Chris Jericho is one of the up-and-coming stars in pro wrestling. In the seven years that he's been wrestling, he's held numerous titles and travelled the world. SLAM! Wrestling was fortunate to be able to talk with the Winnipeg-raised Jericho and find out a little more about the Lion Heart. Here is the complete interview.
The following interview was conducted by phone with Chris Jericho by Greg Oliver of SLAM! Sports on Thursday, September 24, 1997 at 11:30 a.m. EST. Jericho was at his new home in Orlando, Florida.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about where you're from, where you grew up?
A: I was originally born in New York City because my father used to play for the Rangers. I grew up in Winnipeg, Canada and for the last seven years I've been living up in Calgary. I actually just moved down here [to Orlando, FL] about a month ago, actually not even that, it was about three weeks ago because it was getting a bit much to be traveling from Calgary all of the time. But I'll end up back there again, I'm sure.
Q: So you went to school in Winnipeg?
A: Yeah, in Winnipeg. I went to high school there and I went to college there.
Q: What college?
A: It's called Red River Community College and I took journalism there.
Q: So you could be turning the tables on me here!
A: Yeah, let me ask you a few questions!
Q: I went to Ryerson [for journalism]. It's a good program. I think it gives you life skills. It prepares you for interviews anyway.
A: Exactly
Q: Tell me a little bit about how you got involved in pro wrestling.
A: I grew up watching Stampede Wrestling and WWF. Stampede was from Calgary. Stampede had a wrestling show they used to advertise on their TV show so I was thinking 'that'd be cool if I could get into that.' When I finished college I just said 'I'm going to try this,' and I went to the wrestling school there. But since I was 16 years old, I knew that I wanted to do that. Then it was like a two month thing. You went there everyday for three hours a day and got beat up and thrown around and stretched out. After that I was a wrestler.
Q: At what age did you enter the Hart school?
A: I was nineteen.
Q: How long did that apprenticeship take? How long were you there?
A: Two months. Everyday for two months. And then after that you're pretty much on your own.
Q: Let's go back to your dad. What was his name?
A: Ted Irvine. [photo left] He played from '67 to '77 for the Kings, and the Rangers and the Blues.
Q: Did you guys move around much with him?
A: Yeah, I was born in New York, I lived in St. Louis. And then always in the off-season we were back in Winnipeg because that's where my dad was from.
Q: Tell me about where you went after Calgary, after you finished your training.
A: Well, once I finished my training, I just worked independents around Calgary for a while. The first big trip I had I went to Japan in October of 1991 for a company called FMW [Frontier Martial Arts]. It wasn't really my thing. It was more like a 'blow-up everything' kind of company. After that, I kept doing independents. Then in about '92 in about December I got a chance to go work in Mexico at one of the smaller companies there. It was in Monterey, Mexico, which in comparison would be like an ECW of USWA type of thing. I worked there for a bit, then I got a chance to go up to the big league in Mexico which was EMLL. And I worked there for two years. While I was working there, I got the chance to work in Japan for a company called WAR with Ultimo Dragon. I went there for two years straight and then everything just escalated from there.
Q: How did you come up with the name Chris Jericho?
A: I think it was two or three weeks before my first match, the promoter said 'we need a name for you' and I couldn't really think of anything. Just from looking in The Bible and I had an album by this band called Helloween called Walls of Jericho. I just thought Jericho would be a cool name to use. Chris Jericho. I had never heard the name before, and that's basically why I chose it. It was an original one.
Q: How did you go about getting contacted by WCW?
A: That was a long process as well. When I was working in Japan, I met up with Chris Benoit there. I had never really met him before but we were from the same area, the same background and stuff. He helped me get into ECW. And then when I started working in ECW he had gone on to WCW. He kind of helped me get into WCW as well just by taking my tape, giving me some good p.r. And then they just started calling me. The catalyst was when I worked the World Peace Festival in Los Angeles held by [Antonio] Inoki with all these different companies. I just kind of, not weaseled, but I really wanted to be a part of the show because I thought it would be a real honorable thing and it would be neat to be involved. I happened to run into a guy doing an independent show in Los Angeles and I kept calling him and calling him and calling him. He was one guy who had something to do with putting together the show, so I ended up on the show. That's where I met Eric Bischoff [boss of WCW]. He told me to call him. Once again, the rest is history.
Q: One of the questions that a lot of people asked us is your thoughts on the Hart Foundation, because you were trained by the Harts.
A: I think it's great. I think it's one of the best things the WWF has. I have a lot of respect for Bret Hart, and Owen Hart as well. Bret has always been first class with me, and a very good guy. Very helpful and stuff. I enjoy what they do. Especially Bret and Owen. I think they're great, great professional wrestlers. Looks like they're having a lot of fun up there.
Q: The next logical question is do you ever see yourself being a member of the Hart Foundation?
A: It's definitely an option. If I ever went to the WWF, that'd be a great place for me to go. I am from Calgary -- well, I 'm not from Calgary but I feel like I am now. Calgary's my home city. So I'm from Calgary. I was trained by the Hart brothers and their styles is a lot like my style. Yeah, I'd love to be in it if I ever went to the WWF. But that's not to say that I'd ever go to the WWF. But if I ever did, that's the place I'd like to be.
Q: One of our readers asked if you share the 'anti-American sentiment' that the Harts are expressing?
A: I don't really have that. I don't have that. I enjoy the United States and have a lot of good friends from the United States. That's the other thing. I like everybody. I'm easy to get along with.
Q: Tell me about some of your title runs.
A: It's funny because a friend of mine had just given me a bunch of things from the Internet. He's from Japan ... It had a history of all the titles that I've had and it actually had the history of the belts. The first one I had was the NWA middleweight belt and that was from Mexico. And that belt was like 90 years old. The first champ was like 1911, or something like that. It's cool ... Eddie Guerrero's father had the belt in 1950, the original Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama had it. So there's a lot of history involved. So I had that one for almost a year and I lost that one to Ultimo Dragon. I guess that was about three years ago now. ... I just trying to think of the major ones that I've had. Another one was the WAR International Junior Heavyweight belt, which is kind of like a cruiserweight thing. I lost that one to Ultimo Dragon as well. He's beaten me for a lot of stuff. I had that one for about six weeks. I had the ECW TV championship for about six weeks as well. I beat Pit Bull #2 for that and lost it to Shane Douglas. And then the WCW cruiserweight belt, and there's been a couple of tag belts and a couple of other ones. Those are like the four major ones.
Q: I've got a question here from a reader about that ECW TV title. He points out that cruiserweight champs in WCW -- Malenko, Mysterio Jr, Eddie Guerrero and you -- were all ECW TV title holders. Do you feel there's some sort of bizarre link going on there?
A: I don't know if it's a bizarre link. But there's no denying the fact that Paul E. Dangerously [ECW boss] is a very smart guy and he gave a lot of chances to guys who had never had chances before. For Dean and Eddie and myself and Rey Mysterio and even Chris Benoit, he saw something in us that no one else did and as a result the big WCW saw it because of him. I attribute a lot of the reason I'm in WCW is to Paul E. as well. ECW was a great place. A lot of great wrestlers work there now and have come from there in the past. I'm proud of my ECW background.
Q: Do you still follow it?
A: I still try to follow it as much as I can. It's hard. I don't get a chance to see it that often. Through the grapevine and stuff I always try to follow what's going on.
Q: So who are some of your close friends in wrestling. It seems to be a very strange business where you keep moving place to place. How do you keep in touch with old friends?
A: It's also a very small business. You may not see somebody for a while but once you do see them, you're like 'hey, how's it going!' My close friends, it's funny. Most of my close friends I had before I got to WCW have actually ended up in WCW now. That includes Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, a guy that I just met once I got there, but I really get along with is Dean Malenko. Even Ultimo Dragon. I've known him for a long time. Some of the Mexican guys that have come in, I've known them for a while. Ever Perry Saturn who just started in WCW, he was a good friend of mine from years ago in Japan and subsequently in ECW as well. Sooner or later everyone shows up in the same place, whether it's WCW or WWF. You get to see you friends more than you would think.
Q: I've got a question here from a reader in Yugoslavia.
A: Wow!
Q: Yeah, it's a great business. He's wondering if you'll ever consider changing from a babyface to a heel. He thinks you'd be better as a heel.
A: Well, it's funny that he said that. For my whole career, I've been a heel. Up until I got to WCW. Because of the way I look, and the way WCW thinks, that if you're sort of a long-haired, so-called not good-looking but not ugly, then you have to be a babyface. I've been a heel anyways, so I'm looking forward to becoming a heel. Because my work is a strong-style heelish style anyway. I'm sure, I think I'll do a lot better as a heel. You have to do what the office tells you for right now.
Q: One of the questions was when did you start growing your hair out?
A: That's from high school. I used to be, well I still am, into heavy metal and stuff. I always wanted long hair. So I've had long hair since I was in high school. Because of the music I listen to and stuff, I've just always liked that look.
Q: So who are some of your favorite bands?
A: I've always liked Metallica, Iron Maiden, KISS. Right now my favorite band is probably Dream Theatre. A band a little more progressive. Helloween. My favorite thing about going to Japan is that there are a lot of bands there that have record deals there that don't have them here. Whenever I'm over in Japan, I always buy $200 or $300 worth of CDs right away because I'm always excited to get the new releases there. That's my hobby. It's like a big bonus to go to Japan. Every time I hear that I'm going I'm excited for the wrestling but also because I can update my CD collection.
Q: I'm to understand you just came back from Japan.
A: I just came back yesterday in fact.
Q: How did that tour go?
A: It was great. I really love Japan. If I could work in Japan 25 weeks of the year, I would seriously consider working there. That style is how I like to work the best. It's a more serious style. There's more creative. In WCW a lot of the matches are really short. That bothers me. I like to take my time, take 15 or 20 minutes and explain what I want to do. I enjoy the violent style that's more strong. I really like Japan.
Q: How do you deal with the culture? Is it difficult for you anymore?
A: Not really. I just had my 30th tour. That was my 30th time there and I'm quite used to the whole way of life there. It's different, but once you can figure it, adapt to it, it's really easy. It's not that hard. Like eating and stuff, it's not very hard to get into that.
Q: Who were some of the guys you faced on this past Japan tour?
A: Actually Benoit. He wrestles there as Pegasus. This is for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Jushin Liger. Samuri. Those are the guys people would know from here. That was mostly who I faced. One Mexican guy, called Dr. Wager Jr. Hopefully we'll get to see him in WCW or WWF or somewhere soon. My biggest rivals were Pegasus, Liger and Samuri.
Q: We've got a question here from Peter Ransom. He writes 'Without a doubt, your best match of your career was against Ultimo Dragon in July 1995. Do you think that was a turning point for you as a wrestler, and did that match end up in the hands of Mr. Heyman [Paul E. Dangerously] and Mr. Bischoff when they were looking for new wrestlers?
A: It's funny because in my opinion that was one of the best matches I've had as well. That was one I always used as a resume. A video resume. And that one did end up in the hands of WCW and also in the hands of Paul E. as well. That match kind of helped me get two jobs. That's the one I always use as a watermark of 'this is what I can do.' Yeah, me and Dragon always had a good chemistry and he really helped me in Japan. I kept going to Japan so many times because he needed a rival to fight and we always had such good matches that I kept getting to go back. It was a turning point in a lot of ways. It helped me quite a bit, that match.
Q: The Pro Wrestling Torch, among others, rate your match from the recent War Games pay-per-view against Eddie Guerrero among the best matches of this year. How do you respond?
A: Oh wow. A lot of times when it comes to the ratings and stuff from the sheets, I don't really pay attention. It was one that felt good. Everything felt good. Eddie's one of the best wrestlers that I've ever faced. I don't mind saying that I really thought that was an excellent match as well. I really enjoyed it. It was one of those ones coming out from the ring, sometimes you have a match and you're sad when it's ended. Other times you have a match where you can't wait until it's over. It was one of those ones I wish it could have kept going another twenty minutes. I really enjoyed that one. It was a great crowd and a great opponent to be with. I really enjoyed that match.
Q: How do you prepare for your matches?
A: How do I prepare for my matches? Well, usually right before I warm up, throw a few kicks and stuff and get in the right mind-set. I usually say a little prayer. I always pace around, I usually pace right before I go. Usually about ten minutes before the match until I walk out the door you'll see me walking back and forth. I don't usually talk to anybody. You've got to get into the right, proper psychological mind-set.
Q: What are some of the toughest finishing holds that you've been in?
A: That I've been in?
Q: Yeah, that's one of the questions we got mailed.
A: Okay. It's actually funny. Somebody asked me a couple of weeks ago, a couple of months ago, if I've ever submitted in a match. I was honestly trying to think. I don't think I've ever submitted in a match. ... I think a couple of times when I wrestled against Taz in ECW, I don't think I submitted, I think I passed out before submitted. Well, anyways, Taz's hold, the Taz-mission I think it's called. In WCW, I don't recall ever submitting in WCW. In Japan, some of the holds are pretty strong, where you feel like submitting. Like the Boston Crabs, they're always very high-angle - a lot of power on your back. I can't remember ever submitting much. I could be wrong but as far as I can recall.
Q: How have some of the real veterans of WCW like Flair or Hogan. Guys who've been around forever basically. How have they been to the young lions coming in?
A: That's a good question. Some of the guys there are not all that cool to the younger guys. There's a lot of cliques around, as there are in any business. A lot of the guys there don't always act all that friendly towards you. A lot of the guys do. Macho Man is always cool. Hulk's always nice. Sting is cool ... Ric's actually quite cool too. Arn Anderson. They each have a little bit of advice. That's the only thing that I can ask from someone who been around for a long time and who's like a huge star and been on top for a long time. That's to give advice so you can get better. Especially in WCW, a guy like me doesn't get to wrestle Ric Flair often, so to have him watch a match and give pointers is the next best thing. That's the only thing I can ever really expect from those guys is advice from them. I really appreciate it. That's the only way to get better.
Q: The next question, also from readers. Are you going to go after the cruiserweight title again? Obviously that's one of your goals.
A: Yeah, that's one of my goals. To be honest with you, I'm not really that sure what's going to be happening. I don't know if I'm going to be getting any re-matches against Eddie. I'd like to hope that I would, especially after the match we had at the War Games. Sometimes the obvious thing doesn't take place. Whether I will or not, it remains to be seen. But I hope so. I'd love to get it back, of course. I think I'm the biggest cruiserweight in WCW, but whatever.
Q: Would you eventually like to have a world title run? Is that something you're aiming for?
A: Definitely. Before my career is over I would be very disappointed if I didn't have a world title at some point, whether it be in ten years or whenever. Especially when I turn heel. I'm looking in the next eight or nine years. I'm 26. I'd definitely like to have a chance before, you know. I used to thing I was too small, but small or big is irrelevant nowadays.
Q: One of the reader questions from a guy in B.C. is what would your strategy be against Hollywood Hulk Hogan?
A: Well, if I had to face Hollywood Hogan, let's face it. Hogan, he has more experience than me. He's been around a long time. He's probably seen and heard and taken everything. But at this point in his career, I don't think that speed is a real aspect of his game. He's bigger than me. I don't think he's 30 or 40 pounds bigger, which compares to some of the bigger guys I've faced. I'd just try to take him off his feet. The typical David and Goliath thing. I have a lot of experience worldwide. I've been a champion in Japan, Mexico and Canada, United States. I've worked in Germany as well. I'd just have to use my head. I'd just have to be smarter. Sometimes that's harder with the lack of experience compared to him. But I also have a lot of experience of my own as well.
Q: Here's a question from somebody in Australia. Who do you believe, pound for pound, is the best wrestler in WCW and WWF?
A: Best wrestler pound for pound in WCW, Chris Benoit. Best wrestler pound for pound in WWF, Bret Hart.
Q: How did the name Lion Heart come about?
A: Very good as well. This is actually a good story. My dream was always to work in Japan. It's all I ever wanted to do, because I used to watch a lot of tapes from Japan. Before I went to Mexico, I knew that I needed a name because they couldn't pronounce Jericho. You know Yericho or whatever. So I came up with the name Lion Heart. Now I came up with that name because all the guys I used to watch in Japan, they all had the name of an animal. Eddie Guerrero was Black Tiger. Chris Benoit was Wild Pegasus. Too Cold Scorpio. Jushin Liger. Ultimo Dragon. Tiger Mask. So I thought if I was a junior heavyweight, I had to have the name of an animal. So I came up with Lion Heart for Mexico and Japan. Of course, Mexico changed it to Coraz�n de L�on, which is Spanish for Lion Heart. But I always kept the name Lion Heart.
Q: Is there anything you think your fans would want to know?
A: Just that I'm not on the web now, or involved on computers. But I will be soon. I was actually talked to a friend of mine today about creating a web page for myself. So keep an eye out for that. Once I do get on the Internet, I'd like to keep in contact with everybody. Keep my ear to the ground and find out what's going on. Once again, I always appreciate anything like this. I always work hard in the ring, and whether people like me or not I always try my best. And I appreciate that.
Q: I really appreciate your time, Chris.
A: No problem. Anytime. It was a good time. Thanks a lot.
