WWE Magazine- When one thinks of someone being �larger than life,� who comes to mind but Babe Ruth, Larry Bird, Ric Flair, Hollywood Hulk Hogan�
Chris Jericho-�and Chris Jericho.

WWE- Fine, we�ll add Jericho to that list. Which of these names doesn�t quite fit with the others? Jericho perhaps?
Jericho- Probably Larry Bird. He doesn�t fit with the other. What the hell did he ever do in the world of sports? Three NBA championships? Big deal. Who cares? It�s basketball. That�s not eve a real sport. Nobody cares about basketball.

WWE- There are many men who can be called �larger than life� in the history of this organization. How do you compare yourself to these men-men like Hogan, Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund?
Jericho- Well, they were all great in their day; there�s no doubt about that. But none of them have remained �larger than life,� including Hogan. He�s so old and decrepit that he�s probably dead, and nobody�s told him yet. All those guys were great contributors, great athletes and great champions way back when, but none of them have that extra something that makes their status cross into immortality, unlike Chris Jericho, who won the Undisputed Championship by winning the two biggest recognized championship titles in the history of this business on the same night. That�s Chris Jericho. Only Chris Jericho did that.

WWE- Aren�t you a little young to be calling yourself �larger than life�? Shouldn�t you wait a few years before giving yourself that title?
Jericho- I�m a prodigy. I�m like a Bill Gates- world-renowned before I�m even 30 years old. Once in a great while, a man comes along who transcends his generation in his particular field. I�m like Wayne Gretzky was when he was 20 years old, of like Tiger Woods now. Gretzky, Woods, and Jericho-all of us are �larger than life� before our careers have even really started. I could retire tomorrow and still have the most illustrious and storied championship career in the history of this business.

WWE- Can you truly be �larger than life� if you�re the only person making that claim? I could claims to be Madonna, but that doesn�t make it true.
Jericho- The only person that has claim to �larger than life� status is me. Being as humble and level-headed as I am, for me to state the cold, hard fact that I am �larger than life� just confirms it. I would never say something that important if it wasn�t true. People come up to me all the time and say it. I would never say it unless it was true, because of my humility. It�s a very generous gesture on my part to bestow the title upon myself and admit it. By my own admission, I�m making people happy and simply justifying the opinion of millions.

WWE- Aren�t people who are �larger than life� supposed to be beloved figures? Everybody hates you.
Jericho- Hates? Me? Who hates me? Well, all of the so-called fans at the arenas hat me because they�re jealous. They�re jealous that all their favorites-Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hogan, The Rock, Edge, all of those guys-can�t claim to be �larger than life.� They�re upset that they�ve wasted $20 on an Austin �What?� T-shirt, knowing he doesn�t have what I have. They�re embarrassed that they bought a Hogan boa at Wal-Mart and know it�s not worth anything because it�s not the boa of a �larger than life� Superstar. That would be something-a �Larger than Life� Chris Jericho boa.

WWE- Giving the devil his due, you are the first WWE Undisputed Champion, and the only man ever to beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the same night. But Buster Douglas was the first man to beat Mike Tyson, and nobody would ever call him �larger than life.� Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali for his title, and he isn�t exactly in that category either.
Jericho- But did either of those guys-or anybody-beat Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson on the same night? No. I beat the equivalent of Mike Tyson and Ali on the same night. The same night. Back to back, Straight through. Nobody has ever done that in their chosen field. That just shows my �larger than life� status and my abilities. Not only that, but I kept the Undisputed Championship for four months. I defended it every night against all comers. I won honorably. I won fairly and squarely. Nobody else has done that. And probably, nobody ever will. That�s like an eternity these days. It was four months, man. Four months of babies laughing and bird singing. Four months of ambrosia and popcorn.

WWE- How do the other Superstars treat you since you transcended the sport to become �larger than life�? Are they resentful of you? Do they have �larger than life� envy?
Jericho- A lot f guys are scared to talk to me. I come to the arena, and nobody talks to me. I change by myself; I eat by myself. Nobody talks to me at all. When I sit down at a table to eat lunch, there�s so much respect and awe of me that others get up and leave the table. That�s just due to their being envious of me. They�re in awe of me, and I can understand that as well. That�s just part of being a great man. If I have to spend my time on my own because people are too scared to talk to me, that�s just a burden I will have to bear. Sooner or later, they�ll get up enough courage to come up and say a few words to me. It�s the burden of greatness, but it�s what it takes to be �larger than life.� Nobody else can possibly understand that.

WWE- Do you require that others genuflect in your presence?
Jericho- They all want to.; I can see it in their eyes. Again, they�re too scared to get close to me. I think another meaning for the word �genuflect� is giving me the finger, because that happens quite often. But that�s just another tribute to me for beating Austin. It�s like they�re saying, �Hey, you beat the guy who gives the finger!� They�re also telling me I�m No. 1- with both hands no less.

WWE- Do chicks dig a man who is �larger than life�?
Jericho- Of course they do, man. Or so I�ve heard. I�ve never actually talked to them. Unless I find a similarly �larger than life� female, I�d just be demeaning myself and my status. I do find that the women in the crowd always point at me and chant, �You! You! You!� At least I think so. The acoustics in the arenas make it sound kind of like, �Boo! Boo! Boo!� But that can�t be the case.

WWE- What kind of transcendent figure has a red ponytail? Larry Bird would never have worn a red ponytail.
Jericho- We�ve already discussed that Larry Bird isn�t �larger than life.� But it�s a little-known fact that under his helmet, Wayne Gretzky actually had a red ponytail. It�s funny-my ponytail is just like Don King�s hair. The morning after I won the Undisputed Championship, I woke up and looked in the mirror and the red ponytail was there. It was bestowed upon me from a higher power. It�s like my own stigmata. It�s a gift, a sign of my greatness.

WWE- Do people who are �larger than life� get into movies for half-price, like senior citizens?
Jericho- No, but I can get a 39 cent Big Mac on Tuesdays. So that�s not bad.

WWE- Is there a secret handshake for someone of your status?
Jericho- Yes, but it�s something that�s shared between the Freemasons and myself. I can�t share that with you, otherwise I�d have to kill you.

WWE- Short of beating you, how can someone reach that transcendental status you�ve achieved?
Jericho- that�s the thing-you can�t! I�m the last of my breed. I�m the last �larger than life� figure ever in this business. There�s never going to be someone who can win two world championships on the same night. What are you going to do now, win the WWE Undisputed Championship and then go win the OVW Championship? It just doesn�t have the same ring to it. It doesn�t transcend the ordinary.
There will probably never be another like me again, and that�s another reason I should be revered as a truly special person. I should be canonized. I should be knighted. I should be called Sir Saint Chris Jericho. I might go talk to Paul McCartney and see how he got his knighthood. Sir Saint Chris Jericho. That�s perfect. I like that.

WWE- Who�s the greatest �larger than life� figure ever to come from Canada, you Wayne Gretzky, or William Shatner?
Jericho- Billy Shatner- he and I go way back. I�d have to say out of all of them, it�s hard to compete with Captain Kirk, but it�s harder to compete with Chris Jericho. So it�s probably me. Me, Shatner, or Michael J. Fox? It�s definitely me.

credit: WWE magazine (August 2002 Issue)

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