Hotseat: Chris Jericho
CHRIS JERICHO HAS won at least one major championship in every promotion in which he has competed during his 29 years in the sport: four world titles in WWE, two WCW World titles, nine WWE Intercontinental titles, an IWGP Intercontinental title, plus a plethora of tag team, U.S., TV, and cruiserweight titles.
Just a couple of months before his 49th birthday, on August 31, Jericho put himself on a “List” of just one, becoming the very first All Elite Wrestling World champion. In beating Adam Page in the main event of AEW’s All Out event in Chicago, he took the mantle of champion of the promotion that exploded on the wrestling scene even before its national TV debut.
Jericho has made a career out of defying the critics and rising to the top—in wrestling, in music, as an author, as a podcaster, and as an actor. But leading AEW as it prepares for an inevitable clash with the established juggernaut of WWE represents a formidable new challenge in Jericho’s career.
In this exclusive interview, Jericho spoke to Senior Writer Dan Murphy about his goals as AEW champion, his thoughts on a “promotional war” between AEW and WWE, and why he decided to forgo a 20-year career with WWE to sign a three-year contract with AEW earlier this year.
“Jericho came across as honest and genuinely excited to be a part of something new with AEW,” Murphy said. “He didn’t shirk any question. His enthusiasm is contagious.”
The following “Hotseat” has been edited due to space constraints. Portions of the audio are also available on the PWI Podcast at www.podbean.com.
Dan Murphy: Obviously, the big news is you winning the AEW championship at All Out, but before we get to that, I want to ask one thing. How surprised were you when “a little bit of the bubbly” became such a huge sensation?
At this point in time, nothing really surprises me. You can try and force catchphrases or things just happen. It’s the same thing that happened with “The List” a few years ago. I never expected that to become such an obsession with wrestling fans. The one good thing about “the bubbly” is it’s taken people’s minds off “The List.” So now when people say, “put me on
