: You’ve just returned after a break, something you’ve done several times now in quite memorable fashion. What do you think makes for a good Jericho return?
CJ:I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad Jericho return at this point, because I think when I leave as frequently as I do that people are always excited to see me back. And always mad at me for not being here, and then mad at me when I’m here, and then mad at me when I leave again, so… people are just mad at me all the time, you know?
FDT: As long as they’re engaged..
CJ: Yeah, well, that’s the thing. It’s funny, because I think last year it was like “Jericho never wins”, and it was like, I think I won almost all the matches, but just lost a few big ones, and then this year I beat Bray Wyatt and it’s like “Jericho’s burying the young talent” and I’m just, like shut up! Just go away.

FDT: You did a Reddit AMA where the topic of your 1,004 holds promo came up…
CJ: Yeah, yeah
FDT: You quipped that you only had about 14 left…
CJ:Yeah, I forgot, like 965 at this point

Lionsault still present and correct. Presumably also still the arm bar. (Picture: Alex Kidman)
Lionsault still present and correct. Presumably also still the arm bar. (Picture: Alex Kidman)

FDT: I’m curious about having 14 or so moves. A lot of wrestlers say that the art is about perfecting just a few moves…
CJ: Whoever says that is totally wrong. Totally wrong.
Wrestling is all about not what moves you do, it’s where you put them and the psychology of the match. You and I could have a match without doing any moves, and it would be good because I understand how to put together things and how to read the crowd and character.
Mental note: If I ever end up in a ring with Chris Jericho, he can call the entire match. And I'm going to remind him of the whole "no moves at all" thing, because this would hurt. (Picture: Alex Kidman)
Mental note: If I ever end up in a ring with Chris Jericho, he can call the entire match. And I’m going to remind him of the whole “no moves at all” thing, because this would hurt. (Picture: Alex Kidman)

It’s about character and connecting with the crowd. It’s not about moves. Never was.

Next page: Jericho’s WWE intro, SOS and what’s next?

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