Chris Jericho has reinvented himself several times throughout his career, and he has long since shed the label “ex-WWE star.” Still, given his lengthy tenure at the promotion, he remains associated with the company and its brand of sports entertainment.
Eddie Kingston, Jericho’s opponent at AEW Revolution, recently used this background as an insult during a heated promo exchange between the two rivals on AEW Dynamite, but “The Influencer” believes that using sports entertainment as a criticism is erroneous.
In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Jericho explained this stance and noted that he laughs at the idea that being a sports entertainer is detrimental because wrestling is inherently entertainment. Jericho also argued out that, given his remarkable career, he knows more about the business than he does, at least when it comes to the performance aspect.
“I don’t see it as a criticism at all,” said Jericho. “This is something that makes me laugh about the internet wrestling community and how they think they know everything behind the scenes and have all this extra knowledge. Nobody has more knowledge about the business than Chris Jericho in the ring as a modern performer. Nobody. Not one person.
“I know exactly what fans like, I know exactly what fans want, and when you’ve been doing this as long as I have, people have a tendency to take you for granted. Sports entertainment, what’s the difference? It’s entertainment, which is why you watch wrestling in the first place. And wrestling is a sport, at least I consider it to be. So yeah, I’m a sports entertainer.”
Jericho emphasized that every wrestler is a sports entertainer; it’s just a matter of whether they’re “really good” or don’t properly understand it. “Le Champion” made it clear that he embraces this label because sports entertainment is vital to succeeding in the wrestling business in a variety of ways, in AEW and elsewhere.
“And like you said, using sports entertainment as a detriment just shows how stupid people can be,” said Jericho. “That’s what we all are. Either you’re really good at it or you don’t really understand it. I embrace the fact that I’m a sports entertainer. You could use it as an insult or write it on a tweet or post it on Instagram, but it’s all part of putting together a great match.
“It’s all part of understanding what it takes to draw money and understanding what it takes to survive in a political environment that is very, very prominent in every wrestling company, including AEW. Some people say, “There’s no politics in AEW.” Bulls—. There’s just as much in AEW as there is anywhere else. You have to learn all of that to become a top guy, and sports entertainment is the crux of it.”
Jericho will aim to sports entertain when he faces Kingston in a bitter grudge match at AEW Revolution on Sunday.
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