On the latest episode of “Being the Elite”, the Young Bucks and Chris Jericho teased forming a 3-person team. Jericho and the Jackson brothers toyed around with team names “The Bucks of Jericho”, “Y2Jacksons”, and even “The Bucks of Jericho or is it Y2Jacksons?”.

After much deliberation, Jericho says he is now ready to land on a team name.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-J6wyFjxk/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=16okonc0u8e9j

The Bucks of Jericho

Also on a recent episode of “Being the Elite”, the three speculated as to under what promotion they would be able to team together. As they brought up on the show, they work for different companies: Bullet Club and Alpha Club. They then began to tease they would team together on Chris Jericho’s cruise this fall.

There has been some speculation that Jericho won’t be appearing in NJPW for some time. He has said he will not be at the Cow Palace show and others have said his winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship might be a way for the promotion to put the title on ice. As with anything involving Chris Jericho, however, he’s only going to let out the information he is OK with people knowing. Jericho and NJPW are likely the only parties who know when he will be appearing for the promotion next.

The Golden Elite

Following the main event of NJPW Dominion over the weekend, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks reunited. The trio had been out of contact following the Bullet Club civil war this spring and Omega taking time off to prepare for his 4th bout with Okada. Omega chose to hug with the Bucks before he was even handed the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt.

Omega, the Bucks, and Kota Ibushi then unveiled the four of them will be known by the name “the Golden Elite”. This development is most likely not going over well with Cody or some of the Bullet Club OG faction.

Chris Jericho recently reiterated that he will never work for another wrestling company in the United States other than WWE. It’s a statement Jericho has been making ever since taking a sabbatical from wrestling in 2006.

The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion was a guest on a recent episode of “Inside the Ropes.” He went into further detail regarding his current situation with both NJPW and WWE.

“I got asked to do Long Beach, I said no, I got asked to do Cow Palace, I said no, I got asked to do All In, I said no,” Jericho explained. “I don’t want to do that.”

Chris Jericho Comments on Working Outside WWE

“(This) is the most I’ve made for the least amount of matches I’ve had in my career,” Jericho said regarding his current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He then stressed he would not be entertaining offers from promotions other than WWE to wrestle in the United States unless they were willing to offer a significant payday.

“I’m not going to work anywhere else unless you wanna pay six f***ing  figures,” he said. “This is Mayweather-McGregor type s**t for me.”

During the interview, Jericho talked about the commitment he made to Vince McMahon and WWE.

“The unwritten rule is I don’t want to go into the States,” Jericho said. “I feel like that would be a real slap in the face to Vince.”

While Jericho seems committed to living up to his promise, one has to wonder how long he can avoid being booked on NJPW’s United States shows. As the company looks to expand internationally, Jericho is a star the company likely wants to promote outside of Japan.

As for Jericho’s relationship with WWE, the last time he appeared on WWE programming was at the Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Chris Jericho has won gold in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He defeated Tetsuya Naito in Osaka, Japan to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship early this morning. Jericho is just the 12th person to ever win the title and begins the 19th reign in the championship’s lineage.

The all-time record-holder with this title is Shinsuke Nakamura. He has held the title 5x and defended it 17x. Nakamura holds the record for the most combined days spent with the title as well with 901.

Naito’s reign finishes at just 41 days and 0 title defenses. He won the title from Minoru Suzuki at the New Beginning in Sapporo on April 29th, 2018. It was Naito’s 2nd reign with the title. He had previously held the belt for 259 days and defended it 4x from 2016 to 2017.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjzSelnlBNt/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=6ndt4hc5qk

Complete NJPW Dominion Results

1. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
   El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) defeated Roppongi 3K
2. Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated Jay White and YOSHI-HASHI
3. Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano
4. NEVER Openweight Championship
   3-Way
   Michael Elgin defeated Taichi and Hirooki Goto (c)
5. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
   The Young Bucks defeated EVIL and SANADA (c)
6. Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll defeated Jushin Liger, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Hiroshi Tanahashi
7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
   Hiromu Takahashi defeated Will Ospreay (c)
8. IWGP Intercontinental Championship
   Chris Jericho defeated Tetsuya Naito (c)
9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
   Best 2-of-3 Falls
   Kenny Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) (2-1)

This Saturday, New Japan Pro Wrestling presents Dominion from Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. The main event is scheduled to be a best 2-of-3 falls match between Omega and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada. Chris Jericho also returns to NJPW to face Tetsuya Naito.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZIGbS1GRTE

NJPW Dominion 2018 Preview

1. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh)

All 4 members of this match managed a 3-4 record in the Best of the Super Juniors. While Kanemaru and Desperado are likely not pleased to have gone under .500, it was a great showing in the tourney for the members of Roppongi 3K. It was Sho’s first BOSJ tournament and Yoh’s second. Yoh wrestled a few years ago as a young lion in the tournament and went winless.

Kanemaru and Desperado defeated Roppongi 3K for the titles on the NJPW anniversary show on March 6th, 2018.

2. David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs Yoshi-Hashi and Jay White

The feud between David Finlay and Jay White will never end. This has sort of been insinuated by each guy. Either Finlay or Robinson would move into position for a shot at the IWGP United States Championship by scoring the pin for their team here. This possibility would increase tenfold if they score the pin on White.

3. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Junior and Minoru Suzuki

Ishii and Yano are former tag champs and would seemingly love to move back into the title picture. ZSJ has risen up the NJPW rankings considerably this year with his victory in the New Japan Cup.

As for Minoru Suzuki, as he approaches 50 years of age he still believes he’s better than others on the roster. He’s lost both the Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight Championships in 2018, however. Suzuki is without a title belt for the first time in a long time.

4. NEVER Openweight Championship
3-Way
Hirooki Goto (c) vs Michael Elgin vs Taichi

In a match that has gone slightly under the radar, Goto will defend his NEVER Openweight title in a 3-way match. Former IWGP IC Champ, Michael Elgin, and Taichi will look to take the title from him.

If Taichi were to be victorious, it would be his first single’s title in NJPW. He’s previously held the jr tag-team titles with Taka Michinoku.

5. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Evil and Sanada (c) vs the Young Bucks

According to the Young Bucks, they’ve been asking NJPW to move to the heavyweight division for 3 years. In NJPW, anyone under 220lbs is a junior heavyweight, making the cut off 15lbs heavier than for cruiserweights. Whether the Bucks actually have bulked up to over 220lbs or not is currently unknown. Their only match in the division so far was a loss to the Golden Lovers at Strong Style Evolved.

The Bucks’ unmatched record in the junior heavyweight tag division is likely what earned them the title match here (in storyline).

Evil and Sanada won the titles at WrestleKingdom this year after having won the 2017 World Tag League. They haven’t defended the titles much this year as Evil broke his orbital bone on a tour of Australia in February.

6. Rey Mysterio Jr, Jushin Liger, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, and Cody

On the final night of the BOSJ, Marty Scurll continued his attack on Hiroshi Tanahashi after the bell. Liger came in to make the save and then a Japanese language promo seemed to indicate a 3-way dance had been organized. Turns out something was actually lost in translation and what Liger was really challenging Scurll for was a 6-person tag match. Liger and Tanahashi would team up with Rey Mysterio and they would face Scurll and two Bullet Club members of his choosing.

Rey originally challenged Jushin Liger for Strong Style Evolved but an injury kept him out of action. Now it appears Rey and Liger will be teammates instead.

7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Hiromu Takahashi

Takahashi earned the right to challenge Ospreay for the title by winning the most recent BOSJ tournament. Ospreay failed to reach the finals for the 4th straight year despite going 5-2 in the round-robin. He lost to group A block winner, Taiji Ishimori, on night 1 and that prevented him from going through.

As for Takahashi, winning the tournament after going 4-3 the year before in his first ever BOSJ is a significant accomplishment. The popular member of LIJ has his hands full in Ospreay, however, who has held the title since WrestleKingdom.

8. IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Chris Jericho

Jericho seems to be enjoying the loose vocabulary restrictions available in NJPW. He used the term “F***face” to refer to Naito on the final night of the BOSJ.

During Jericho’s pre-recorded message to Naito on the show, Naito pretended to fall asleep in the ring as it was playing.

These two have been at each other since before WrestleKingdom when Jericho referred to his match with Omega as the real main event. Naito continues to claim he does not know who Jericho is.

9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Best 2-of-3 Falls
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega recently sat down with New Japan World to discuss his motivation for this match. His comments were pretty interesting.

“You (Okada) may be the best wrestler on the planet. I’ll admit it, you are,” Omega said “It’s not even an opinion thing anymore, this is something that you’ve proven. But you can’t say you are the best performer. That goes to me. If we’re going to move this thing forward – if we’re going to cause this revolution of professional wrestling and make it worldwide and something cool, we can’t just have the best natural wrestler steering the ship. We need someone who captures the imagination, who captures the heart. We need a professional wrestler and a showman. Which is why I’m doing everything in my power, to overtake your natural wrestling ability.”

As for Okada, even though he’s already broken all the records for a single title reign, he still has more to accomplish. Tanahashi has defended the title 28 times across all his reigns with the belt. Okada still trails this number by 3.

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents one of the biggest shows of the year this Saturday from Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan.

The main event will feature a 4th one-on-one match between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada. In their 3 previous matches, each has won once and their match from Dominion last year went to a time-limit draw.

Chris Jericho returns to NJPW this weekend to face Tetsuya Naito. Jericho filmed an expletive-laced promo directed at Naito which aired on the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament this week.

Will Ospreay will defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against the winner of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors, Hiromu Takahashi.

Also on the card this Saturday, the Young Bucks will attempt to win heavyweight tag-team gold in the promotion for the first time. The Bucks will challenge Evil and Sanada of Los InGobernables for the IWGP Heavyweight tag-team championships.

Rey Mysterio Jr’s match in NJPW was also put together on the last night of the BOSJ tournament. Marty Scurll kept up the attack on Tanahashi after their tag match on the card, causing Liger to run in and make the save. Liger then said he would team with Tanahashi and Mysterio to take on Scurll and his Bullet Club teammates.

Naito vs Jericho… June 09 LIVE on #NJPWWorld!! Subscribe NOW ??https://t.co/Tj7UBINesh

DOMINION 6.9 ????3??@s_d_naito vs @IAmJericho??1.5????5.4????????6.9???????…???&??https://t.co/Tj7UBINesh#njDOMINION #NJPW pic.twitter.com/6MnXD25TTx

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) June 5, 2018

Lineup for NJPW Dominion

1. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
   El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh)
2. David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs Yoshi-Hashi and Jay White
3. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki
4. NEVER Openweight Championship
   Hirooki Goto (c) vs Michael Elgin vs Taichi
5. IWGP Tag Team Championship
   Evil and Sanada (c) vs the Young Bucks
6. Rey Mysterio Jr, Jushin Liger, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, and Cody
7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
   Will Ospreay (c) vs Hiromu Takahashi
8. IWGP Intercontinental Championship
   Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Chris Jericho
9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
   Best 2-of-3 Falls
   Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Kenny Omega

After a few weeks of teasers on his social media accounts, Chris Jericho has made a big announcement.

That announcement made by the former WWE Champion was that members of the Impact Wrestling roster would be on his upcoming cruise. He wrote the following on his official Instagram account:

“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT- @impactwrestling will now be on the @jericho_cruise! Things are getting INTERESTING! Book your cabin NOW at chrisJerichoCruise.com and be a part of history!!”

https://instagram.com/p/BjqRD0BFl_j/?utm_source=ig_embed

Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea is slated to go down from October 27-31, 2018. If you recall, Jericho had been posting teasers on Twitter that led to some fans even speculating that he could be headed to Impact Wrestling. That is not the case.

Outside of WWE, Jericho made several surprise appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling including his match against Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome.

Jericho is slated to take on Tetsuya Naito at the upcoming NJPW Dominion event.

What are your thoughts on Impact Wrestling being added to his cruise? Sound off in the comment section below.

Chris Jericho appeared in a pre-taped promo segment during New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors directed towards his upcoming opponent for the June 9th Dominion show; Tetsuya Naito.

The IWGP Intercontinental Champion Naito had just competed in a bout alongside Los Ingobernables members SANADA, EVIL and Bushi before the lights went out in the arena and Jericho appeared on screen.

Jericho made several comments on his recent run with New Japan, particularly the fact that he believes that his match with Kenny Omega at this past Wrestle Kingdom was the ‘main event’ even though their match wasn’t actually the last on the card, that honor went to Naito and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.

Jericho also alluded to Naito’s Wrestle Kingdom 8 bout where the NJPW fans ‘booted’ him out of the main event in favour of (ironically) an IWGP Intercontinental Title match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Naito had previously discussed his feud with Jericho via Tokyo Sports, stating that “Jericho lost at Wrestle Kingdom 12, attacked me unprovoked 1/5 (at New Year Dash). He’s not interested in the (Intercontinental) title, he’s interested in me. This can be a non title match.” He went on to state that “Even just the value of Naito transcends the belt, and Jericho is also world famous worldwide.”  

You can check out the full promo from Jericho via the tweet below. But be forewarned that there are some strong words from ‘Swearicho.’

Jericho continues to talk a big game to Naito, but the IC champ vows to shut him up at #njdominion June09?? pic.twitter.com/zfLNflo1by

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 4, 2018

Impact Wrestling and MLW star Sami Callihan is threatening to show up on Chris Jericho’s cruise this fall. Callihan is not officially booked for the cruise, but his recent comments suggest he might show up there anyway.

Cameras caught up with Callihan yesterday as he was arriving for the Impact Wrestling TV tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=irMgSd-1j_Q

Sami Callihan Threatens Chris Jericho and Ring of Honor

”I don’t care if it’s the Chris Jericho cruise, a cruise I didn’t even get booked on, which is bullshit,” Callihan said. “What are you guys, afraid? Chris Jericho, are you just afraid of Sami Callihan? Ring of Honor, are you afraid of making money with The Draw, Sami Callihan? That is my question. I am sick of being disrespected because I am The Draw and there is not one person that will tell me differently.

The way I’m looking at it right now, the only bigger bitches than Impact management is Ring of Honor and Chris Jericho. So here’s the thing: I might just have to get my baseball bat and show up on this cruise because I do what I want, when I want.”

Not long after, Chris Jericho responded.

Hmmm …now this is interesting. @TheSamiCallihan @ringofhonor @jericho_cruise @IMPACTWRESTLING https://t.co/E0SvSrEauB

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) June 2, 2018

Sami Callihan in Impact Wrestling

Ever since the promotion’s TV tapings in January, Callihan has been playing up the “loose cannon” gimmick. He broke Eddie Edwards’s orbital bone during a segment filmed in January which received a lot of coverage.

Since that time, Callahan and Edwards have wrestled on Impact Wrestling and in Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. They are scheduled to face each other on Impact Wrestling again this Thursday in a match filmed in the woods.

Transcripts via Cagesideseats

Earlier today at Night Four of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) BOTSJ), Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI defeated Tiger Mask and Toa Henare in Tag Team action.

After the match the lights went out and Chris Jericho appeared on the screen and cut an expletive-filled promo on Naito ahead of their clash at Dominion for the Intercontinental Title.

“Naito, I read all of the things you’re saying about me,” Jericho said. “I know how you really feel and listen, you are one of the greatest performers in the world today. One of the biggest stars in NJPW, but to me you mean as much as this turtle.

“Naito, I’m gonna f— you up! I’m going to take your Intercontinental Championship from you, not because you wanted it, you don’t want it, you’re too tranquilo. I’m not tranquilo,” Jericho scoffed. “I’m f—— crazy! I’m gonna show you just how crazy I can be at Dominion on June 9. I’ve been waiting for six months to get my hands on your stupid filthy head. Yeah, Los Ingobernables de Japon. Kiss my f—– ass!

“You’re the best New Japan has to offer, but I’ve seen pieces of s— like you come and go, year after year, and guess what? Chris Jericho is still here,” Jericho continued. “The Alpha is still here. … I’m gonna make your famous Naito, when I beat your f—– ass at Dominion, take the Intercontinental Championship away from you, away from those filthy animals in Japan and take it back to the United States where it belongs. Be careful what you wish for junior because it’s going to come true. I’ll see you on June 9th at Dominion, f— face!”

Afterwards the camera went back to Naito, who was seemingly taking a nap on the mat before cutting a promo in Japanese. A fan on Twitter translated Naito’s promo:

Naito says that he half expected Jericho to show up.. guess he’s occupado. It was a pretty foul mouthed message but rude of whoever played it too: this is the time to celebrate the Juniors and that’s where the spotlight should be. #njbosj

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) May 22, 2018

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Leader of the Los Ingobernables stable, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito is set to face Chris Jericho as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s upcoming Dominion event on June 9th at the iconic Osaka-Jo Hall. This will be Jericho’s first bout for New Japan since his show-stealing match against Kenny Omega at this year’s January 4th Wrestle Kingdom show in the Tokyo Dome and the seeds were sown for this clash way back on January 5th as part of the New Year Dash event.

Speaking on his feud with Jericho with Tokyo Sports, Naito stated that “Jericho lost at Wrestle Kingdom 12, attacked me unprovoked 1/5 (at New Year Dash). He’s not interested in the (Intercontinental) title, he’s interested in me. This can be a non title match.” He went on to state that “Even just the value of Naito transcends the belt, and Jericho is also world famous worldwide.”  

The already stacked event will also feature the fourth instalment of Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega’s critically acclaimed series, the two men will face in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the whole show will be available to view with English language commentary on NJPWWorld.com.

Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with The Mirror to help promote his upcoming one-man shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London next week. Here are a few highlights:

Making sporadic appearances and people not knowing when you may turn up or what shows you might be on, gives you a ‘marquee attraction’ feel as a performer, similar to what Brock Lesnar has in WWE. It keeps an appearance by you a special event, in of itself.

“Well, Brock Lesnar has what Chris Jericho has in WWE, you know what I mean? I come and go when I feel it’s right. I’m there more than Brock is when I’m there, but as far as being there/not being there, I’m not under contract to WWE. Everyone always thinks that, they’re always like ‘oh is WWE cool with you working in New Japan?’

“It doesn’t matter if they’re cool or not because I’m not under contract. My contract with them ended in May of last year. So I have the right to do whatever I want to do, I don’t have to ask permission from anybody. I tell them what I’m doing out of courtesy because I respect the company and respect Vince McMahon, but I don’t have a contract with anybody, other than the match I have with Tetsuya Naito coming up.”

You made a dramatic return to NJPW on May 4, ambushing NJPW icon Tetsuya Naito. The seeds had been sown for that back in January, when you first attacked him the day after Wrestle Kingdom. You have long been the master of keeping people guessing, spreading misinformation, and down the years you have kept a lot of big surprises secret, such as your appearance at the Royal Rumble in 2013. This time there were a few rumours and the cat got out the bag – why do you think that was?

“I don’t know man. It’s one of those things, the cat got out of the bag, but everyone was convinced I was going to be in Long Beach too [NJPW held a show titled Strong Style Evolved in California on March 25]. You can’t tell me that you really knew for sure because no one knew for sure. I have found out that fans have a way to track your flight patterns now… which really makes me feel safe.

“Maybe that’s how, they found out that Chris Jericho was flying into Tokyo or whatever it was, but once again, I don’t feel bad because we were very specific, very secret about it. I flew into Haneda Airport, stayed a night there, then secretly flew into Fukuoka and stayed at a different hotel, so if people say they knew I was there that’s wrong, because there might have been some rumors, but it’s not like I was busted or caught red-handed or anything along those lines. If I hadn’t have been there, people would have just said ‘oh that’s Jericho, we thought he was going to be at Long Beach too’.”

Are there opponents still in WWE that you would love to work, a long program with [Daniel] Bryan for example?

“It’s all about the story. If it’s a good story I will work with anybody. I enjoy wrestling still but I enjoy the storyline behind it. I liked the idea of a surprise attack on Naito, I like all these type of things that you don’t really expect to see. That’s why I still enjoy wrestling.

“Yeah sure, working with [Braun] Strowman would be great, working with Daniel Bryan would be great, working with any of those guys would be great, I love Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and all of those dudes. But what’s the story behind it? If we can come up with a good story, then I’m all in. If not, then I will just continue doing what I’m doing right now and having a lot of fun doing it.”

You can read Jericho’s full interview with The Mirror by clicking this link here.

Chris Jericho’s New Project Revealed

Not many people can do what Chris Jericho does as the former World Champion not only balances between his Wrestling and Music career but he also finds time for his other projects such as his podcast.

Though it appears that juggling so many roles doesn’t bother the former World Champion much as he has added another regular gig to his work list.

Sirius XM recently sent out a press release, revealing that Chris will be hosting a new hard rock radio show on their Octane channel once every month. Below is an excerpt from the release which features details about the new show dubbed as ‘The Rock Of Jericho’:

“The Rock Of Jericho features a curated hour playlist of Jericho’s favorite hard rock and heavy metal songs. Each show, the iconic wrestler will have special guests, will introduce you to new hard rock and will expose some deep album cuts while also jammin’ the classics! You never know what he’s going to play next!”

“The show debuts 6 pm ET Friday, May 18 before becoming available On Demand!”

Handicap Match And More Announced For NXT Next Week

WWE has announced two matches for next week’s episode of NXT. The first match is between Heavy Machinery and TM61 and it was made official after Otis Dozovic issued a challenge during this week’s show.

Also after Lars Sullivan attacked both The Velveteen Dream and Ricochet during their singles match, it was revealed that Lars will face both these stars in a handicap match next week:

#HeavyMachinery and #TM61 cross paths, and a CHALLENGE has been laid down by @WWEDozovic! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/ecV0QYTCI0

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) May 17, 2018

https://twitter.com/ShaneThorneWWE/status/996921354250326016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It’s no secret that WWE received a large sum for hosting the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia and according to reports the company paid a good bonus to everybody involved in the show.

And from the sound of it, it appears that the former World Champion Chris Jericho also made a good amount of money for his short appearance during the event.

Jericho was recently interviewed by Mirror.co.uk, where he talked about his highly praised match with Kenny Omega, juggling between his wrestling and music gigs and more.

While talking about the Greatest Royal Rumble, the former Champion hinted that he was paid a good amount for his appearance during the 50-Men Battle Royal:

“It was a long trip for a short period of time – I think I was in the Rumble match for four minutes or something like that. I know they must have been paid a whole lot of money, just by proxy of what I was paid ha ha. I was like ‘oh my gosh, really, you’re going to pay me that to do this? How much are you guys making? “

Chris Jericho entered the Greatest Royal Rumble as the 50th entrance of the bout and he eliminated Shelton Benjamin before being eliminated by the eventual winner Braun Strowman.

Though his appearance on the event was not free from controversy as he was first added in the Casket Match against the Undertaker on the show but was later removed from the bout.

The reason for his removal given to Jericho was that a Saudi Prince had asked for Rusev to be added back into the bout but these reports are not very believable.

In the weeks leading up to the Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, WWE switched the Undertaker’s opponent twice. Rusev was originally revealed as the Undertaker’s opponent for the match but was removed not long after the announcement.  Both Rusev and Lana posted on social media in regards to the match, which may have been the catalyst for the change. Chris Jericho was announced as his replacement.

Not long after that, Jericho was then removed from the casket match as well. Rusev was then reinstated as Undertaker’s opponent. According to the Wrestling Observer, Jericho was told a Saudi Prince asked for Rusev to be put back in the match.

Chris Jericho and Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble

Also according to the report, Chris Jericho notified Vince McMahon that he would be returning to Japan to shoot an angle with Tetsuya Naito. The report continued to say that just hours after this, Vince McMahon contacted Jericho to say he was being removed from the casket match. According to McMahon, Jericho’s removal from the match had only to do with a Saudi Prince who asked specifically for Rusev to be put back in. There was no mention of Jericho’s NJPW angle as a possible cause for the switch.

The Saudi Royal Family reportedly requested several WWE stars from bygone eras appear at the event. Some of the wrestlers requested have been deceased for several years. Names mentioned included Yokozuna and the Ultimate Warrior. There is speculation that Sumo wrestler, Hiroki Sumi, was added to the match for this reason. His background in sumo would perhaps be reminiscent of Yokozuna.

Chris Jericho also revealed recently that WWE contacted him about being Shane McMahon’s replacement at WrestleMania. Shane suffered diverticulitis and a hernia in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 34. There were concerns he would not be able to perform on the show.

Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho almost ended up wrestling at WrestleMania 34.

On the latest episode of Talk is Jericho, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan was the special guest.

Right out of the gate, Jericho dropped some interesting news about how he almost competed at the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company, WrestleMania 34.

He noted that he was the backup plan to be Bryan’s tag team partner at WrestleMania 34 in a match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Originally, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon was supposed to be Bryan’s partner but that idea was in jeopardy due to McMahon’s health problems leading up to the show.

If you recall, in March, just one month before WrestleMania 34, McMahon was dealing with acute diverticulitis and an umbilical hernia.

McMahon had an infection due to acute diverticulitis and was hospitalized for several days in Antigua as he was on vacation with his family before being flown back to a New York-area hospital, where he was being treated with heavy doses of antibiotics.

There was some concern that he would miss WrestleMania 34. Thus, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon reached out to Jericho about possibly replacing Shane in case he couldn’t work.

“A few weeks before WrestleMania, maybe three or four weeks, I get a call from Vince. And he’s talking about Shane and his appendix, or not his appendix, his diverticulitis, and he had an infection in his hand and he had… a staph infection and he had… a hernia. And he goes, ‘Listen, we don’t know if he can do ‘Mania.’

And he had somehow looked, or got someone to look at my schedule, and we had a Fozzy show that day… So he was like ‘I know you’re doing a Fozzy show, and you’re gonna watch WrestleMania with your fans,’ he goes, ‘what would you think about coming to New Orleans if Shane can’t do it?’”

At this point in time, Jericho was last seen on WWE television during a backstage segment with Elias at the 25 Anniversary episode of Monday Night Raw in January. He last wrestled in a WWE ring back in July of 2016.

Outside of WWE, Jericho made several surprise appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling including his match against Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome.

This was a big match for Bryan as it was his first bout back since he had to retire from in-ring competition due to his history with concussions. However, after two years of fighting for his dream, he was medically cleared.

Bryan chimed in by stating, “We’re in this stage now where they don’t tell the boys anything. So they keep all the secrets from the boys because they’re afraid all the boys are talking to the dirt sheets. And so I asked, cause when Shane called me and told me, he said ‘I’m in the hospital right now. I got diverticulitus while I was in Antigua, and then when they were giving me IVs I got a staph infection from the IVs, and then I have this hernia that’s coming out of my stomach… but don’t worry I’ll be ready for ‘Mania’…”

Jericho continued by saying, “And it’s funny because we were looking, we were googling airports, and it was in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, like the most out of the way place. We were looking up airports close to Hampton Beach and how long is the charter to get there [New Orleans], and he [Vince] was like ‘Okay, you can make it right on time and we’ll give you a police escort, and you’ll basically have to go right into the ring.’

And I said ‘Listen, I’ve got no problem with that, and I know that Bryan has no problem with it. Kevin and Sami – especially Sami – are gonna have heart attacks calling a WrestleMania match in the ring.’ I mean, obviously we would think of some stuff beforehand, but like, I can do it. I don’t have a problem, so can you. We could do it now. But like, Sami is going to die of a frickin’ aneurysm is we do that!”

H/T to CageSide Seats for the transcribed quotes.

What are your thoughts on Jericho being the backup plan as Bryan’s tag team partner at Mania? Sound off in the comment section below.

Chris Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito Friday at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Japan. The two had previously been involved in a brawl at the New Beginning earlier this year.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has officially confirmed that Jericho will face Naito on the June 9th Dominion show from Osaka, Japan.

NJPW Dominion in Osaka

Jericho vs Naito will be contested for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Naito defeated Minoru Suzuki for the title recently but has since refused to wear it or bring the belt to the ring. Kevin Kelly cleared up on commentary that Naito does this because he feels New Japan Pro Wrestling has too many title belts. Jericho versus Naito will likely be the semi-main event for the show.

Three other matches have been announced for the show thus far and the promotion has also revealed Rey Mysterio Jr will compete in single’s action. They have not, however, announced who the legendary Luchador’s opponent will be.

Lineup Announced so Far:

• Rey Mysterio Jr. vs TBA
• NEVER Openweight Championship
  3-Way Match
  Hirooki Goto (c) vs Michael Elgin vs Taichi
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
  Evil and Sanada (c) vs the Young Bucks
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship
  Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Chris Jericho
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship
  Best 2-of-3 Falls
  Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Kenny Omega

It was Okada who challenged Kenny Omega to main event Dominion this year. Following his victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Okada said he wanted to make his next title defense special and so he needed to face Omega. He pointed out that the last time he faced Omega at Dominion, it went to a time limit draw.

The Young Bucks challenged Evil and Sanada to a heavyweight tag team championship match at Wrestling Dontaku last week.

Chris Jericho has returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He attacked Tetsuya Naito last night/this morning on night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku 2018.

Jericho had previously said he was done with NJPW but reports surfaced earlier this week that he had been spotted in Japan. He was dressed as a Los InGobernables fan and wearing a mask. As Naito was exiting the ring area following his match Jericho attacked him.

Naito was busted wide open during the melee.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiWqFKPlSY5/?utm_source=twitter

Chris Jericho Attacks Tetsuya Naito

Security and the Young Lions were unable to pry the masked Jericho off Naito as Callis and Kelly speculated he was some overzealous fan. After beating him up for awhile he rolled him back into the ring. Jericho then fumbled to get his mask off which drew a bit of laughter. When the crowd realized it was him, however, they reacted pretty positively, even getting a few Y2J chants.

Jericho then grabbed the ring bell and cracked Naito over the head with it, busting him wide open in the process.

Chris Jericho versus Tetsuya Naito

Naito and Jericho had a slight back and forth in the days leading up to WrestleKingdom this year. Naito took exception to Jericho calling the show a double main event despite his match with Kazuchika Okada closing the show. Jericho later attacked Naito at the New Beginning. It looked like a match was going to be made between the two, possibly scheduling it for Strong Style Evolved but then it seemed as though Jericho was done with NJPW.

Jericho even teased earlier this week that he was in Tampa with his family

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiVFPMnDYSN/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiWdQodFPVc/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

Tetsuya Naito recently defeated Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Since then, however, he has refused to wear the title or carry it with him to the ring. Kevin Kelly has said Naito is doing this because he feels NJPW has too many title belts.

Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho is not done with NJPW after all.

Jericho made several surprise appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling including his match against Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome in January.

NJPW held their New Year Dash 2018 event the following night in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall that aired live on their streaming service, NJPWWorld.com.

Jericho made a surprise appearance at the show when starting a new feud by attacking Tetsuya Naito at the event.

According to a report by PWinsider.com, despite the fact that Jericho stated in previous interviews that he was done working for the promotion, he is expected to appear at this week’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan to shoot an angle that will lead to his in-ring return at the Dominion event in Osaka next month where he’ll likely be working against Naito.

What are your thoughts on Jericho returning to NJPW? Sound off in the comment section below.

Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with ESPN to promote tomorrow’s Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. Jericho last appeared on WWE TV for the RAW 25 episode earlier this year. He had a backstage segment with Elias in which he added him to The List:

“Once again, go with the flow. Make it good. It was fun. He’s got a lot of steam. He’s a great character. It was cool, but it was not planned until three hours beforehand … that’s how the business works.

“Let’s move on to the next thing. And that’s the best way to exist in the business and stay on top is to be diverse and always go with the flow, no matter what it is that you’re given.”

Y2J commented on getting the call to participate in the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. He explained why he accepted the offer:

“It’s one of those things — I would have rather been a surprise, but I think WWE is going in there with all guns blazing and all hands on deck. When I got the call to do this, I was like, ‘It doesn’t get any bigger than that.’

“It’s much bigger than showing up even at Madison Square Garden, where we’ve been there a hundred times before. But doing it over in Saudi Arabia, it’s very majestic and very mysterious, adventurous, and that’s kind of what I’m all about.”

He then commented on his working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) ending for now:

“Things change. That’s how it goes. Sometimes things seem like a good idea at the time, and then when you look at it a little bit deeper and a little bit further, you realize it’s not gonna go the way you want it to go.”

You can read Jericho’s full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.

The New Day & Chris Jericho Heading To Saudi Arabia (Photo)

The WWE is in Saudi Arabia today for tomorrow’s Greatest Royal Rumble event. Some huge names are on deck for the card, including former WWE Champion Chris Jericho. Xavier Woods, one third of The New Day, posted a photo of himself and his fellow New Day members alongside Y2J on their plane to Saudi Arabia:

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

Lights Being Tested For Greatest Royal Rumble (Video)

Speaking of The Greatest Royal Rumble, WWE’s production team is deep in preparations for tomorrow’s event. Several photos and videos have been leaking out to social media from the King Abdullah International Stadium in Saudi Arabia. One such video is WWE testing out the lights for tomorrow’s show. You can check out the Instagram video here below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh_-vF0AnDt/?utm_source=ig_embed

Discussion: Do you think the Greatest Royal Rumble will be bigger than WrestleMania when it’s all said and done? 

Chris Jericho had seemingly left the gate for a return open with an unfinished rivalry when his run with NJPW ended earlier this year, though it appears that Y2J isn’t happy with the way things culminated.

Jericho recently had an interview with ESPN where he talked about his Raw 25 segment with Elias and his upcoming appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.

Though when asked about the ending of his NJPW run, he surprisingly answered that sometimes you realize things will not work out the way you want them to when you look at it a little bit deeper:

“Things change. That’s how it goes. Sometimes things seem like a good idea at the time, and then when you look at it a little bit deeper and a little bit further, you realize it’s not gonna go the way you want it to go.”

The former World Champion Chris Jericho wrestled a five-star match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 earlier this year, proving that he is not past his prime just yet.

The next night on New Year Dash!! 2018, Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito. This was seen by many as a set up for a future match and at that time it was believed that Jericho will work with the promotion longer than anticipated.

However, they never followed on this storyline and for the surprise of the fans Jericho later revealed on Twitter that his dates with the company ended with his appearance at New Year Dash.

While it’s unknown what Chris’s means, a possible explanation would be that there were plans for him to stay with the company for longer but things didn’t work out the way they expected.

Discussion – What do you think of the ending of Chris Jericho’s NJPW run and his latest comment on the matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Sasha Banks Posts Cryptic Tweet

There have been some reports going around recently indicating that Sasha Banks could’ve lost her big push due to her poor attitude with fans in public. The Legit Boss has a history of not being too happy with fans approaching her in public for photos or autographs.

Banks recently took to Twitter to issue out a cryptic Tweet, telling fans to “be patient” and it’ll be worth the wait. While it’s unknown if Banks is addressing these reports indirectly, the timing certainly is interesting:

Be patient; it will be worth the wait. #Raw

— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) April 23, 2018

Chris Jericho Runs Into “No Way” Jose

Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself and current RAW Superstar “No Way” Jose. It turns out Y2J ran into Jose at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh6fwEXFIPx/?utm_source=ig_embed

One of the most exciting things about the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia is the in-ring return of many big names such as the Undertaker and Chris Jericho.

During a recent interview with CBS Sports’s In Your Corner Podcast, Jericho talked about the upcoming show and he revealed why he is returning to the WWE ring especially for this event.

The former World Champion said that being able to perform at the highest level in Saudi Arabia is a once in a lifetime opportunity and claimed that it’s really cool that he was asked to be a part of it:

“It’s just one of those things where it’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Obviously, you are getting a chance to work with Saudi Arabia at the highest levels. We have been there in 2015 but it seems like they are kind of trying to change the way things are done over there. And it’s really cool to have been asked by WWE to be a part of it.”

At one point, Chris Jericho was scheduled to be part of a Casket match against Undertaker at the upcoming show though currently he is listed as one of the participants for the 50 Men Battle Royal at the event.

The Greatest Royal Rumble will take place from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this Friday on April 27th and will be broadcasted Live on WWE Network. You can check out an updated match card for the event here.

WWE’s Chris Jericho recently did an interview with WSVN-TV Entertainment Reporter Chris Van Vliet in Orlando. The pair talked about several professional wrestling topics, including why Roman Reigns can’t seem to get over:

“I think he’s like a modern day John Cena. For years fans just booed Cena because they think it’s the cool thing to do. They’re not paying any attention to what he’s really doing and that’s what Roman is now. They just see Roman and they just start booing because it’s the in thing rather than just shutting up and watching this guy for what he is which is a great performer.

“And that’ll come. Obviously if he turned heel he’d get over, but if he turned heel all the people that booed him would start cheering him. I think it’s just a matter of time and staying the course and he needs some good heels to work with. Heels that want to be heels.”

Jericho revealed that there were plans to have he and Reigns work a program, and he pitched the idea to try and spit a fireball in his face. Y2J believes he could’ve helped get The Big Dog over:

“I had an idea that I wanted to do and I pitched it to Vince. I wanted to throw a fireball in Roman’s eyes and blind him, like an old school Memphis idea. Vince said he’d think about it. We were going to have a program and then it changed. If we had a long program, I probably could have got it done. So there’s a secret, exclusive for you.”

Y2J was recently replaced by Rusev to take on The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia in a Casket match. Jericho explained that things constantly change in the WWE:

“I was announced for the Greatest Royal Rumble and then I got a text asking if I wanted to do a Casket Match and I said sure. Then I got a text a couple of days later saying you’re not in the casket match anymore and I said yeah, sure, no problem.

“That’s the thing with WWE, it changes constantly and you have to go with the flow. It’d be great to do a Casket Match, it’d be great not to do one. So who knows? I might get added back in 5 minutes before. That’s how it works.”

Jericho then divulged that he currently isn’t under contract with WWE as of May of last year:

“No, I’m not. Up until May of last year I was under contract and then the Fozzy tour cycle started. They call me from time to time but it’s just a one and done kind of thing.”

As for his work with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Jericho says that there’s currently nothing planned for him with the promotion at this time:

“Nothing planned. It’s a little bit old school. Leave with some heat brother. I lose to Kenny on a Sunday, beat up Naito on a Monday and if I never go back, I left with some heat. The thought process was to go back and we tried and it just didn’t work out. There’s a certain amount of finance and that kind of thing because that match made New Japan a lot of money. Like millions.

“So when you get that feather in your cap now they’re not taking a chance by using Chris Jericho, they know exactly what they’re going to get. And for me not to be in WWE, I have to be compensated at a high level or else it’s not worth it because WWE could just wake up one day and go ‘You’re with New Japan? We never want to use you again. See you later buddy.’ So that’s the risk I take.”

Rusev On Chris Jericho Being Removed From Undertaker Casket Match

There has been a ton of changes made to The Undertaker’s Casket match at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. Originally, Rusev was scheduled to face The Dead Man.

After some controversial comments were made by Rusev to TMZ regarding Undertaker, WWE made the change to have Chris Jericho step in for Rusev instead. It was later cleared up Rusev didn’t offend The Undertaker and he was inserted back into the match.

The Bulgarian Brute took to Twitter to tease Jericho’s previous involvement in the match, posting a promotional image for Undertaker vs. Jericho and captioning it “TBT”:

#TBT pic.twitter.com/hGBzRZQnd8

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 20, 2018

Big Dark Match Announced For Monday Night RAW

A Six-Man Tag Team dark match has been announced for next week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. The team of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins will take on Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal.