Chris Jericho On If He Had Talks With TNA, CM Punk, Working With Eric Bischoff, HHH, Vince, Barrett

As noted earlier, Akhilesh Gannavarapu and Ratish Menon of Sportskeeda recently interviewed Chris Jericho. You can check out the full audio interview here, below are some highlights

AG: There were also a lot of rumors at one point before your second run in the WWE about you joining TNA, and TNA even used Fozzy's theme "Enemy" for the BFG PPV in '06, adding fuel to the fire. Were there any negotiations between you and TNA, and if so, how serious were the talks?

No, not at all. I mean they asked me if they could use the theme, so I said okay, and the band said okay. As far as if I ever considered going there, it's great to have the option, but until Vince McMahon tells me I don't work for him anymore; I worked for nobody but Vince since 1999, and I won't work for anybody else but Vince till the day I retire. Visit Wrestling Inc. Working for another company does not interest me, and it's not only TNA. It's the same with New Japan and Ring of Honor, it's the same for anywhere else around the world. If I'm putting on the boots and getting into the ring, it'll be for the big leagues, and that is the WWE.

RM: Eric Bischoff and you had bad blood in the past, which was also evident when Eric said you couldn't headline in TNA in 2010. Although Eric and yourself are professionals, how was it working with him a decade ago when he was the on ? screen GM of RAW?

It was great; WCW was a different world. Everybody kind of had a different attitude, and it was more of a stifling kind of atmosphere. But I didn't really know Eric when he came to the WWE, and I'm glad that he did because I got to see the real Eric Bischoff, and he was a pretty nice guy and we had some fun together.

AG: I had the opportunity of interviewing Barrett, who was also your rookie on season 1 of NXT, which he won. Nexus was the hottest topic of 2010, but it fizzled out quickly. What were your thoughts of Barrett, and how the whole thing played out with Nexus and John Cena?

I knew Barrett was going to be a big star from the moment I met him. He had all the attributes ? He had the physical presence, the character, the personality, the ring ? work; so I knew it was just a matter of time before he would get a chance to shine, and as far as Nexus goes, it was a great idea because it put together 7 rookies, and got the maximum impact out of them. You say it fizzled out quickly, but it didn't have the legs to go because the guys who were involved were very very green. So to go as far as it actually did was pretty genius. He took the absolute most out of guys with not a lot of experience. I think it was a great idea, and I think it worked out beautifully. And it ended when it should've ended.

You can't have Justin Gabriel, Darren Young and Michael Tarver headlining PPVs for too long because they just don't have the experience, and they didn't know how to do that at that point of their career. I was talking to them and I said, "This is going to be the highlight of some of your careers, and it's never going to get bigger than this." I wasn't being a jerk about it. It's just the way it is. You guys just don't know any better. Some of you will go to greater heights, and some of you ? We'll never see you again. So it just depends on how you work and how you adapt, and some of them did that, and some of them did not.

AG: When you returned for your recent run, did you work with Triple H or Vince? And how different is it working with Paul Levesque than working with Vince McMahon himself?

I worked with both. I mean, Vince McMahon is still the boss but Paul (Triple H) does a lot of the office stuff now, and at this point, I've been in the business for so long that it's easy working with both of them, because we're all friends. Visit Wrestling Inc. I still consider Vince as my boss although Triple H takes care of a lot of the details, and so it's that intimidation and the intensity when you talk to Vince, because it depends on how long you've been and how long you've worked with him. He's a very intimidating guy, and I don't have that relationship with Paul (Triple H) because we came up through the ranks together.

I'm sure there are a lot of people just as intimidated by Triple H, but I know him from working together with him. So it's a different environment. It's a lot easier to work with Triple H, because you don't have the same intimidation factor. But I still work very close with Vince every day, so when people say that, "Oh Triple H has taken over now", it's not true. I mean, Vince McMahon is the boss, he's still the boss and he'll continue to be the boss till probably the day he dies, and people should know that.

AG: Talking about people you've worked with, and I'm sure you must have heard it a lot of times, but what do you make out of Punk's walking away from the WWE and professional wrestling, and do you think he will ever come back to the WWE?

Questions like that, you can't really ask me because I don't know. You have to ask CM Punk. I have no idea what he's thinking, and I have no idea what his mindset is. I have no idea why he left; I wasn't there when he did. Obviously, it was a decision that he felt he needed to make, and he made it. That's basically all I can say about it, I don't know.

As you know in 2005, I had the same thinking. I was burned out on wrestling and the world of wrestling, and I had to get away, and I was gone for two and a half years, and a lot of people forget that.Visit Wrestling Inc. I know how it feels to get burned out and do I think if he'll ever come back? I don't know, man. I have no idea, I haven't heard from him, I have no idea what he's doing, what his plans are, what his plans aren't. I'm sure if he decides to come back, you guys will be the first to know, because you'll see him on the show.

RM: You have always been very complimentary of Vince McMahon and gone on record saying he is the best boss you ever worked for. Could you tell us a bit about working with him and what are the things you have learnt from him that you have been able to apply in your own life that has helped you become such a multifaceted success?

It's quite some personal stuff. I've been working for him over the years ? he's a very smart businessman. He's very driven and very calculated. He's a great guy. He's fun to be around, he's a fun guy to work for, and I really appreciate what he has done.

RM: Is he the hardest working guy you've ever been around?

He's one of them. I think he's up there with me. I got my work ethic from him, and he sticks to his pattern and you work just as hard as he does. So it was a great experience working for him, and I look forward to having many more.

AG: WWE recently made an announcement that they're going to come to India with a live event next year. You've traveled all over the world, and there are millions of Jericho-holics in India. Can we see you down here next year?

I was in India in 2002. I had a great time there, and it was a very very cool experience. I don't know, as of right now, I have no future plans with the WWE, so as of right now, I probably won't be there. But when I was there, I had a great time. They were very very nice people, and a really cool experience. So, hopefully I'll get the chance to come back to India someday.

You can listen to the entire audio here.