Jerry Lynn On His AEW Position And Relationship With Tony Khan
On the latest episode of Pro Wrestling 4 Life, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Sean "X-Pac" Waltman sat down with an old friend in pro wrestling veteran and AEW producer Jerry Lynn. Co-host and Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked Lynn what it's been like to be a coach at AEW and pass on his teachings.
"I love it. I do a seminar also, but you have some that you can tell it goes in one ear and out the other, which is fine," Lynn said. "But when you see the light bulb go off in their eyes, that's the payoff. It's really nice when you have ones that really soak it in and learn, and I tell them first and foremost, even when I do seminars, everything I preach to you I'm 100% guilty of, but that's how I've learned."
"It's so cool, and it makes me feel so good to see you somewhere where you're obviously valued," Waltman expressed. "Tony Khan, as he should be, a big Jerry fan. It just makes me feel so good, man, because you totally deserve it."
"Thank you. I always hoped I made enough friends along the way that I'd have a job afterwards someday because it was hard having to quit," Lynn admitted. "I went through a two year depression of drinking every day, and I put my poor wife through hell, but she stuck in there. She didn't ride me or give me any grief. She knew it would just run its course, and I'd be fine."
Lynn later discussed what it's like to work with AEW President Tony Khan.
"Well, the first thing he reminded me of was he said he used to race home after school so he could watch Sean and I on Global [Wrestling Federation]," Lynn revealed. "I said, 'You're too young. How old are you? You're too young to remember that,' but he remembers everything.
"It's great working for Tony. He's a really great guy, and I've said this many times, this is the best company I've worked for, even outside the wrestling industry because you're treated like a human being and not just a number."
Waltman then asked Lynn if he ever thought about coming back to wrestling after his extended absence before AEW, and Lynn recalled a conversation with a WWE Hall of Famer about the grind of the business.
"Oh, no, because I was at that regular job for nine years before AEW came up, but I would still occasionally do an autograph signing or a convention or seminars," Lynn noted. "And so I was still dabbling a little bit in the business. I wasn't out completely."
"Have you ever been mad at wrestling?", Waltman asked. "Have you ever been mad at wrestling?
"Oh, yeah. The first time I met Roddy Piper was at TNA, and I saw him after the show at TGI Fridays, so I went sat next to him," Lynn recalled. "We talked for a while, and I told him, 'Wrestling is a real love – hate relationship. Sometimes I hate the fact that I love it so much,' and he said, 'That's a great way of putting it' It's a tough grind. If you let it, it does affect you mentally and emotionally."
A new episode of Sean Waltman's Pro Wrestling 4 Life drops every Thursday morning on all major podcast platforms and in video form at YouTube.com/XPac Thursdays at 3 pm EST!