Chris Jericho Gives Example Of How Working With Mike Tyson Can Be Unpredictable
Chris Jericho appeared on Busted Open Radio to promote tonight's episode of AEW Dynamite. Asked by Bully Ray how much input he offers into AEW's overall creative direction, Jericho revealed he's more focused on his own storylines than others.
"I'm pretty much in charge of my storyline, as far as keeping that going and trying to just get the maximum out of what I'm doing with whoever I'm working with," Jericho said. "If you think about MJF and Jericho and the Inner Circle and Pinnacle, we started this in September. And there's still a long way to go with that. All of that was kind of in my mind, then working with MJF a bit, working with Tony Khan and figuring out how to extend the story, keep it exciting and keep it moving. So that's a full time job as it is.
"If I was ever asked I would more than be happy to help others out. There are times where I am asked. But if I'm not asked, then I've got too much to worry about on my own in keeping everything spinning. Cause now I've got eleven guys to worry about. I've got six guys in the Pinnacle and five guys in the Inner Circle. Then you throw Mike Tyson into the mix, which was a last minute thing. So anything we're intersecting with I have to keep an eye on it and keep control of it as much as I can.
"So to work on other people's stories, I could do it if they asked me to. But if they don't, I've got more than enough to do on my own."
The conversation then turned to Tyson, who returned to Dynamite last week and will be the enforcer for Jericho's match against Dax Harwood tonight on Dynamite. Jericho loves what the 'Baddest Man on the Planet' brings to the table.
"I love working with Mike," Jericho said. "I've been working with him for ten years, probably a half a dozen times at this point. You never know what you're going to get with Mike. I said to him last week 'Mike, you're the best at being Mike Tyson. So just be Mike Tyson.'
"There's no real planning with Mike. He just kind of does what he wants, which is why we like having him. Especially on a live show he does what he wants. He goes all over the place. Last week Mike was going to come down and make the save. It was like 'Mike's going to run in and he'll...' And I was like "no no. Mike doesn't run in.' He'll never run in cause he's never run in to a ring in his life. He's a boxer; he walks to the ring with swagger. And when he gets there, maybe he'll throw a punch, maybe he won't. He might stand there or he might knock you out. We kind of were planning on expecting the unexpected. Cause that's what you get with Mike."
Providing an example, Jericho brought up his pull apart brawl with Tyson from May of last year.
"When we had the big brawl, I had no idea Mike was going to walk out with an entourage. Neither did anybody else. I'm waiting for Mike Tyson to walk out and suddenly there's another guy and another guy and another guy; like six or seven guys. And I'm like 'who are these guys?!' Like, this is live TV. Mike is great because you never know what's going to happen.
"But you also know that when he's feeling it he respects wrestling so much. And he's such a great asset. It's going to be a great night. And the idea is maybe he'll knock someone out. Maybe it'll be MJF. Who knows?!"
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription