Chris Jericho Talks Re-Inventing His Character Outside WWE

AEW World Champion Chris Jericho spoke with SI.com recently in the build-up to his match at Tokyo Dome this weekend. During the interview, Jericho mentioned what he thinks he would be doing had he stayed in WWE.

Jericho on what he would be doing if he were still in WWE:

“If I was still in the WWE, I would still have to be doing ‘The List’ and it would feel so old,” said Jericho. “I love all the great stuff I did in the past, but to go out there and say ‘Raw is Jericho’ or ‘I’m the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla’ would really feel like a rock and roll band that tours that never puts on a new record and tours every summer.”

On the Genesis of his NJPW “Painmaker” persona:

Jericho also spoke about the genesis of his “Painmaker” persona in NJPW.

“I originally went into that Omega match thinking I’d be the same guy from WWE,” said Jericho. “But I was really into Bruiser Brody at the time–I think it was the 30 anniversary of his death–and watching him just beat the sh– out of people. In Japan, people are still intimidated by that and they kind of like it. I really liked the lunacy of the character I played building up to and during the Kenny match, so when I went back for Naito, I didn’t want to wear sparkly tights and light-up jackets. It didn’t feel right. I felt crazier, and I decided that some paint needed to be worn.”

Jericho on keeping his character fresh:

Jericho also compared his character re-invention to bands playing new songs. He also specifically used DX as an example during the conversation.

“I have a great list of hits, but a lot of those will never be played again because I’m too busy concentrating on new hits and performing at the highest level,” said Jericho. “It’s hard to leave all the old gimmicks and catchphrases, and take a chance, but if you don’t do that, it’s like DX coming to the ring in 2019 and yelling ‘Suck it!’ It looks like a relic from the past, and I never wanted to be that.”

Jericho defeated Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, meaning Tanahashi failed to earn a shot at Jericho’s AEW World Championship. It’s not clear if the “forbidden portal” will be open in the future or not.

The full interview Chris Jericho gave to SI.com can be read here.

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