Chris Jericho Talks His Current Run, Chemisty With Punk, What Happened To Ryback
Chris Jericho recently sat down with Busted Open Nation. Here are some highlights from the interview.
How he looked at his start in wrestling: "I never thought of myself as just a wrestler. I always thought of myself as an entertainer because when I started wrestling in 1990 it was still the land of the giants. When I started in Calgary, I was a small guy. How could I ever make it in wrestling? Well, I decided I have to be the biggest personality of the show. Have the most charisma, be the biggest character, even if I wasn't the biggest physically in stature. That's how I made it.
"I was fortunate enough to go to Japan and Mexico where size didn't matter as much. But then when I came back to the states, and let's be honest, size still matters. It always will. It's Vince's edict. It's Triple H's edict. I had to do something different so it was always about the personality and the show business."
What does he think of his current run: "I've been wrestling 23 years. I'm 42 years old. I think this year, 2013, is probably one of my favorite years. I don't know what it is, but I just seem to have been on a roll. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think I've had some really great performances. "
His match against CM Punk at Payback: "I kind of got there and kind of talked to Punk a little bit. I never talked to him once the whole time, for the build up or anything, until I saw him that day. I remember, I think it was the girl's match that was on right before us, and we were still kind of going through what we wanted to do. That's when it really started clicking in. That was basically called 30 minutes to an hour beforehand, just kind of made up a lot in there.
"Moments like that, it's like you have this experience. You can't teach experience. I think that's why I'm able to work with Curtis Axel and Ryback and Punk and Ziggler, all these guys every week, whoever they put me in there with. They've been a lot of fun because I have that experience."
How do you build chemistry with other wrestlers: "You don't build it. Chemistry is what it is. It's a natural thing that just happens. I remember years ago in Japan there was a guy called Koji Kanemoto. People were raving about how good he was and I never had a good match with him. Never. Never great. Other guys you just have that certain chemistry with. I have chemistry with Curtis Axel. We worked three matches over the last week, one in Japan and two on TV, and I felt all of them were great matches. You just click. Some guys you just have a connection with that you just really have that style with. Punk's another one of those guys. He came up in the same way that I did. Just from the moment that we started working back in 2007 we've had good chemistry. Now that we're both at completely different levels, it just means more focus on the matches."
What happened to the crowd being behind Ryback: "The WWE is a strange world sometimes because it's all based around what Vince wants. To me, it's like if they didn't go all the way with him three or four months ago, they have to do something different with him now. He's done it. He did the thing with Punk. He didn't win. He could've, but for whatever reason he didn't. He did the thing with Cena as a heel. He didn't win. He could've, but for whatever reason he didn't.
"Wrestling is like a cycle. If you're the guy, like John Cena is, you're on top and challengers work their way up the ladder to face you. That's the idea behind wrestling. Once you face the champion, and if you do not win, you go to the back of the line and work your way back up the ladder again. That's how it works. That's how wrestling is. I think Vince wanted to try something different with Ryback and I think people, once again, are like ah, he beat Jericho with a roll up. Ah, we hate it. You're supposed to hate it. He's a heel and if he's not giving you what you want, that's what a heel does.
"I don't know anything about it, I'm assuming he migh start something with Vickie Guerrero. You'll the build up of Ryback in this different image and it's either going to work or it's not. And if it doesn't work, guess what? Put him in two or three weeks of killing guys again and he's Ryback again. So I think Vince wants to add a dimension to the character and I think he's going to get it because I know how Vince is and I know when he gets an idea in his head he goes with it until he decides not to and then he changes direction. But I think you have to change up things once you get to the back of the line after you've had your challenge in that position as a heel."
You can check out the whole interview above.
Source: Busted Open Nation