Chris Jericho was a recent guest on Sippin’ The Tea with Ariane Andrew and Matt Dillon and spoke about how he’s been able to maintain his longevity in the wrestling business. Jericho says it’s a case of making a connection with the fans through character, not through any specific move, because the stories are what people grab onto and follow.
“You have to have a connection with somebody that really that really draws them into what it is you’re doing. So it’s never been about moves, even though now, you know, moves are so important and everybody’s so athletic. It’s incredible. It still doesn’t mean as much as a great story and a great, you know, two great characters facing each other, just like a great movie or a great TV battle. I mean, The White Walkers vs. The Nightwatch, Game of Thrones, you know, Jon Snow vs. The Ice King.” Jericho said. “That was the whole show was about from day one and that’s why it worked. So wrestling’s the same. You have to tell stories and you have to have characters that people believe in and want to see. And then the moves become secondary, because if not, then you’re just two half-naked guys slathered in baby oil, wearing spandex, wrestling around with each other.”
Jericho added that there is an interesting balance that comes into play between his on and off-screen traits, noting that ‘Chris Jericho’ is just him turned up a few notches, and the best characters in wrestling have done the same.
“I’m Chris Jericho, but when I play Chris Jericho on TV, there’s certain elements of me and there’s certain elements of this other character that I apply that I don’t use in real life. So it’s really interesting. They always told me—they always said, and I agree—the best characters in wrestling are your real-life personality turned up to the tenth degree, and you can see that,” Jericho said. “Undertaker, for example, possibly the greatest gimmick ever. Obviously he’s not a dead man, but he was able to take that character and turn it to something that was completely different from the real guy. There’s a few examples of that, but the best ones are, you know, the Jon Moxleys, and the John Cenas, and the Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle, and Cody Rhodes. These are just big-time, larger than life versions of us.”
Check out the full interview with Chris Jericho at the top of this page; our exclusive interview with Ariane is linked below. The former WWE star talks about her return to wrestling for AEW’s Women’s Tag Team Tournament, being a Queen Of All Trades and much more.
If you use any portion of this transcript please credit Robert DeFelice of WrestleZone.
Read More: Ariane Andrew On Her ‘Big Gay Brunch’ Invite, Rumored WrestleMania Appearance
