AEW's Chris Jericho Discusses Being Gorgeous George In Amazon Prime Limited Series

Gorgeous George (real name George Wagner) was a pioneer of pro wrestling back in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming one of the first national stars of the industry due to his character work. Over 60 years after his death, Amazon Prime is including Wagner in their limited series about Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest," which briefly notes how Ali was inspired by the Gorgeous George character.

AEW's Chris Jericho plays George, and during an interview with Christopher Smith, he detailed how the role landed in his lap and what he hopes fans take away from it. "I auditioned and it turns out they were looking for Gorgeous George for a while and couldn't find anybody," he said. Jericho added that he drew inspiration from an old movie that Wagner starred in, where he imitated the late wrestler's personality and cadence. 

"It turns out the reason why it was such an important part is that Ali — Cassius Clay — was a great boxer, but didn't have the personality." Jericho then recounted a story about Ali meeting with Wagner in Las Vegas, where the wrestler helped him create a persona that stuck with him throughout his career.

When asked why he thinks he got the role, Jericho theorized that it wasn't because he's a wrestler, but instead because he could portray Gorgeous George accurately. "I wanted to remain true to who he was as a person," he explained. "Of course I understand what he was saying to Cassius about connecting with the audience and about being that next-level, larger-than-life person, 'cause that's what people want to see when they watch wrestling or boxing."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Christopher Smith, and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.