Chris Jericho is a master of reinvention, having moved far beyond Y2J and putting people on The List. These days, he’s the leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society, and can usually be seen carrying a bat named Floyd.
Speaking in a recent interview with NHL.com, Jericho opened up about how he was inspired by The Walking Dead’s Negan character in wanting to name his bat, and he took the name from former St. Louis Blues hockey star Floyd Thomson, who famously swallowed his own tongue after falling on the ice during a game against the New York Islanders.
“True story. How do you swallow your own tongue?! But he did it, and to this day in AEW, the bat I carry is called Floyd. I was looking for a name (similiar to) Lucille – Negan’s bat on The Walking Dead – and for some reason Floyd Thomson popped in my head. So the name on my bat in AEW comes from Floyd Thomson, former St. Louis Blue, who swallowed his own tongue.”
Chris Jericho Has No Intention Of Returning To WWE
Despite spending the majority of his career as a WWE Superstar, Chris Jericho is now firmly All Elite, and he has no plans to return to the rival sports entertainment giant. Speaking in a February interview with the Daily Star, he made it clear that he believes he’ll finish his career with his current company.
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. I don’t hold a torch for WWE. To me, that’s not ‘the place to be’. AEW is the place to be. It really is. I’ve been in WWE. I know how it works. They work that way, I don’t care if Vince is there, Hunter is there, or whoever is there. They have a way of doing things, and I was there for 20 years and was pretty good at it. I like the way we do things at AEW better… so I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to finish my career in AEW.
I never thought that I wouldn’t finish my career with WWE, but things happened, and I was just like ‘I want to go to Japan and do this match [with NJPW]’ and it opened up a whole new world for me.
It was like ‘oh my gosh, this is the fun side of wrestling again! Business is business and there’s always ups and downs, but I have zero interest in ever going back to WWE. That’s not out of bitterness or anger. I love Vince and I love Hunter and all the people there.”