Interview with Chris Jericho regarding his return to WWE

One might think that chairshot-craving wrestling fans would have scoffed at the idea of Chris Jericho joining the twelfth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars but…it's Jericho! He does it all and the people know it. And despite being a fearless former multi-time World Champion, we all knew he'd be up for the challenge of competitive dancing in front of millions of viewers. Unfortunately, the hammer dropped and Jericho was eliminated last week, the fifth one gone, after weeks of shattering most of America's pre-conceived notions about pro-wrestlers.

So does this mean Jericho's headed back to the WWE any time soon? Or does he have other art forms or professional arenas he'd like to try his hand in? IGN TV had a chance to speak with the wrestling legend about his time on Dancing with the Stars, his possible return to the WWE fold and Edge's unfortunate retirement.

IGN: All in all, how was your experience on Dancing with the Stars?

Chris Jericho: It was great. It was fantastic. It certainly gave me a new appreciation for the art form of dancing. And I think I did some pretty damn good dances. So I think getting sent home when I did was cool, but I also think I could have lasted another week or two. But it's one of those things where, as the weeks go on, you've got to be at your best every night. I think the judges were a little bit harsh towards me sometimes but I think I also surprised them because they might have underestimated me a bit. I'm happy about everything I did and I think it was a great experience for me career-wise and personally.

IGN: How sick did you get of people asking you things like "Are you going to bodyslam her?" or "Are you going to dropkick her?"

Jericho: Oh yeah. And it's not even funny after a while because it's such a cliche. And I think even the show - even Dancing with the Stars - expected me to be more of a cliched wrestler which I never have been. Nor will I ever be. And I think I surprised them. I don't think I was supposed to go as far as I did when they amassed the cast. It's one of those things where there are similarities between wrestling and dancing – you have to be light on your feet, which is the number one most important thing about being both a wrestler and a dancer. But there is a real cliched stereotype of what a wrestler is, especially in Hollywood, and I've never fell into those categories because I'm not that.

If you were going to hire someone to play a wrestler in a movie, you would never hire me. I don't look like that. And that was always a detriment when I first started out. "You're too small," they said. But now it kind of helps me. So there were a lot of preconceived notions and I could say "If I had a dollar for every time someone made a wrestling joke…" But then that was my task too. When you come from the wrestling world you almost have to work twice as hard to earn half the respect. And I got that. After the third or fourth week on the show they started saying "he's funny, he's nice, he's intelligent" and I think a lot of people out there don't expect that if you don't know anything about wrestling.

IGN: You mentioned that you didn't think you were meant to get as far as you did. Was that a feeling you ever got on the show? That they wanted to gone at a certain time? Did you ever read the odds or stats?

Jericho: Yeah you can read a lot about the odds and the [stats] and I don't think people knew what to expect from me. Like I said, I could have just as easily been on last week and next week as well, so you can't really follow the odds. I think I beat the odds. I've made a career out of beating the odds and defying low expectations. I think there were a lot of low expectations for what I could do on the show as a dancer. And as a character and as a personality. Jericho's always been an underdog.

IGN: Now you have a certain skill-set from wrestling. Did that make things easier for you with the dancing, or was it still hard?

Jericho: It was a lot harder than I expected and I expected it to be hard. I wasn't taking it lightly in and shape or form. But there was just so much you had to remember. And it wasn't just the steps, which actually were the easiest part. You usually have that done and down pat on a Wednesday. But Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday you have to work on the technique and the form and every little thing counts. Your little finger needs to be pointed down. And your toes need here and your heels need to be out. There's just so much stuff in there that you don't even think about, because when you watch dancing, or even wrestling or watching Van Halen play guitar, they just make it look so easy that you don't realize how much work actually goes into it. So the training was some of the hardest I've ever done in my life. And you can feel it. I could feel it in my legs. Especially during the first couple weeks because you're using muscles that you never really use. I'm physically in shape and it wasn't killing me, but it was definitely a different feeling for my body. It had never been through anything like that before.

IGN: One week you actually dedicated a dance to your late mother and went by your real name, Chris Irvine. What was that like for you? How did it come about?

Jericho: That was actually one of the producer's ideas from the show. And it came from some of the stuff in the package of interviews that I had done for the week. And I thought it was a great idea. At first I was a little hesitant because I didn't know if it would make people too confused, but it was a memorable moment that a lot of people talked about. I mean, I did go out halfway through the show but if there was going to be a 'greatest hits" of Dancing with the Stars Season 12, I think a couple of my dances would have made it. I think there were a couple of cool moments that Jericho provided and that was definitely one of them.

IGN: You had a bunch of your WWE comrades in the crowd there cheering you on. That must have felt great.

Jericho: It was cool. And it's funny because at first there were going to be a lot more. For the first couple weeks there were a lot of people and then there wasn't for a while because I think when the ratings for the show came in, I think the WWE got in trouble a little bit from the USA network. Because having them be there was, in a sense, promoting the show that runs head to head with RAW. But it was nice. It was a great show of solidarity and support from my peers. And a lot of people ask "What do the wrestling fans think of this?" but there never really was anybody ball-busting me because from the very first week they felt I could do this. I almost kind of got too good too early. I think, like, my second week Quickstep – had I done that in week 6, I would have got 10's. But at that point in time you weren't allowed to give 10's. It was too early in the competition. I kind of consider myself to be a pioneer. Not only as a wrestler, but in rock n' roll. Because I'm the first wrestling guy and the first rocker who's done the show. And I think it tears down some of the boundaries there. I think you're going to see more rock stars and wrestlers do it because it's a great opportunity and it's a lot of fun. And it really does push you as a performer. And I think that's what you look for.

IGN: Did you ever feel any backlash from the fans? Or do they know you better than that and know that you like to do different things? Does anyone tell you to stick to wrestling?

Jericho: Well, you always feel that because you do have your loyal fans who say "Okay, you're done with the dancing now, can you come back to the WWE?" But to me I've never just been a wrestler. When I was a kid I wanted to be in a rock n' roll band and I wanted to be a wrestler. My biggest heroes when I was a kid were David Lee Roth and Paul Stanley. I wanted to be the David Lee Roth of wrestling. It was always about music and wrestling for me. And I've always been a creative person. So it all stems from the same place. Whether I'm writing a book or dancing or singing or wrestling. Or doing a radio show or acting. It's all part of who I am as a performer. And I think people have always gotten that vibe from me.

So yeah there's always the die-hard who just want you to wrestle and do nothing else, but I think real fans of Chris Jericho know that that's not enough for me. I have to push myself. I have to get better as a performer. And doing stuff like Dancing with the Stars definitely helps. I did The Groudlings in LA back in 2006 and took a lot of serious acting classes when I left the WWE back then and it's one of the reasons why when I came back in 2007 I had such a re-birth. Because all that acting training and the improv training that I had came in handy and helped me create a whole new character that people really responded to. I won't go back to the WWE until I can think of something new and doing stuff like this helps me creatively and helps me think of new stuff.

IGN: Well, that sort of feeds into my next question which is "when are you headed back to the WWE?" You said not until you can do something new with your character.

Jericho: I don't want to go back and do the same thing. And do the same character I was doing last time. You constantly have to reinvent yourself. It's kind of a strange analogy but I think you'll pick it up when I say it - I always consider myself to be the Madonna of wrestling. And what I mean by that is "constantly re-inventing yourself." Every album Madonna does, she morphs into new styles of music and new looks. And when you work for the WWE, you work 52 weeks out of the year and on TV every week. You can't look the same or act the same every week. It gets boring. And I think that's why I've had such longevity as a performer and was always the guy to watch because people wanted to see what I did next. I even did that on Dancing with the Stars. And you have to do that or else you become predictable. And that's the worst thing you can become when you're in show business.

IGN: You mentioned changing yourself just now, but one of the things that's always stayed the same about you in the WWE is your entrance theme. Everyone else has changed theirs several times. How have you managed to keep the same tune?

Jericho: It's funny because when I came back in 2007 I got Black Label Society - Zakk Wylde's a good friend of mine – to do a new version of the song. But Vince [McMahon] and Kevin Dunn, the producer, hated it. But my theme is one of the coolest of all time and it's evergreen. And it's the one thing I kept when I switched to the different character. I got rid of my countdown and all the things that were synonymous with "Y2J" Chris Jericho, but I wanted to keep the music. You don't want to outsmart yourself and there's a certain vibe that comes with that song that helps me get into character. And on top of that, people know exactly what they're getting when that music hits. It's a very powerful song. And you never know, when something gets written, how it's going to pay off, but that one really struck a chord. I'll change my look, my style and my character, but my music needs to stay the same. Because love me or hate me, you know what you're going to get when it hits.

IGN: I wanted to get your thoughts on Edge's retirement, which came as a shock to everyone.

Jericho: I think it's one of those things that a lot of people forget about wrestling, which is that even though it's show business it's physically taxing. I'm actually surprised that more people don't get seriously hurt in the ring. And I'm thankful that it doesn't happen. But Edge has been battling those problems for years and years and it was a shock and it's sad, but I look at the bright side, which is that at least they caught it before something more serious happened. Because this is a very physical, dangerous business and I think it gets forgotten with all the pomp and circumstance sometimes. So once in a while you get moments like with Edge where you remember just how real it is.

I mean, I hate it when people use the word "fake" to describe wrestling. Yeah, it's show business and it's pre-determined, but it's not like we have stunt men in there doing all our routines for us. You're out there really paying the price physically and mentally too. Edge is one of the greats and I'm sure he'll have a job in the WWE for as long as he wants. He's very smart. He understands the business. I'm just glad he didn't get seriously hurt and I'm sure he'll be involved in the business in a lot of ways from now on.

_{taken from http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/116/1166448p1.html}

Very interesting interview, cheers for that Hero.
I think this says he'll come back as a face.

yep, defo sounds to me that when y2j foxtrots his way back down the isle it will be as a face

I loved Maccs suggestion that he could comeback as 'Hollywood Jericho' and would lead to some great promos, I'd also like to see a Y3K version, or maybe a biale thumper