Chris Jericho On Relationship With Triple H, CM Punk's UFC Debut, Vince Texting Him About Slammy Win
On episode 206 of Talk Is Jericho, the first ever Undisputed WWE Champion Chris Jericho participated in a Q&A session. Jericho talked about almost becoming the Goon in WWE, what he thinks of CM Punk's foray into MMA, what his relationship with Triple H is like today, and Vince McMahon texting him to tell him that he won a Slammy award for hitting a crossbody block on Bray Wyatt from the top of a steel cage in 2014.
According to Jericho, Jim Cornette tried to pencil him in to be an enhancement talent on WWE programming in 1996; however, Jericho turned down the opportunity.
"The first ever opportunity I got in the WWE was [when] Jim Cornette called me to tell me, 'we're going to do this thing where we have five enhancement guys. Now, they're not jobbers because they all have gimmicks, but we want you to be one of these guys. They're not going to win any matches, but at least they'll have gimmicks and they'll have TV time and an entrance.' And I'm like, 'well, it [has] been six years. I don't really need to do that. I'm just going to keep doing my thing.'"
Jericho, who is the son of Canadian hockey great Ted Irvine, was certain that he was slated to portray the Goon in WWE.
"I just know, that I bet you I was earmarked to be the Goon, who was a hockey player/wrestler who wore hockey equipment to the ring and had wrestling boots that looked like skate blades, like they were shaved down to look like thin skate blades. I guarantee that could have been me, guys."
With respect to CM Punk's impending UFC debut, Jericho indicated that he respects Punk's decision to step away from professional wrestling and understands what it is like to take a chance on chasing another dream.
"I think it's great. I love it. I love the fact that he's going to do something that he wants to do and that he's taking a chance on doing something different." Jericho continued, "my opinion is that if he's going to be going into this, you know he is going to be giving 10,000% and he's going to be good at it or die trying, so I wouldn't want to be the guy to face him in his first fight, I'll tell you that."
Jericho claimed that he will buy Punk's first UFC fight, as he supports all of his friends from the world of professional wrestling in their various outside projects.
"I bought Brock [Lesnar]'s first [UFC pay-per-view] and then I bought his last one. Those were the two that I bought because you're cheering for your friends. [Punk's UFC debut] will be the third. I will buy it. Actually, I tried to buy the Batista one, but I couldn't find it. But I watched it as soon as I could. If my friends are doing it, I want to see them do good. That goes for anything: acting, movies, musicians, whatever. You've got to support your friends."
As for Jericho's relationship with Triple H, Jericho said he and Triple H were both trying to sabotage each other in the early 2000s, but are friends now.
"I probably just as actively tried to sabotage him with the locker room." Jericho added, "we're good friends now and it was great to [talk to him on Talk Is Jericho] because we're like, 'we used to hate each other in like 2002, 2001, 2000' and we were sitting there going like 'why? Why did we hate each other so much? Like what was the point of that?' It's just the way things were. You're young, you want to be the top of the top, and when you get a chance to do an interview with him [now] like that, I mean, we're all older now. If it was still going on, it would be a different story, but I think it was a two-way sabotaging and that's okay because that's what happens when you're younger."
Jericho, who had never jumped from the top of a steel cage prior to his match with Wyatt in September of 2014, found out he won a Slammy award for it when McMahon texted him to tell him that he had Fandango accept the award on his behalf.
"I won a Slammy for it, which I didn't even know about because I wasn't watching the Slammys. Vince [McMahon] texted me. He was like, 'you just won a Slammy. I had Fandango make the acceptance [speech] for you. I couldn't help myself. Hahahahaha!' And I was like, 'you f–king dick!' and he was like 'hahahahaha!'."
In addition to these topics, Jericho discussed WWE's stringent drug testing policy, whether Cesaro will ever get over, and much more during this podcast. Click here check out the rest of the show. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Talk Is Jericho