He may have worn out his welcome for some, and this may come as bad news for those who aren't excited to see Chris Jericho working into what is now his 26th year as a professional wrestler - or folks who think the WrestleMania 32 card is already overloaded with (rumors of) older stars.
But in a new interview with Brian Fritz for Fox Sports where they focused on the celebration of his 25th anniversary last Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, Y2J teased that his work at last month's Night of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) might have been setting up an angle for Arlington, Texas next Spring. Though he played it a little bit coy in response to Fritz question of if he sees himself on the Mania card for the first time in a few years, Jericho made a point to allude to the post-show segments he and Dean Ambrose shot in Houston:
Yes, no, maybe. It all depends. I came back a couple of weeks ago to do the Night of Champions thing and I don't come back just for one-offs. There's always a reason why I do everything that I do. That could give you some clues.
While we debate whether or not the Ayatolla of Rock 'n' Rolla should hang up his boots, his experience does give him an interesting perspective on breaking into the pro wrestling game. And despite folks often bringing up that Jericho was the last of the breed who worked the territories and travelled the globe to break in, he doesn't necessarly agree with that:
Look at a guy like Seth Rollins, for example. He worked Japan, he worked Ring of Honor. He worked Pro Wrestling Guerrilla or wherever the places are to work. Bryan Danielson's the same and (Dean) Ambrose. Cesaro. They do have kind of the same pedigree that I have as far as going around the world and around all the places, all the available places, but there isn't a superpower competition to WWE like there was WCW.
We had ECW, they had Ring of Honor. We had Smokey Mountain Wrestling, they have, I don't know, I'm sure there are other places where you can work fairly regularly. And then, there's Japan, which is still a post that a lot of people go to, especially now that New Japan is hot again. I don't think people go to Mexico anymore, but England, Germany, those type of places still have a lot of guys that go over there.
Jericho also doen't agree with those who think that people hired right into the Performance Center or getting a shot via Tough Enough have it easier than those that travelled the globe...just a different set of challenges:
A lot of people ask, "Do you not like the fact that these guys are getting a shortcut into the business?" Shortcut? Are you kidding me? The workup of guys that are new, plus being on TV under the gun, under the spotlight form the moment they get into the business. That's really, really hard. I wasn't in the spotlight for my first, basically, six years and by then you know a little bit. Starting from scratch, going right into the fire, it's pretty hard. NXT, it's so big now. You work NXT for two weeks and everyone knows who you are and making a decision on whether they like you or not, whether you have a future. You're screwed.
Back in those days or working Japan and Mexico and the indies, you had time to make mistakes, work on your character, learn what you're going to do. So the way things are now may be harder than the way they use to be.
Whether you're still a fan of Jericho the wrestler, he's usually got an interesting take on the business. Check out his whole interview with Fritz for a lot more on his favorite feuds, making the best out of the crap you sometimes get from WWE Creative, his battles with Vince McMahon and much more.
Do you want to see Y2J at WrestleMania in 2016? Do you agree that it might be harder to come into wrestling in the 24/7 internet age than it was when guys could toil in obscurity and hone their craft?