AEW star Chris Jericho has revealed he once turned down an offer to join WWE in the mid-1990s because he did not want to wrestle under a hockey player-inspired gimmick.
Speaking at the Horror, Rock & Wrestle Fest 2025 event, Jericho shared the story of how Jim Cornette, who was working for WWE at the time, approached him with the opportunity.
“He [Cornette] was like, ‘Should I put you down with an asterisk?’ And I was like ‘No, put me down with a ‘no,’ I’m not interested,'” Jericho recalled. “This was when they had The Goon, they had Salvatore Sincere, and they had The Pug, they had TL Hopper, who was a plumber, and The Goon, which I’m convinced was supposed to be me.”
The “Goon” character, who eventually debuted as a hockey enforcer-turned-wrestler portrayed by “Wild” Bill Irwin, was not something Jericho wanted to be associated with, leading him to pass on the offer despite it being his first full-time opportunity with a major North American promotion.
However, Jericho’s career took a significant turn soon after.
“At the same time, I also got a call from WCW, from Kevin Sullivan, who asked me if I wanted to come in for a try-out,” he said.
Jericho impressed WCW officials during his try-out and was quickly offered a full-time contract in 1996, without the need for a gimmick like “The Goon.” He went on to become a standout in WCW’s Cruiserweight division before ultimately joining WWE in 1999, where he would become one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history.
Which AEW Star Said Working With Chris Jericho Was “Amazing”?
AEW star Bryan Keith spoke about how working with Chris Jericho was an “amazing” experience due to the fact that Jericho has decades of wrestling experience under his belt, which allowed Keith to learn a lot from the wrestling veteran, who said he soaked up all of Jericho’s advice “like a sponge.”
H/t to TJRWrestling.net