Chris Jericho made an immediate impact when he signed with All Elite Wrestling. This revelation occurred during AEW’s recent Double Or Nothing event rally on January 8th.

Since then, pro wrestling fans worldwide have been buzzing with anticipation over what a wrestling renaissance man like Jericho will bring to the startup promotion.

Recently, Jericho spoke with WSVN-TV Entertainment reporter, Chris Van Vliet. They discussed a number of topics ranging from All Elite Wrestling to speculation over other big names that could become involved with the company, and even provided an update on Roman Reigns’ current health. They also addressed how Jericho approached Vince McMahon regarding signing his AEW contract.

When asked when he had decided to sign with AEW, Jericho responded, “As the past year progressed, going from New Japan to All In to The Cruise, and kind of seeing how life was on the other side, I realized, like The Young Bucks, like Kenny Omega and these guys, you can make a good living outside the WWE. Then when you have a billionaire getting involved, suddenly you have the biggest offer of my career — by far — I couldn’t say no. For the next three years, it’s AEW. That’s where I’m signed, and that’s the contract that I have.”

Future AEW Talent?

With the excitement surrounding AEW, names have already been bandied about as to who else could end up with the company. Two that Jericho was asked about included CM Punk and Kenny Omega.

Jericho stated that Punk’s “not so much a free agent as he is a retired wrestler,” though he would love to have Punk involved.

Regarding Omega, Chris said “Once I signed, the last remaining huge free agent is Kenny Omega. Jericho and Omega were the two. Where’s he gonna end up? I hope it’s with AEW, I really do. I guess we’ll find out because his contract ends very quickly.”

Vince McMahon

When it came to telling his former boss, Vince McMahon, over his ultimate decision, Jericho recalled that he “[…] spoke to Vince before I signed, and he knew it. The words we exchanged were very amicable, and it wasn’t like it was a surprise. Business is business. Vince McMahon is my friend; I respect him, I love the guy — no ill will whatsoever, just the business road took me this way. I would’ve been crazy not to do it because I might insult somebody. I think the first guy who would agree with that is Vince.”

The Big Dog

Jericho then provided a health update on WWE Superstar, Roman Reigns, saying:

“He’s doing his treatment, and I think things are going really well. I don’t really know much about leukemia,” he admitted. “I don’t know what the endgame is as far as when you’re ‘cured’ — when it goes into remission, when you can do physical matches or travel or whatever it is. But we talk to him quite a bit. I’ve got a group text with him in it, and I text him on the side quite a bit. He always seems to be doing pretty well and in good spirits.

We love him, and I think it’s just a matter of time before he comes back. But more importantly that he stays healthy for his family, for sure.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZh8yGNUd_4

Triple H and Chris Jericho have come a long way in their professional wrestling careers. Both men are former WWE Champions and first-ballot future Hall Of Famers. “Y2J” and “The Game” were major parts of WWE’s success in the Attitude Era. They briefly feuded with one another during that time and met inside the ring dozens of times in the decades following. At this point in their careers, Jericho and Triple H are in very different spots.

Jericho has been doing a lot of work with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), fresh off a run as IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He recently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and will be one of several big names joining the startup promotion’s roster. Triple H is currently one of WWE’s top executives. He’s the frontman of the company’s developmental brand, NXT.

“The Game” occasionally performs inside the ring from time-to-time on special occasions as well. Recently, Jericho took to his Instagram and posted an old photo of himself and Triple H. Jericho called his former in-ring foe a “true brother” through the good times and bad. Check out the photo and caption here:

“Here’s to a true brother, through good times and bad! @tripleh…much respect! #goodbrother @wwe”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bshr4iLlbEP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading

What do you make of Jericho’s comments on his relationship with Triple H?

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is finally here, and they have compiled some pretty big names as part of their roster. One of those names being longtime WWE star and now-former IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho. Jericho made an appearance at this week’s AEW rally in Florida. It was there he signed his new contract with AEW.

Courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, we now have some more details on Chris Jericho’s AEW deal. The Fozzy frontman signed a three-year deal with with the promotion that will allow him to continue wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). He’ll also be allowed to continue running his wrestling-themed cruises.

The inaugural Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager At Sea featured talent from Ring of Honor. In light of this arrangement, expect the second cruise to feature matches from All Elite Wrestling.

Chris Jericho publicly stated that he isn’t in this for the money, but he’s still getting paid handsomely. According to the Observer, Tony Khan signed Jericho to a contract that’s worth more than he ever earned in WWE. When you consider that he’ll still be able to make big money wrestling a few times a year for New Japan, run his cruise and tour with his metal band, Jericho made out quite well for himself.

Prior to signing with AEW, Jericho had been negotiating with WWE just a few weeks ago.

What do you think about Jericho signing with AEW?

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Jericho (@IamJericho) is Officially signed to @AEWrestling #AEW #AEWRally pic.twitter.com/In6Nc96am5

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 9, 2019

In late December, there was a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which stated Impact Wrestling was looking to sell their company to All Elite Wrestling.

“It is not a secret that there were forces attempting to sell Impact to AEW a few months ago,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “But that proposal was turned down.”

Ed Nordholm then told talent on January 7th that Anthem was not looking to sell the company. The Observer clarified their story today.

“The only deal we know of regarding a potential sale was when Chris Jericho became aware of Tony Khan wanting to start a company and tried to set up a meeting with Khan and Impact,” Meltzer wrote in the latest edition of the Observer.

Meltzer would continue to say this discussion took place all the way back in September. This means Jericho has been involved in discussions involving the new promotion since shortly after All In.

“Anthem was willing to talk and this was in September but Khan, who at that point was exploring starting up, said that he would start up on his own and wasn’t looking at buying an existing company,” Meltzer continued.

Ed Nordholm On Impact Wrestling’s Future

Following the Homecoming PPV this weekend, Ed Nordholm addressed the roster at the following night’s TV tapings. He talked about the important role Impact plays in the expansion of the Fight Network. The combat sports station signed big deals in Mexico and the United Kingdom in 2018.

The latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter features a ton of new information about All Elite Wrestling. We’ve been covering this developing story all week and you can catch up on everything at our AEW News section. Here are the latest details from the Observer regarding the management structure of AEW:

– AEW President Tony Khan will be head of the creative team in what Dave Meltzer called the “Vince McMahon role.” During an appearance on Sean Waltman’s podcast this week, Khan spoke extensively about his vision for AEW (Recap).

– As noted earlier, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks will serve as Executive Vice Presidents. Cody will focus primarily on the men’s singles division, while Matt and Nick will handle the tag teams. With the Young Bucks holding such prominent positions in the promotion, expect to see AEW feature a strong tag team division. One more Executive Vice President is expected to be hired in the coming months.

– In addition to serving as Chief Brand Officer, Brandi Runnels will focus on the women’s division.

– Dana Massie (wife of Matt ‘Jackson’) will be the head of merchandise for AEW. She has been one of the driving forces behind the Young Bucks’ merchandise brand. Pro Wrestling Tees President Ryan Barkan is also working with Dana.

– Prominent wrestling business reporter Chris Harrington has been hired as the head of business development.

Visit f4wonline.com for details on how you can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Chris Jericho appeared on Busted Open Radio on Thursday morning to discuss All Elite Wrestling and dropped some new information about AEW’s television negotiations and signings. Jericho said that there is a lot of ‘infrastructure’ being built behind the scenes to make AEW a full fledged major league wrestling promotion. AEW hasn’t just been signing wrestlers to contracts in recent weeks. There’s a whole backstage element that’s being signed, from talent relations to booking agents, directors and more.

He then discussed AEW’s ongoing negotiations with television networks. Jericho said he’s aware of two networks trying to secure AEW programming and if either goes through, the entire industry will be saying, “Holy sh*t. They’re the real deal.”

Jericho said, “I wouldn’t have gone to All Elite if there wasn’t a strong TV deal on the table being worked on, and there’s a couple that I know of and both are like, ‘Wow.’ When it’s announced, if it’s one of those two, you’ll go, ‘Well, that’s what they need.'”

Busted Open host Bully Ray chimed in and told Jericho he doesn’t need specifics, but he wanted to clarify: if one of these networks picks up AEW’s programming, fans around the world, the entire industry, they’re going to say, “Holy sh*t. They’re the real deal.”

Jericho said, “Agreed. Yes.” He also talked about what he brings to the table in terms of star power, which opens doors for AEW in terms of landing a TV deal. “A lot of people don’t know Kenny, or Cody or the Bucks. We know them, but your average fan doesn’t.”

(Did he just say Kenny? Yes, he did.)

He added that certain WWE performers who are making a good living but think they can do better will take notice of him joining AEW and will follow suit.

Listen to Chris Jericho’s comments from Busted Open Radio, which airs weekday mornings on SiriusXM Channel 93: 

EXCLUSIVE: "I wouldn't have gone to All Elite if there wasn't a strong TV deal on the table being worked on, and there's a couple that I know of that are on the table…"@IAmJericho on why @AEWrestling will further legitimize itself when their TV deal is announced.#AEW pic.twitter.com/yCchkQf1y5

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) January 10, 2019

AEW Potential Television Deals

Tony Khan appeared on Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast recently. He addressed potential television deals for the new promotion as well. Although he stated he was not able to go into details on negotiations, he did confirm there are several interested parties.

Jim Ross on AEW Potential Television Deal

Jim Ross also commented on a possible AEW television deal this week. Ross believes a television deal is all but finalized for the promotion.

“I think a TV deal is basically done,” Ross said. “Why would you do all this celebration? Why would you have this major announcement, this huge event, if you didn’t have TV pretty much locked up?”

AEW has arrived and it’s the biggest news story in wrestling right now. The Double or Nothing rally took place earlier today and had some interesting twists and turns. The biggest news came when former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho was named as a new signee to the company.

Jericho appeared in front of the live crowd for the rally and declared himself as the newest contracted performer in All Elite. He also stated that he “wasn’t doing this for the money.”

Cody and Brandi Rhodes are of course two of the top heads of the new venture. Both discussed the signing of Jericho and how it affects the fledging company.

“To have Chris Jericho here today, to give us what we call in the wrestling industry, ‘the rub,’ and for him to—no pun intended—go all in with All Elite Wrestling, I want that to be the news today,” Cody stated. “So, that meant we held some things back because we want to do this thing slow, we want to do it correct.”

Brandi also discussed the announcement of a TV deal, saying “[Being on TV] is always the goal for everything, As [Cody] said we are a startup and we are in some ‘baby phases’ right now. What I can say is more information on that will definitely be forthcoming sooner than later.”

Stay tuned to SEScoops.com for all the latest news on All Elite Wrestling.

Credit to Wrestling Inc for the transcription

Another familiar face has joined the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) crew. Former WWE star Billy Gunn was introduced as AEW’s first and only official producer. Rhodes announced the news in a video uploaded to AEW’s Twitter account.

Gunn and his son, Austin, were both at yesterday’s AEW rally. They also both competed in Cody and The Young Bucks’ “All In” pre-show in the Over Budget Battle Royal. Check out: Updated list of talent working with AEW.

#AEW #DoubleOrNothing Rally @AEWrestling first producer @RealBillyGunn pic.twitter.com/jsRlgshjQm

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 8, 2019

AEW Talent Allowed To Work Elsewhere

There was plenty of news from yesterday’s rally. Some bits of information regarding AEW’s talent were also brought to light. Cody spoke at the post-rally media scrum and commented on select AEW talents, such as Chris Jericho and Joey Janela, being able to work elsewhere.

Jericho will still be allowed to run his cruises, and Janela can still run Spring Break shows. We spoke with one AEW star who said they will be allowed to work with other promotions, except WWE. This might be a window into AEW’s approach to signing talent.

Some of their stars might be exclusive, but others could be brought in on non-exclusive deals in order to give AEW access to more wrestlers who have other commitments. This might also lead to AEW forming partnerships with other promotions.

One of the biggest news developments coming out of Tuesday’s AEW Double or Nothing rally was the surprise appearance of Chris Jericho. As we’ve been reporting since October, Jericho has been working behind the scenes with Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks in helping get the new wrestling promotion off the ground.

As Jericho put it, “I am a maverick, I am an outlaw. I am a pariah. I am Chris Jericho, baby … I’m not here to just change the world. AEW is not here to change the world. We are going to change the whole universe!”

Chris Jericho officially signed his AEW contract on Tuesday night, but it Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that Jericho was actually also in talks with WWE about a potential return up until recently. Jericho ultimately settled on All Elite Wrestling, which will give him a lot more freedom to work with New Japan Pro Wrestling, his metal band Fozzy and his Jericho cruise later this year.

• Updated List Of Wrestlers Working With AEW

In response to Jericho’s signing with AEW, WWE moved Chris Jericho’s WWE.com bio from the “Superstars” page to the “Alumni” section. Jericho was also removed from the “Then, Now, Forever” opening video package that aired before Tuesday’s SmackDown Live.

Jericho’s debut for AEW will take place at the promotion’s first event. “Double Or Nothing” goes down from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25th.

What do you think about Jericho signing with AEW?

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Jericho (@IamJericho) is Officially signed to @AEWrestling #AEW #AEWRally pic.twitter.com/In6Nc96am5

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 9, 2019

The roster for AEW (All Elite Wrestling) is coming together just after a week since the newly launched promotion was announced by Cody and The Young Bucks in an episode of Being The Elite that was released on New Year’s Day.

Several new talents who have signed with the promotion were revealed during Tuesday’s All Elite Wrestling rally titled Double or Nothing at TIAA Bank Field, which is the stadium where the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars play at, which is also owned by The Khan Family, who are backing AEW financially.

Those stars who appeared at the rally in order to announce that are part of AEW include Chris Jericho, PAC, Britt Baker, MJF, Joey Janela, Penelope Ford, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, and Scorpio Sky. The promotion is expected to announce more talent signings in the coming weeks.

You can see an updated list of talent who are now under contract with AEW here:

• Cody Rhodes
• The Young Bucks
• Hangman Page
• Chris Jericho
• PAC
• Joey Janella w/Penelope Ford
• Christopher Daniels
• Frankie Kazarian
• Scorpio Sky
• MJF
• Britt Baker

During the Double or Nothing Rally, AEW also announced a working partnership with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, which features a lot of young and talented wrestlers based out of China.

What are your thoughts on this roster thus far? Sound off in the comment section.

The big surprise at the conclusion of Tuesday’s AEW Double or Nothing Rally was the appearance of Chris Jericho. Just as it seemed the event was ending, Fozzy’s hit song Judas hit and out walked Jericho.

The former IWGP Intercontinental Champion declared that he has arrived in AEW. “I’m not here for the money – I already got the money,” he said. “I am here because I believe in doing something different, I believe in doing something new. It’s what I have always done through my entire career. I am a maverick, I am an outlaw. I am a pariah. I am Chris Jericho, baby.”

Jericho announced that he’ll be at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-pay-view, which takes place Saturday, May 25th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

He finished, “I’m not here to just change the world. AEW is not here to change the world. We are going to change the whole universe!”

Several fans on social media noticed that shortly after Jericho showed up at the AEW event, his Superstar profile was moved to the “Alumni” section of WWE.com.

Chris Jericho has been linked to The Elite’s new promotion with Tony Khan since our exclusive report on the billionaire-backed upstart group back in October. He worked with The Elite extensively throughout 2018, including with a match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12, a surprise appearance at All In and the Alpha vs. Omega match on the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise.

All Elite Wrestling released this video of Chris Jericho signing his AEW contract alongside AEW President Tony Khan. 

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Jericho (@IamJericho) is Officially signed to @AEWrestling #AEW #AEWRally pic.twitter.com/In6Nc96am5

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 9, 2019

Chris Jericho Shows Off WK13 Bruise (Photo)

During last night’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 pay-per-view (PPV), Chris Jericho dropped the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. He was defeated by Tetsuya Naito in a No Disqualification match.

In a match that saw weapons such as kendo sticks, steel chairs, and tables used, both men endured a lot of pain. After the bout, “Y2J” took to Instagram to share a photo of a bruise he suffered during the bout. Jericho captioned the photo with  “#WrestlingIsFake…???” Check it out below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsNt7-2FVCY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading

Cody & Kenny Omega React To WK13 Defeats

Also at WK13, Cody Rhodes dropped the IWGP United States Championship to Juice Robinson. Rhodes took to Twitter to react to the news, admitting that Juice was the better man on the night. With fans knowing Cody is on his way to All Elite Wrestling, the result didn’t come as much of a surprise. He closed out his Tweet by thanking Japan:

“Certainly not the outcome I expected, but in the ring tonight Juice was the better man. Thanks Japan, see ya’ soon.”

Certainly not the outcome I expected, but in the ring tonight Juice was the better man.

Thanks Japan, see ya’ soon. ????

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) January 4, 2019

Another member of The Elite who was defeated at WK13 was Kenny Omega. He lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the night’s main event. As for what’s next for Omega’s professional wrestling career, that remains to be seen:

“1-1 #njwk13”

1-1 #njwk13 pic.twitter.com/w5Y7C0UX9t

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) January 4, 2019

Chris Jericho has put his sights on earning some more gold while competing under the NJPW banner. This comes after the fact that he lost the IWGP Intercontinental Title to Tetsuya Naito at the Wrestle Kingdom 13 event on Friday at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

It was a wild match that was contested with no disqualifications and Jericho showed off some bruises that he sustained in the match when he wrote the following on his official Instagram account:

“#WrestlingIsFake…??? @njpw1972 #JerichoVsNaito2 #WrestleKingdom13.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsNt7-2FVCY/

After the match, he talked with some media members about the contest and how he has put his focus on winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title which is currently held by Hiroshi Tanahashi, who beat Kenny Omega for it at this show.

“I just lost the belt I took from Naito in June last year. It is a big mistake if you think that the time with me and New Japan Pro Wrestling will be over.” Jericho stated, H/T to Yahoo! Japan for the transcript. “I’ve kept the Intercontinental belt for the longest in 2018. So let me tell you, I want to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight belt, unreasonable or not.”

Jericho has made several appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling over the last year including a 5-star classic against Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, at Dominion, he captured the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Naito and retaining Intercontinental Championship against EVIL at the NJPW Power Struggle event last November.

New Japan’s annual Tokyo Dome show is now underway. The stacked card could end up being one of NJPW’s best ever and we’ve got the results as and when they happen.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Chris Jericho in the co-main event of the card. Naito is now once again the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, dethroning Y2J. This bout was changed to a No DQ contest when Jericho attacked Naito at the Fan Fest earlier this week. The match featured some hellacious kendo stick attacks from Jericho, the GOAT vowing to end Naito’s illustrious career. Naito also got some nasty looking strikes in late in the match, a huge welt appearing on Jericho’s chest. The finish came when Naito hit Destino on Jericho for the pinfall win.

You can follow all of our coverage for this historic event here

Here’s the full card for the event:

• NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Will Ospreay
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
• RPW British Heavyweight Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Zac Sabre Jr.
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
• IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match – Cody (c) vs. Juice Robinson
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match – KUSHIDA (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada
• IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification Match – Chris Jericho (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kenny Omega (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Chris Jericho is currently preparing to defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship. He will face Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13 tomorrow from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It’s a rivalry that has been brewing for the past year and will finally commence in a No Disqualification bout. Wrestle Kingdom 13 is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) biggest show of the year.

However, they might just outdo themselves this April during WrestleMania 35 week. They will be co-promoting a massive event at Madison Square Garden with Ring Of Honor (ROH). The G1 Supercard event will go down on April 6th from New York City. On a recent episode of Jericho’s podcast, “Talk Is Jericho,” “Y2J” said he believes WWE is keeping an eye on NJPW.

The promotion, along with ROH, was able to do something WWE hasn’t in quite some time – sellout MSG. WWE even tried to block the event from happening, but their attempts proved unsuccessful:

“WWE is watching. Anytime you have a company that can come into WWE’s backyard and sell out Madison Square Garden — you can spin it anyway you want to; it’s WrestleMania weekend — it doesn’t matter. They did something that WWE has not done in years.

“They tried to block this show and it didn’t work out. When you’re talking about a company that has nationwide TV on AXS, it’s not NBC or USA, but it’s still funded by a billionaire, Mark Cuban. There is money there. WWE never takes anything like that lightly.”

What do you make of Jericho’s comments regarding WWE and NJPW?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsECywPlw-s&t=3s

H/T Fightful for the transcriptions

Chris Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito during the contract signing for their Wrestle Kingdom 13 match, which was also officially made a No DQ bout. The contract signing took place today during the New Japan Pro Wrestling Festival at the Studio Coast venue in Tokyo.

During the angle, Naito taunted Jericho, who promised to retire Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Jericho also asked for the no DQ stipulation. Naito first mocked Jericho for demanding that all of his NJPW matches be no DQ, but agreed to the request, and signed the contract.

Jericho then attacked Naito, stabbing at him with a pen.  He then power-bombed his upcoming opponent through a table.

??????? ????????2019??
?8????????????? IWGP????????????????@IAmJericho vs @s_d_naito ?????????????????????
?????https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP #njpw #njwk13 #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/GTHcV9LTW9

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) January 3, 2019

Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito – Wrestle Kingdom 13

Jericho vs. Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship will be the semi-main event at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Jericho originally won the title from Naito at Dominion in June. He has defended the championship only once since then, defeating EVIL at Power Struggle in Osaka back in November.

Despite his uneventful reign, Jericho now places fifth both in most days spent as IWGP Intercontinental champion.

Recently, Naito took part in an interview with NJPW1972.com and said NJPW management kisses up to Jericho. They do this, Naito says, to appease their international fan base.

“I know that New Japan wants to use his name for overseas expansion, but I want them to stop kissing up to him,” Naito said. “That’ll happen once I take back that title. I’ve said this many times before, but they should focus on showing the pure New Japan style to the world, instead of altering it.”

Chris Jericho believes Bullet Club should change its name. He made the comments on the most recent episode of his podcast, Talk is Jericho.

“I’m wondering, is it time to change the name?” Jericho asked allowed on the show in regards to the faction.

“Bullet Club has been through so many different phases and is so synonymous over the last couple of years with the Bucks and Kenny and Cody,” Jericho continued. “Now that they are gone, it seems like they should want to change it to something else.”

Many longtime fans of Bullet Club, however, would state the current incarnation of the faction more closely resembles the original.

Jericho and his guest, famed Japanese wrestling journalist Fumi Saito, then discussed how NJPW would still like to sell Bullet Club merchandise.

https://twitter.com/TheRealXPac/status/1079833660059148289

The full episode can be listened to here.

Jay White Named Bullet Club Leader

Bullet Club recently announced Jay White as the faction’s new leader. Tama Tonga responded to critics of the announcement through his YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLEcaePQqbE

“Yes, I said all that (that Bullet Club has no leader),” Tonga says in the video. “Right after I kicked out the Elite and right before we brought in Jay White. Now, think about this. With Jay White in, we got one man covering the direct route to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, right? You’ve got my brother and I; tag team duo, holding it down for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. We got Fale the monster. We got Ishimori chasing the Junior Heavyweight. Now, if it needs to be a junior heavyweight tag-team, we also got Robbie Eagles. We’re covering all angles, that’s smart, don’t y’all think?”

Tetsuya Naito believes that New Japan Pro Wrestling management is going out of their way to cater to IWPG Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho. He made the comments recently in an interview with NJPW1972.com.

“I know that New Japan wants to use his name for overseas expansion, but I want them to stop kissing up to him,” Naito said in regards to Jericho. “That’ll happen once I take back that title. I’ve said this many times before, but they should focus on showing the pure New Japan style to the world, instead of altering it.”

Jericho vs Naito II will take place inside the Tokyo Dome on January 4th at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito II

Earlier in the interview, Naito said he understands why NJPW caters to Jericho.

“I can see why New Japan kisses his ass because he’s a good marketer,” Naito continued. “Actually, that all works in my favor because it sets a bigger stage for me to kicks his ass on.”

Naito also responded to Jericho’s comments that Naito is not a star. Jericho said that he didn’t believe Naito was a star because he doesn’t see anyone selling Naito ice-cream bars.

“I read that. It made me laugh, a little,” Naito responded. “Even though I’m extremely popular, he’s right, I don’t have an ice cream bar. He probably knows a lot about ice cream, that’s why his physique has changed so much since his Junior days.”

You can read the full interview here.

Chris Jericho was in attendance at Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings NFL game. In a post to Instagram, Jericho made sure to thank Jacksonville Jaguars executive for the tickets.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsBlF0pFVSF/

Chris Jericho and All Elite Wrestling

Jericho’s name has been linked to Tony Khan since our world exclusive back in October regarding the upstart wrestling promotion in the works, now known as All Elite Wrestling.

In an interview with Drew Dalby this fall, Jericho spoke about the rumors of Tony Khan starting his own promotion. In typical Jericho fashion, he managed to avoid saying much.

“Is Tony Khan opening his own company? I’ve heard nothing that says he’s not, and of course, WWE is WWE and I have a 20-year history there,” Jericho said when discussing his options for 2019. “I could walk in the door tomorrow and know exactly what to do to get a reaction.”

“So it’s exciting for me to know there’s options,” he continued. “I can go anywhere and not have to worry about anything. The fact that we did the cruise with six guys (Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club), none of us under contract and able to sell out a cruise with it. It really makes all of us top contenders as to ‘who’s going to go where?’”

Tetsuya Naito Vows To Retire Chris Jericho (Video)

The rivalry between Chris Jericho and Tetsuya Naito has been brewing for quite some time now. It all stemmed from last year at Wrestle Kingdom 12 when Jericho claimed his match with Kenny Omega was the real main event of the show. However, Naito faced Kazuchika Okada in the main event for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Jericho went on to defeat Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Dominion back in June. “Y2J” then successfully defended his title against EVIL at Power Struggle 2018. Now, he’ll rematch Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January with his title on the line. Last week, Jericho said he was going to end Naito’s career when they step into the ring again.

In a recent video from Naito on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) YouTube channel, Naito has promised the same in return:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxEMUiBKbio&feature=youtu.be

Another WWE Star Gets Married (Photo)

A lot of WWE stars have been getting married recently. The Riott Squad’s Sarah Logan tied the knot with NXT star Raymond Rowe in a Viking-themed wedding. Then, RAW star Lio Rush married his longtime girlfriend Sarah Green last week as well. Now, 205 Live star Akira Tozawa has also gotten married. The ceremony took place this past Saturday on December 22nd:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrzrPT3gyYO/?utm_source=ig_embed

Thank you ? ?#titusworldwide https://t.co/jcBshe9R95

— Akira Tozawa (@TozawaAkira) December 25, 2018

Chris Jericho recently on his podcast talked about how Neville turned down an offer to appear at the All In event in September.

All In was an important independent wrestling event in 2018, and there was quite a bit of talk going around that Neville will make his professional wrestling return at the event.

We instead saw him in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate where he returned under his former ring name PAC and defeated Shingo Takagi at the Korakuen Hall.

Chris Jericho talked about this topic on his Talk Is Jericho podcast with guest Sami Zayn. (H/T Michael McClead of WrestleZone)

“They tried to get him to go to All In, like over the top and he wouldn’t do it. He wanted to make his debut with Dragon Gate,” Jericho said about Neville refusing to make his return at All In.

Sami Zayn added to this by saying how disciplined he is when it comes to these things and how much he respects him.

“That’s the kind of guy he is dude, lot of love, a lot of respect for him. He’s principled. He told me straight up, a lot of money – the indies weren’t what they were when I left five years ago. Old timer in the indies back in my day [Don Cherry impression]…there wasn’t as much money on the indies and I did really well by indie standards right before I signed [with WWE]. He was telling me straight, ‘Man there’s a lot of money being offered in a lot of directions,’ but he’s never been an overly money driven guy. That’s why maybe he didn’t fit in the WWE system very much because the culture here is very overly ambitious and money and success and that has to be what takes you to the next level and he’s never really been like that. So he went back because he’s a loyal guy and he always just loved wrestling for Dragon Gate, so he went straight back to Dragon Gate.”

You can listen to the entire episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast here.

Neville In The Indies

Neville or PAC right now is doing well in the indies wrestling and has been booked for promotions like BWR Wonderland, Over the Top Wrestling and Defiant Wrestling.

He had also won the Open the Dream Gate Championship at Dragon Gate’s “Fantastic Gate 2018” event, by defeating Masato Yoshino.

He will be facing Will Ospreay for Revolution Pro Wrestling at the “High Stakes” event in London, England from the York Hall on February 15, 2019.

Chris Jericho recently posted a video message to his Wrestle Kingdom 13 opponent, Tetsuya Naito. In the video, Jericho promises that January 4th inside the Tokyo Dome will be the last match of Naito’s career.

Jericho posted the following to his social media channels:

My message to @s_d_naito …#WrestleKingdom13 will be the LAST MATCH of your great career! @njpwworld @njpw1972 pic.twitter.com/n6w3qaxvT5

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) December 21, 2018

“It felt good yesterday Naito,” Jericho begins his video. “At Korakuen Hall, after you spit in my face in the New Japan office, I beat the hell out of you with a chair in Korakuen Hall.”

Jericho was in Japan last weekend for a Wrestle Kingdom press conference. He also made an appearance in Korakuen Hall on the 2nd night of the Road to Wrestle Kingdom, attacking Naito.

“It’s going to be the last night of your career at Wrestle Kingdom 13 Naito,” he continued. “All of your fans, thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of fans all around the world, will be crying as soon as our match is finished. I’ll still be the IWGP Intercontinental Champion and you will be finished.”

Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito – IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13

The Jericho and Naito rivalry goes back to Wrestle Kingdom 12 when Jericho began claiming that his match with Kenny Omega was the real main event. Naito, who wrestled Kazuchika Okada to close the show, took exception to this.

Jericho defeated Naito for the Intercontinental Championship at Dominion on June 9th. He then successfully defended the title against EVIL at Power Struggle 2018.

Chris Jericho is bringing his cruise event back for a second time. On Wednesday, the IWGP Intercontinental Champion announced that this cruise will go down again with more details to be announced next month. For those fans who missed out on the first cruise, he encouraged them to sign up at his website, chrisjerichocruise.com. 

Jericho was quoted by stating fans have told him that it was the best vacation of their lives and the second wave would be happening.

The first cruise went down at the end of October and received high praise from those who took part in it. This cruise set sail out of Miami and featured a number of wrestlers from Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling as well musicians, and comedians over the course of a few days.

There was a ring on top of the deck where the ROH Sea of Honor tournament took place, which featured the big match that saw Alpha Club (Young Bucks and Jericho) vs. Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and Marty Scurll), which was later streamed on FITE.

With such success that the first venture did, Jericho thought it was a great idea to do it a second time.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s YouTube account has uploaded a rebuttal from Chris Jericho addressing Naito’s recent promo. The leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon would insult the current IWGP Intercontinental champion, condescendingly mocking him as he referred to Jericho as an “international superstar.”

In his response, Jericho (sans makeup) snipes back, introducing himself as “[…] the guy who stole your t-shirt design to make some cash” before showing off that he “made a lot of cash from that, so I thank you.”

“You know it’s funny,” he mused, “you say no one’s talking about me, but everyone’s talking about you, Naito. Everyone is talking about how Chris Jericho kicked your ass at Dominion. How Chris Jericho left you laying and became the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and I know that’s driving you crazy,” he goaded. “People [are] talking behind your back. Ever since [Dominion], you’ve done nothing of merit.”

“You’re right, Naito. I’m an international superstar. But what does it matter?” he asked. What does it matter where I’ve been, what I’ve done, what legends I’ve beaten? All that matters is that I’ve beat you. And it bothers you.”

Closing out his response, Jericho promises that he’s “going to shut you up for good. Your sarcastic, arrogant, little b**** self. Remember I’m not tranquilo, Naito. I’m f****** crazy.”

While it doesn’t look very likely in near future, there is always a chance that Chris Jericho will return to WWE for another run, but even if he does so, we won’t be seeing ‘the list of Jericho’ anymore.

Jericho recently had an interview with Impact Backstage Interviewer Alicia Atout where he discussed a number of things including his cruise and more.

While discussing a potential WWE return, Chris claimed that he hates to say it but even if he returns to the company in future, there won’t be a list.

Explaining the reason behind it, Y2J said that the gimmick doesn’t feel right anymore. You have to reinvent yourself so for him to walk out there and put someone on the list again will make people feel like it’s 2016.

Continuing on the topic, Chris said that while it was a huge thing and he knows that people want to see it, he can’t allow himself not to be creative and that’s why he loves working with New Japan.

Apart from this, Chris Jericho also discussed the evolution of his character in NJPW, the one time his attempt at evolving his character fell flat and more. You can check out his interview in the video below: