AEW's Chris Jericho Looks Back On Heat He Endured In WWE After Jump From WCW

Chris Jericho recently talked with "Monopoly Events" about the tough time he had when he first joined WWE back in 1999. Even though he's thought of as a legend today, Jericho said that many people in WWE weren't happy when he came over from their rival company, WCW.

"People thought that I came to WWE just for money, you know, or came to WWE for the prestige or whatever it may be. I took a pay cut to go to WWE from WCW. Didn't care about the money. I just wanted to go to WWE because I knew that's where I had to go to build my career. But there was such heat toward me because I came from the other side."

For fans who might not know, Jericho's first appearance on WWE TV was a huge moment during the "Attitude Era." He surprised everyone by interrupting The Rock with a countdown clock, but backstage, people weren't as excited to see him.

During the "Monday Night Wars," when WWE and WCW were fighting for ratings, wrestlers who switched companies were often not trusted by their new coworkers. Jericho wasn't the only one who dealt with this problem.

"I mean, Big Show had it too, when The Radicalz came, it really was like you were coming from the other army into this army, and you know, can we trust this guy trying to stab you in the back sort of thing, which is ludicrous because you're coming over there to add to the success of the team that you're on." 

Now Jericho works for AEW, where he often welcomes former WWE wrestlers. The way talent was treated when switching companies in the late 90's as opposed to today seems to have done a 180, with wrestlers and fans equally excited about talent moving between promotions.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Monopoly Events" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.