Chris Jericho On How Vince McMahon Has Helped The Rock And Batista Find Success Outside Of WWE
Chris Jericho is still making media rounds promoting his latest book, No Is A Four Letter Word. Recently, he stopped by Q with Tom Power to discuss the book, his band Fozzy and much more.
Jericho formed Fozzy in 1999 and has been able to juggle his music career with his highly-successful wrestling career. He said he never wants to mix wrestling with his music and recalled a story about when the band booked a gig but he was also asked to wrestle.
"It was the biggest festival in Germany... 80,000 people," Jericho recalled. "They also have a wrestling tent because it's a festival. So they have tattoos, and a midway, and there's food, and there's rides, and there's wrestling. So the only way [they would book us] is if Jericho also wrestles. I'm like absolutely not, there's no way, you don't combine church and state. This is not a gimmick, Fozzy's not a wrestling band. It's either one or the other."
Jericho said that his main concern is people not taking Fozzy seriously because of his wrestling career. He said he's always had the confidence that's he'd be able to be great at both music and wrestling.
"I'm worried that people won't take us seriously... I talked to Rob Zombie about this when he started directing movies. People were very mad it him, 'How can you direct movies? You're supposed to be playing in the Rob Zombie band, you're a musician,'" Jericho explained. "Sometimes people don't want you to dip your chocolate in the peanut butter, but my attitude was, it's the brand of Jericho. It's all of these things under the banner. You don't combine them, but why can't I be a great rock and roll singer and be a wrestler. I am, I'm not being a jerk about it. I'll sing with Axel Rose tomorrow if I have to, that's my wheelhouse, and then I can go have a five-star match with Shawn Michaels."
Jericho also talked about his experiences working with Vince McMahon. He said McMahon's work ethic rubs off on anyone he works with, and that's why wrestlers like himself, Batista and The Rock have been able to find success in their endeavors outside of WWE.
"You talk about someone like The Rock who goes to Hollywood and it's like, 'This guy's work-ethic is incredible! He's the greatest in the crew, he buys presents for the catering ladies, he does all the press, he's tireless.' It's because that's the way that our boss is," Jericho said. "No matter if you work for Vince and go off and never work for him again, he's always our boss in the back of our minds because he does teach us how to make it. He told me once, 'I'm not just trying to give you lessons about wrestling, I'm giving you lessons on life.' That's what he's done for us and that's why we have such a great work ethic."
No Is A Four Letter Word also dives deep into Jericho's attempt to be the next host of America's Funniest Home Videos. Jericho said that he went through a long process to qualify for the role, but eventually he didn't get it. He admitted he was upset by it, but it taught him to let things go.
"Somewhere out there there's an actual episode America's Funniest Home Videos hosted by Chris Jericho in front of the audience. We did everything, the voiceovers, the whole thing. It was beyond an audition. It was great, once I got to that point, it was mine, I had it. Everything was going my way until there was a last-second swerve and guess what? I don't get it," Jericho said. "A year and a half of work is summed up in a 45-second phone call, 'Sorry, we're going with somebody else.' This was just two years ago, it was crushing, it crushed me. From a mainstream standpoint, from a prestige standpoint, for finally getting this big gig outside of all these other things that I do, the money was crazy for three weeks of work... But, the principle is that you goit to let it go, you can't let it ruin your life."
Source: Q with Tom Power