AEW star Chris Jericho has opened up about creative control in WWE, revealing how he changed finishes to matches, while discussing a fan jumping the barricade in AEW.
Speaking exclusively with Inside The Ropes’ , Kenny McIntosh asked former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho whether an increase in creative freedom in AEW meant easier handling of the recent incident where a show attendee jumped the barricade.
“Well, I mean, let’s not get carried away here. I mean, there was stuff that you would do on the fly in WWE all the time, I mean, constantly you could do that sort of stuff because you never know what’s going to happen. And obviously, some guys are more equipped to be able to do that than others but I could tell you a dozen times when things happen in WWE that you just go with the flow. I can tell you when I changed finishes on the fly in WWE. I was supposed to be Ricky Steamboat once and I changed it to him winning because it just felt that’s what the crowd wanted. So it’s not that bad. At least it wasn’t for me.”
As for the incident itself, Jericho had some simple advice.
“Number one, just don’t try and get in the ring. It’s a great rule. Just don’t. You can’t win. It’s not funny and you’re not tougher than we are, and it’s not going to work, So just don’t do it and save yourself that hassle and save us the hassle of having to knock you about. So it happens sometimes. The best thing is you can see them coming from a mile away and the guys always think that they’re creeping up.”
Jericho revealed advice he learned from Haku for any instances in which someone does try to get in the ring.
“It’s like, I saw that guy three minutes before he even got on the stage and like, ‘OK,’ because there’s a rule that King Haku taught me, everybody has to get into the ring. Think about that, they have to get into the ring, and unless you’re Big Show going over the top rope – and even then a quick punch to the balls will stop you – everybody has to get into the ring. When you get into the ring, how do you do that, Kenny?”
Kenny: “You have to go through the ropes.”
“Exactly. When you get through the ropes, your head is there – perfect size for a nice football kick. “You’re going to get your fucking head kicked in.” There’s a football chant right there. And this is going to happen to you when you try and get into the ring at any time.”
Thanks to Chris Jericho for taking the time. To order your copy of The Complete List of Jericho, as written by Chris Jericho, click here.