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When Grayson Waller hyped up his very special episode of The Grayson Waller Effect on social media, few expected that his show would have a little bit of everything, from an appearance of his advertised guest, Cody Rhodes, to a surprise appearance by Kevin Owens, and even… AEW wrestler Chris Jericho?
Yes, you read that correctly; while WWE has become a bit more cavalier with showing people who don't work for the company anymore on television and beyond, with Jim Ross calls now featured fairly regularly on the show and appearances from the likes of Edge, Christian Cage, and the Hardy Boyz occasionally shared in throwback video packages, but this wasn't some blink-and-you-missed-it appearance or a video message like he sent to John Cena but instead a clip from his infamous segment with Kevin Owens, when Jericho noted he was on KO's list.
Now, contextually speaking, this decision made plenty of sense, as Waller wanted to point out that Owens always turns on his fellow WWE Superstars at one point or another, but bringing in Jericho, the man who defeated Rhodes at Full Gear 2019 and cost him a chance to compete for the AEW World Championship ever again? Goodness gracious, now that is a heel maneuver by the “Aussie Icon.”
So what does this mean? Are Paul “Triple H” Levesque and the rest of WWE Creative looking to embrace even more of the outside world, including their main and arguably lone true challenge for wrestling supremacy in America? It's impossible to know, but if you had a Jericho appearance on your SmackDown bingo card, you are one spot closer to your prize.
Chris Jericho opens up about his idea of wrestling retirement
Sitting down for an interview with Scott Fishman of TV Insider to help promote AEW All In, Chris Jericho was asked about two of the biggest stars in professional wrestling, John Cena and Bryan Danielson, who are preparing to call it a career via retirement tours. While Jericho is excited about the prospects of his friends going out on their terms, he doesn't see a similar spectacle in his own future, as he's just happy to still be wrestling in 2024.
“It doesn’t change my perspective at all because Bryan was out for nine years. He couldn’t work. John hasn’t worked regularly at about the same time. Bryan has been incredible since he came back from his injuries. He is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and of all time. If he wants to step back, he’ll do that,” Jericho explained.
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“John is the same thing. One of the greatest of all time. He went to Hollywood and became a huge success and wants to come back and put an exclamation point on his career. To me, I don’t see the point for me. That’s just me. I remember a few years ago The Scorpions had a big farewell tour and then decided they were having too much fun and came back and played. Same with Judas Priest. The Who retired in 1982 and still playing. Why put the pressure on a retirement and a timeline? For me, I’m just happy to just be still doing it at a high level.”
So what does Jericho want when his in-ring wrestling career comes to an end? Well, he doesn't want a big final match.
“When that time comes, I don’t want a retirement tour, I think. I don’t need a big retirement match. I’ll just stop. Maybe I’ll feel differently when it comes to that, but I also have other things. I have Fozzy where I get the live element form as well. I have the podcast, cruise, acting. I have other stuff going on and have walked away from wrestling a couple of times. We’ll see what happens,” Jericho noted.
“Sting’s retirement was one of the greatest moments of all time. I think Cena doing a farewell tour is awesome and people know these are the dates to see him. John is very driven that way. He’ll be done when he says he is done and never come back. Bryan already said he would never retire. You won’t see him as a full-time wrestler, but you’ll see him in a ring for a long time. Everyone is different. For me, I just live in the moment and enjoy going to work every week and doing cool shit. As long as I feel that way, I will continue doing so.”
With All In mere hours away, it makes sense that reporters have been asking about the end of Jericho's career, especially as he keeps getting older with each passing year. Still, even if fans really want to see him hang up his boots, it sounds like the “Learning Tree” doesn't feel the same way, and as a result, he'll keep going as long as people keep booking him.
