Chris Jericho’s role for the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble has gone back and forth in the past few days in the wake of the controversy surrounding Rusev.
During his recent interview on In This Corner Podcast, the former World Champion talked about these changes while discussing the upcoming mega live event in detail.
According to Jericho, he would be happy to play whatever role the company wants him to play on the show whether it be a casket match against the Undertaker or a lingerie match against Funaki:
“For me at this point I mean, whether they want me to be part of the Royal Rumble or work against The Undertaker or work against Funaki in a lingerie match, whatever needs to be done I’m happy to do it.”
Continuing on the topic, Y2J later explained this to be a strength of his legacy as he can come and do whatever needs to be done whether it’s main eventing a show or being part of the opening bout of the night.
However, the company ended up adding Rusev back into the bout a few days later and Jericho has since returned to his previously announced position in the card, as part of the 50 Men Battle Royal.
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with Still Real To Us to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Y2J first offered his thoughts on how the WWE Hall Of Fame differs from the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame:
“I find Hall Of Fame is more for the fans than it is or anybody else. I’ve never been that focused on the Hall Of Fame. I kinda thought it was cool when Axl Rose didn’t show up or Van Halen didn’t show up or being super snotty and kinda being a dick. Like when the Sex Pistols sent in a letter saying they didn’t want to be there, they refused to be mentioned or whatever.
“But I think for the fans it’s kind of a cool buttoning of the whole career. But I just watched the Hall Of Fame and Bon Jovi was up there with all the members and it was cool and then the guy from Dire Straits didn’t show up so it’s kind of an embarrassment. There’s so much drama behind the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame because you’re talking about bands — the good thing about the WWE Hall Of Fame is it’s just you.”
Jericho still feels that he’s at his peak in his professional wrestling career, and doesn’t think that’s the time one should be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. For that reason, the former WWE Champ doesn’t think he’s ready to be inducted quite yet:
“So I imagine I’ll probably show up if I’m ever invited. But I don’t really feel like I’m at that point in my career where I should be in the Hall Of Fame. To me, that’s kinda the end of the road not kind of when you’re at your peak — like what people are saying about the Kenny Omega match and the quality of the match.
“‘It’s the best match of Jericho’s career’ — well jeez if that’s the case then I got nowhere near the Hall Of Fame yet I still have a bunch of great matches left in me it’s not like that was my last ditch one and then I’ll explode into a puff of dust.”
You can check out Jericho’s full interview with Still Real To Us by clicking this link here.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega lost to Cody at the Ring Of Honor (ROH) Supercard Of Honor XII event and dubbed himself the leader of The Bullet Club. One fan took to Twitter to ask Omega if Cody is truly the leader of the club. The Clenaer responded – “Of course not”:
First official weekend as the leader for this group
Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n Wrestling Rage at Sea cruise is set for October 27th – 31st. Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that Mike Taven will be joining the long list of wrestlers already scheduled for the cruise.
Other names confirmed include Kenny Omega, Cody, Young Bucks, Dalton Castle, Marty Scurll, The Briscoes, Deonna Purrazzo, Brandi Rhodes, Kelly Klein, Mandy Leon, Adam Page, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Flip Gordon, Kenny King, Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser, Delirious, Cheeseburger, BJ Whitmer, Rhett Titus, and Will Ferrara:
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 16, 2018
The Rock Surprises Movie Goers
Former WWE Champion The Rock surprised movie goers who were viewing his latest film, Rampage. Rock visited several theatres in Los Angeles to thank fans for their support. Check out the videos here:
In a strange turn of events, WWE announced on Thursday that Rusev will no longer be competing against The Undertaker in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Chris Jericho, who had previously been announced for the 50-man Rumble, will take his place and challenge the Dead Man instead.
The initial news that Rusev would be facing The Undertaker in a casket match came out of nowhere, as the two have had little to no interaction on television. In what some took as a thinly-veiled reference to his standing with the company, Rusev tweeted the following in response to the match announcement:
Earlier today, TMZ Sports posted a video of Rusev and Lana in Los Angeles, CA talking about the upcoming casket match. They said The Undertaker was old news and past his prime, which apparently did not go over too well.
TMZ’s headline actually stated that Rusev claimed he was going to retire the Undertaker and “crush his old ass.” Undertaker’s wife Michelle McCool took notice:
Had to listen to see if “crush his old a$$” was ACTUALLY said! Guess some people are smarter than others…??? https://t.co/avOLWKORV8
Within a matter of hours, the decision was made to pull Rusev from the match. Rusev’s wife Lana tweeted that she refuses to let her husband compete in a casket match and told WWE officials to find a replacement.
All over the world, little boys and girls are celebrating #RusevDay, they smile for the greatest Superstar ever ! I’ve already spoke with @WWE officials to change that match because I REFUSE to let my husband @RusevBUL compete in a Casket Match at #WWEGRR! Happy #RusevDay
Prior to WrestleMania, PWInsider reported that Rusev was unhappy and requested to be released. He was later moved from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal to the United States Championship match, where he took the pinfall. This latest development does not bode well for Rusev’s standing with the company.
Chris Jericho discussed various topics on a recent edition of his podcast; Talk is Jericho.
Jericho has done it all under the sports entertainment banner. He has been under contract with the sports entertainment company off and on since 1999. He is also a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion.
Jericho is the first Undisputed WWE Champion, and thus the final holder of the World Championship (formerly the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), having won and unified the WWE and World titles by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night in 2001.
It’s safe to say that his opinion should be taken into consideration as he’s one of the biggest stars that has ever been created in pro wrestling. During the podcast, he explained why WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made the decision to drop numbers from WrestleMania.
For example, although the media adds the numbers to the name of the event, the WWE just references it as WrestleMania instead of this year’s WrestleMania 34.
“The reason why, and everybody at home, is that Vince does not like the numbers after the WrestleMania because he feels like it dates it.” Jericho explained, “also, you’re not allowed to call it ‘The Grandaddy Of Them All’ because he feels that it makes it seem old. So yeah, Super Bowl 75, he does not like the number, so you cannot refer to it as ‘WrestleMania 34’. You just refer to it as ‘WrestleMania’. One of those classic Vince McMahon quirks.”
You can listen to the latest episode of Talk is Jericho here:
What are your thoughts on the WWE Chairman being against the numbers from WrestleMania? Sound off in the comment section below.
Chris Jericho is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and grew up a hockey fan. His dad was Ted Irvine, an NHL player during the 1960s and 1970s.
The city of Winnipeg originally lost their NHL franchise in 1996 but regained it in 2011. Since returning to the league, the Jets have never won a playoff game. They hosted just their 3rd playoff game since returning last night, and Chris Jericho was in attendance for the street party outside the arena. The Jets beat the Wild 3-2.
Jericho posted the following video on his Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhczVCWFJxP/
Wrestlers from Winnipeg
The city of Winnipeg has produced some of the greatest wrestling talents ever. Although Roddy Piper would eventually make Arizona his home, he grew up in the city of Winnipeg. Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Don Callis are all from Winnipeg and each played a role in organizing the Alpha vs Omega match on January 4th this year from the Tokyo Dome.
In addition to Omega, Piper, and Jericho, Courtney Rush (aka Rosemary) is also from the city.
WWE has officially announced more names that will be appearing at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event.
On Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed that Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Baron Corbin, The New Day, Apollo, Shelton Benjamin, Sin Cara, Elias, Chad Gable, Goldust, Titus O’Neil, Mojo Rawley and Dolph Ziggler will be wrestling in the first-ever 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match.
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. Since then, 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.
Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Big Show, and Kane have already been announced for the match.
The sports entertainment company will be holding the show at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27. The Greatest Royal Rumble Kickoff will stream live on WWE Network at a special start time of 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT with the event airing one hour later. Here is the updated card:
50 Man Royal Rumble Match
Steel Cage Match: Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
John Cena vs. Triple H
Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Rusev
Ladder Match: IC Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
RAW Tag Team Championship: The Bar vs Wyatt/Hardy or the Revival
Chris Jericho discussed the potential John Cena vs. Undertaker WrestleMania match on a recent Talk is Jericho. The sports entertainment company has still yet to announce this match despite the reports of it happening at the biggest event of the year for the WWE.
Jericho has done it all under the sports entertainment banner. He has been under contract with the sports entertainment company off and on since 1999. He is also a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion.
Jericho is the first Undisputed WWE Champion, and thus the final holder of the World Championship (formerly the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), having won and unified the WWE and World titles by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night in 2001.
It’s safe to say that his opinion should be taken and considered. Thus, he stated during this podcast that if the WWE does indeed book this match, then Cena should lose to The Deadman.
“There might be a match of Undertaker versus John Cena because John Cena [has] been calling for it. Let’s take a little detour. Chances are that the match is going to happen. Chances are that Vince [McMahon] didn’t want Undertaker to waste an entrance on Raw. I think that, knowing Vince, he’s probably thinking, ‘People are going to buy this show either way and the tease of Cena coming in week after week, ‘Where’s Underaker?’ No response. ‘Where’s Undertaker?’ Everybody knows, even though they don’t know, that Undertaker’s going to come out and you get your big entrance and that sort of thing.’”
Jericho continued, “Listen, guys, from what I know and what Jack Slade knows, which is lots, 99% on my part, there will be Cena versus Undertaker. I have a theory. Undertaker should not lose at WrestleMania ever again. ‘The streak’ is done. He lost to Brock [Lesnar]. He lost to Roman [Reigns]. He does not need to be losing to John Cena. Cena right now, he’s about to become, I’m not going to say ‘the next Rock’, but we know he [has] got Blockers, he’s a star, and Duke Nukem, and Transformers. Cena is going to lose, as he should, because, at this point, if Undertaker’s going to be effective as a performer, he should never lose again. Ever. Yeah, he lost his match and he lost his other one to the heir apparent, the prodigal son of Roman Reigns. After that, he should beat everybody! If he’s going to continue wrestling, my opinion Taker beats Cena in a match of 1,000 false finishes.”
There has been a ton of speculation on whether or not The Undertaker will return under his American Badass gimmick at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. Taker is expected to confront John Cena, who has been calling him out for the past several weeks on RAW, however it’s unknown if the pair will have a match or not.
In a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, former WWE Champion Chris Jericho explained why he doesn’t think the gimmick will be returning this weekend:
“American Bad Ass is a pretty cool character, and Taker loves it, but guess which character Vince McMahon loves? It’s the Undertaker, Vince’s greatest creation. I’ll be the devil’s advocate to you guys – I would feel a little disappointed if it was the American Bad Ass, because I love the Undertaker, and I love that entrance, and you’ve been out there when you hear that bell and the druids chanting – it’s second to none.
“There’s never been an entrance like that in wrestling, in my opinion, and we’ve been waiting for it, teasing for it, for so much I feel if it was the American Bad Ass it would be a little bit of a downer – for me.”
“Your fanbase is a little bit more of a knowledgeable fan base, a little bit more of a hardcore fan base I would venture to say. Where you have 70,000 people in the Superdome where 60,000 of them don’t even remember what the American Bad Ass is? We haven’t spoken of the American Bad Ass, we haven’t had any video packages or any recollections of that guy, you would have a bunch of people going ‘What is this?’ in my opinion.
“Once again, I think that it’s a really cool debating point if you know wrestling and you’re a giant wrestling fan and you’ve been watching since 2000. There’s a lot of people who just started watching over the last three or four or five years, a lot John Cena fans that don’t know what happened in 2000.
“So, once again, in my opinion, the hardcores would like to see it cause it’s something different, whereas your general, average wrestling fan will go nuts when the Undertaker’s music hits and I think, I’m a 100% certain, that it’s gonna be the Undertaker at WrestleMania, and not the American Bad Ass.”
– WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with Sky Sports to promote his upcoming title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 next month in New Orleans. Styles was asked about his fans and peers labeling him the best wrestler in the world, and explains why he doesn’t agree with that sentiment:
“No, I would not agree with that,” Styles said. “I think there’s still a lot to be learned by AJ Styles and you can’t consider yourself to be the best when you’ve still got so much stuff to learn.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with Sky Sports by clicking this link here.
– Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho also did an interview of his own, this one with Milwaukee Magazine, to talk about his WWE status. “Y2J” explained why he likes not being under a full-time contract with WWE, as it allows him to do what he wants and manage other projects accordingly:
“I don’t do things for money anymore,” Jericho said. “I do it because I like to do it. It’s a good place, man, to do whatever I want to do and to enjoy all these different projects and make sure that fans can continue to get a lot of excitement out of what I do. It’s very important for me to make sure people can never pin down what Jericho is going to do next.”
You can read Jericho’s interview with the Milwaukee Magazine by clicking this link here.
WWE is pulling out all of the stops for their upcoming the Greatest Royal Rumble event.
The sports entertainment company will be holding the show at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27. For the first time ever, the Royal Rumble match will feature 50 WWE Superstars.
John Cena, Triple H, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, The New Day, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Shinsuke Nakamura have already been announced for the show.
You can add former WWE Champion Chris Jericho’s name to the ongoing list of talents that will be working the show. PWinsider.com is reporting that after the WWE contacted him to appear at the event, all signs point to him working the show. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if this will be a one night return or the beginning of another run for him under the WWE banner.
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 since July of 2016. Since then, 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.
Chris Jericho says he won’t be working for New Japan Pro Wrestling again in the near future. Jericho’s program with Kenny Omega that culminated at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom back on January 4th was the talk of the wrestling world for months. Their feud had everyone talking and the match itself delivered, earning the coveted 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer.
Jericho made a surprise appearance the following night at New Year’s Dash when he attacked Tetsuya Naito, presumably jumpstarting a new feud and extending his run with New Japan. A match between the two was rumored for the Strong Style Evolved show from Long Beach, California (3/25), but that show sold out without any word of Jericho appearing. It was rumored that New Japan would hold of on booking Chris Jericho until later, when they could use his drawing power to sell tickets.
According to Jericho, he has no future plans to work for the Japanese promotion. Jericho is known to work fans on social media and mislead the public to maximize the impact of his surprise appearances, so the door is never fully closed with him. When asked if he was done with New Japan, the Alpha replied:
If you thought Wrestling Kingdom 12 was a one-shot deal for Chris Jericho in NJPW, think again.
Jericho made waves late last year when he appeared on NJPW Power Struggle to challenge Kenny Omega to a match inside the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP United States Heavyweight championship. He ended up losing the match, which was highly praised by fans and critics. At the New Year’s Dash!! event the following night, Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito from behind.
Many had speculated that Jericho would be penciled in to face Naito at Strong Style Evolved on March 25. A recent report suggests that the match-up is being put on hold due to the show already selling out. On the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer said it’s likely that Jericho vs. Naito will instead take place at Dominion in June.
For 2018, Jericho has put a strong emphasis on his band Fozzy. The band began their Judas Rising Tour yesterday and it will run through April 8. This pretty much confirms that Jericho will not be attending WrestleMania this year.
Those hoping for Jericho to make another WWE appearance soon after the tour may also be in for a rude awakening. He and Fozzy will be back on tour from July through mid-August in Europe. It’s said that the earliest Jericho would return to the WWE is late summer.
Kenny Omega is the latest name announced for Chris Jericho’s Rock and Wrestling Rager At Sea. The ‘master of ceremonies’ Jericho released a video on Twitter confirming that the inaugural IWGP United States Champion would be taking to the seas from October 27th-31st.
Jericho opens the video stating “Kenny Omega, you claim to be the best in the world, well you know what I think? I agree, I know that you are.” Y2J then followed up this comment by referring to their January 4th match at Wrestle Kingdom; “You beat me at the Tokyo Dome in what many are saying is Chris Jericho’s best match, a five star classic…my best match, but not even your best match and that’s why I agree you’re the best in the world and that’s why I wanted you on Chris Jericho’s Rock and Wrestling Rager at Sea.”
There were rumors of a rematch between the “Alpha” and “Omega” of wrestling dating back to the initial announcement of the January 4th show. @ith the confirmation of ‘The Cleaner’ heading out as part of the cruise there is a very good chance that we see #AlphaOmegaPart2 with a third instalment potentially coming at the G1 Climax or at a Ring of Honor event later this year.
Further information on the Cruise can be found at chrisjerichocruise.com where cabins are still available to purchase for this once in a lifetime experience.
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently took to his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, and discussed how Brock Lesnar and Goldberg’s feud with one another last year affected WWE’s plans for him at WrestleMania 33. Originally Jericho was supposed to feud with Kevin Owens for the Universal Title, and he would eventually win the strap from “KO” at WrestleMania:
“[I]t was in November [2016] maybe, Vince [McMahon] said, ‘Okay, at WrestleMania it’s you and Kevin Owens for the world title [Universal Title]. You’re gonna win the world title at WrestleMania,'” Jericho recalled. “‘Wow, winning the world title at WrestleMania?'”
Jericho would then immediately drop the title to Brock Lesnar at the next pay-per-view (PPV) which was Payback:
“[Vince] goes, ‘Yeah. You’ll lose it the next pay-per-view to Brock [Lesnar].’ I’m like, ‘That’s cool!’ And for me I’d never won the title as a babyface either, ever. It’s been six times but always as a heel,” said Jericho. “So this was kind of like, ya know, we’re not marks here, but it’s a pretty cool thing. Let’s be honest.”
After Goldberg defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series and WWE planned out a feud between the pair extending into WrestleMania 33, those plans of course changed:
“One week later Survivor Series happens, Brock versus Goldberg,” said Jericho. “Goldberg beats Brock in a minute. And that’s when Brock went, ‘I can work with this guy [Goldberg]. I want to work with him.
“I’ll lose in a minute, but only if I can beat him for the title at WrestleMania.’ And Vince had to make a decision: what’s the bigger box office? Ya know and obviously it was Brock and Goldberg, and Chris and Kevin take back seat.”
You can listen to Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
Chris Jericho recently took to his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, and discussed several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the hilarious story of how “Y2J” first met Stone Cold Steve Austin. This came during a time where Jericho worked in WCW and found himself sharing a plane with several WWE guys:
“I met [Austin] on a plane one time and [Austin] gave me the greatest line of all time. No, [Austin was not rude]. It was a great line! I was walking on the plane. It was one of those rare moments when you would see WWE and WCW on the same plane.
“And [Austin] walked by me and [Austin] said, ‘hey’. I only knew Steve Austin. I was like, ‘hey,’ he was like, ‘hey, there’s a gay guy on the plane.’ I said, ‘really?’ He goes, ‘yeah, give me a kiss and I’ll tell you who it is.'”
Later on Jericho would make the switch over to WWE and would join the ranks of Austin, The Rock, and Triple H. He found out right away that new heels weren’t allowed to call out guys such as Undertaker, Rock, or Austin in promos:
“I came in as a heel, so I had no problem. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to talk s–t about The Undertaker in a promo or talk bad about Steve Austin in a promo! That’s what heels do to babyfaces! Right? But I learned very quickly that that’s not what heels do when they first come in.
“I had no idea! Nobody ever taught me that in WCW. They didn’t even tell me how to bump and feed a comeback. I had been in WCW for three years and I had no idea what that even meant as crazy as it sounds right now.”
Jericho also discussed changing the way people saw him, coming from WCW as one of the main guys in the Cruiserweight Division:
“I knew I can’t win with [Triple H] and DX, and Rocky was always cool and [Austin] was in and out. [Austin was] always on your own, but [he was] always cool to me. But what I did was I worked really hard always, but I knew if I could get over with the bullpen, with the mid level guys, that would bleed up to the top.
“Bob Holly, those type of guys, JBL, Bradshaw at the time, working with those types, Rikishi, having great matches night after night, after night, with those guys, where I was programmed, word gets around, ‘hey, that guy’s not an asshole. You guys are talking s–t about him, but he’s really good and he’s a really good guy.’ That really helped to alleviate some of the tension that was there.”
“Y2J” also revealed that the original inspiration for “The Highlight Reel” came from Gene Okerlund:
“My initial idea was learning from one of the greatest, I don’t know what you would call him, backstage interviewers, was Gene Okerlund who could lead you through a backstage promo even if you didn’t know what you were doing. Right?
“My idea when I started the Highlight Reel was I wanted to be the Gene Okerlund, have guys that didn’t get promo time, and let me do an improv promo. Let’s see what they’ve got. Of course, that did not fly with Vince. He wanted an actual promo segment with top level guys.”
You can listen to Jericho’s full episode of Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
Following up on Chris Jericho working with New Japan Pro Wrestling, it appears his rumored match against Tetsuya Naito will not be taking place as soon as expected.
Jericho put on a 5-star classic against Kenny Omega back on January 4th at Wrestle Kingdom 12. The following night, the “Alpha” made a surprise appearance at New Year’s Dash and attacked Tetsuya Naito – presumably planting the seeds for an eventual showdown.
The match has been rumored for NJPW’s upcoming Strong Style Evolved show from Long Beach, California on March 25th. Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Jericho vs. Naito at Strong Style Evolved was the original plan, but that show has already sold out without the match being announced.
With Strong Style Evolved sold out (and featuring a high-profile Cody Rhodes vs. Kenny Omega main event), there’s a good chance that NJPW will hold off on Jericho vs. Naito until a later date. Even though Jericho is available to work Strong Style Evolved, the company is probably better suited using Jericho’s drawing power to sell out another show.
Meltzer speculated that the match could take place at Dominion in June, as Jericho’s touring schedule with Fozzy would allow for it.
Back in November, Jericho appeared on Busted Open Radio and commented on the success of New Japan and how important it is for WWE to have competition keeping them motivated.
“The good thing about New Japan and even Ring Of Honor to an extent is showing that WWE is not the only place in town, and I think the first people that would be happy about that are the guys that are running the WWE because it just makes for a better business, for a healthier business. And not just for the boys but for the fans. It pushes everybody to think more and to be more clever and creative and to work harder.”
– With three slots left in the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match on Sunday, Feb. 25, WWE.com has announced that Roman Reigns will face Bray Wyatt in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match this Monday night on Raw.
Braun Strowman, Elias, and John Cena qualified for the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match this past Monday on Raw. The winner of the match will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania on Sunday, April 8.
– Chris Jericho and his band Fozzy will be on Last Call with Carson Daly this Monday night at 1:35/12:35 a.m. on NBC.
– WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is Lilian Garcia’s guest on this week’s edition of her Chasing Glory podcast as she talks about being honored at Raw’s 25th anniversary show, her in-ring return in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match and more. You can listen to the episode on Podcast One and iTunes.
Here is the synopsis for the podcast, which was taped the night before the Royal Rumble.
“This episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia features WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus! Trish chats with Lilian about her journey in the WWE, choosing between med-school and a career in professional wrestling, memorable moments, overcoming injuries, her transition to motherhood, being honored at RAW’s 25th Anniversary, her passion for yoga, a special return in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble, and more!”
Some Chris Jericho fans expressed disappointment the 47-year-old wasn’t used in a more prominent role at Raw’s 25th Anniversary show.
Jericho has had a monumental month of January, after all. At Wrestle Kingdom 12, he wrestled a 40-minute match against Kenny Omega. The next night he would attack Tetsuya Naito at New Year’s Dash.
Despite the international spotlight Jericho has been under as of late, he was not disappointed by his Raw 25 role. A fan asked him as such on Twitter, and Jericho responded:
Nope. It was exactly what I wanted to do. Nothing more, nothing less. https://t.co/nqi548DJv5
According to Jericho, he received Vince McMahon’s blessing to work against Omega in NJPW. What is not clear, however, is if Vince has given Jericho permission to continue working with the promotion.
NJPW returns to the United States in Long Beach on March 25th for “Strong Style Evolved”. If Jericho and Naito are to wrestle each other, this event seems like an ideal date and location.
– Below is video of WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus talking to Charly Caruso after her brief appearance at RAW 25 on Monday night. Trish talks about how it always feels familiar when she returns, no matter how long she’s been gone, and how the fans still pop for her after all this time.
– As noted, Chris Jericho returned to WWE TV for RAW 25 and did a backstage segment with Elias, adding him to The List. Below is Fallout video with Jericho adding more names to The List – Tom Phillips, Mike Rome, Cathy Kelley and others working backstage.
– Below are videos of The Balor Club reflecting on their big RAW 25 moment with DX, Triple H discussing what RAW 25 meant to DX and a rare photo-op with DX, The Balor Club and WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall. Also below is footage of Triple H speaking to the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom after RAW ended.
– Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with The Cult of Whatever and discussed his debut with the company. Back in 1999 the WWE had been airing a “Countdown To The Millenium” before the year 2000. On the August 9th episode of RAW in 1999, during a promo by The Rock, Chris Jericho came out to make his debut after departing from WCW. Jericho told The Cult Of Whatever that he believes he ‘definitely’ has one of the best WWE debuts ever:
“It was definitely one of the best debuts ever,” said Jericho. “I came up with the idea of the countdown clock and Vince McMahon came up with the idea of having the clock end right in the middle of Rocks promo. I think that is the biggest reaction I had ever got, a lot of people knew it was going to me but there were also a lot of people that didn’t have a clue. It was a different world back then, the internet wasn’t like it is today, these days you would just go online and you can find things out right away but it wasn’t like that then.”
You can read Jericho’s full interview with The Cult Of Whatever by clicking this link here.
– Today marks the 10 year anniversary that The New Day’s Kofi Kingston made his WWE debut on an episode of ECW with a win over David Owen. Kingston took to Instagram to reflect on the milestone:
“Reflection: 10 years…
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I was just a skinny kid from a small town with aspirations of becoming a pro wrestler. On January 22 of 2008 in Charlottesville, Virginia, I officially became a WWE superstar. I didn’t know where it would lead, but I knew that it was the most important step toward accomplishing my childhood dream.
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I’ve seen many people come and go. I’ve even seen a few come back! I’ve made many close friends along the way. Some who’ve been alongside me from the beginning as our careers progressed together. Some who were very close, but through circumstance I have regrettably fallen out of their favor. I’ve made close friends with many who weren’t as fortunate to make it to the grand stage, but I’ve also had the joy of watching other grind relentlessly on their journeys for years and finally get their opportunity to shine.
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I’ve had so many great teachers, including the rare opportunity to benefit from the tutelage of many of the very people I watched on tv who motivated me as a child to believe that I could actually achieve this fantasy.
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This career has led me to interact with a lot of great people; from the famous, to fans, to social media hecklers, to people I met as they were child fans that I’ve watched grow into adult fans, to crew and employees who don’t get enough credit for their role in making WWE operate behind the scenes.
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I am thankful for my family, who has backed me throughout my quest despite it’s unorthodox nature. I have an amazing and gorgeous Superwife who has been as supportive of me now as she was the day I told her that I wanted to chase this dream. She has given me two beautiful, healthy sons and without her Super-Momnipotence, I surely wouldn’t have been able to reach this point.
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A full decade later, here I am, alongside my two brothers, biting on Booty O’s, ingesting ice cream, feasting on flapjacks, preaching positivity, making magic, while we commute upon unicorns. For that I am eternally grateful and there isn’t a single day that I take any of this for granted.
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No matter how large or small the interaction, everyone with whom I have crossed paths has been a part of this journey. Thank you all for these last 10 years.”
RAW 25 is tomorrow night and WWE has been advertising huge names for the show such as The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, and Chris Jericho. “Y2J” comes off an epic program with IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he lost to “The Cleaner” at Wrestle Kingdom 12 earlier this month. WWE has been advertising the former WWE Champion for RAW 25, however, it looks like there’s still not a deal in place for Jericho to return.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Jericho’s status for RAW 25 is being described as “up in the air.” As of Friday a deal has not been made to have Jericho appear at the show, however, negotiations are ongoing as WWE really wants to have him there since they’ve been advertising him. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
Last night during Monday Night RAW WWE announced that Chris Jericho would be appearing at next week’s 25th Anniversary special for RAW in New York. The event will be a special simulcast event from both the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Wrestling Observer Radio reports that WWE made this announcement without a deal being in place to have Jericho appear, however, it was noted that he is likely to appear but WWE simply made the announcement prematurely. If a deal hasn’t already been made, Dave Meltzer noted that it could be signed today. Jericho has been doing great work over in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as of late, including a tremendous rivalry with Kenny Omega that cultivated into a beautiful match at Wrestle Kingdom 12.
Jericho has been expected to appear on RAW 25 for the past several months now, and it’s believed he could return to Japan to work a match with Tetsuya Naito at NJPW’s March 25th event from Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.
– SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair hit the gym with her Mixed Match Challenge partner Bobby Roode to work on some cardio. Roode tried to hit a couple of “Woo’s” during the session but Flair did not approve. She ended the video by showing him how it’s done. Check it out here:
– With rumors circulating around that Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito could go down at NJPW’s USA: Strong Style Evolved event in Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid on March 25th, “Y2J” and Naito recently got into a short exchange on Twitter in Spanish:
The 5-star bout between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom show was monumental for a number of reasons. Y2J’s unexpected return to Japan and his performance shocked many in the industry and showed that his claims to being the ‘Alpha’ of professional wrestling aren’t wildly off the mark.
It appears that Jericho will now be in NJPW for a stretch, his attack on Tetsuya Naito at the New Year Dash show will eventually lead to a bout between the two…but who else in the New Japan ranks would we like to see the ‘Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla’ face?
Here are three feuds we’d like to see for “The Alpha” Chris Jericho in New Japan:
Hiroshi Tanahashi
An icon of the Japanese wrestling scene, Hiroshi Tanahashi would be an ideal opponent for the reinvigorated Jericho. The two men have grown to define the styles that they represent, Tanahashi has sat atop the NJPW Heavyweight division and was a vital ingredient in the eventual rise of Kazuchika Okada, their feud defined the spirit of New Japan and brought a lot of expectant eyes to the product.
Jericho himself has graced the main event of Wrestlemania cards and is to many the definition of what an American pro wrestler should aspire to, a bout between these two stalwarts would be very different to that of the Alpha/Omega match and would be an excellent opportunity to see how the two could work at this stage in their respective careers.
Kota Ibushi
Kota Ibushi is an enigma. Longtime fans of New Japan would agree that right now he should be in the main event scene and should be arguably one of the biggest stars on the planet…the issue is Kota simply refuses to stay in one place for any length of time, he also seems to like setting himself on fire.
That being said a bout between the ‘Golden Star’ and Y2J has blockbuster written all over it. The dynamically wild style of Ibushi clearly works with a more traditional ‘American heel’ persona, he proved this against Cody at Wrestle Kingdom, but imagine what he could achieve being paired off with one of the greatest (and despicable!) minds in the game?
2018 could end up being the year that Ibushi finally hits the heights that he is capable of and a feud with Jericho just before an opportunity to face longtime rival Kenny Omega at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom could be the ideal way to get him there.
Zack Sabre Jr
Many people would’ve put Kazuchika Okada on their list…but realistically Jericho probably won’t be going near the IWGP Championship during his run. That leads to our next pick in Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre Jr is one of the most underrated stars from the recent explosion of popularity in the UK scene, fellow stars Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Will Ospreay are far more widely recognised even though ZSJ has performed in EVOLVE, New Japan and the WWE Cruiserweight Classic.
From a stylistic standpoint Jericho should mesh extremely well with the unique Sabre, this bout could be worked almost exclusively on the mat and Y2J’s penchant for embarrassing his opponents at their own game would hopefully lead to a submission-fest akin to some of Y2J’s early WWE and WCW work.
Discussion: Who would you like to see Jericho face in New Japan? Let us know in the comments.
