In a recent interview with TV Insider, Chris Jericho discussed working with HOOK on AEW programming, the atmosphere of WWE WrestleMania and AEW All In, and more.
Jericho will defend the FTW Championship against HOOK this Sunday at AEW All In London 2024 at Wembley Stadium.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the evolution of his Learning Tree character: “Every time I switch up characters it’s because I know it’s time. There was some weird internet vitriol of angry people yelling at me to retire. I thought, “Why don’t I embrace that and lean into it?” For those who know, you know. It made those people mad. Others thought it was clever. That lasted about two weeks and it became this new character. People got into the story we were telling. It became another era in Jericho. It has worked quite well. I was very sarcastic in the beginning with a certain cadence I was speaking. Then I changed it again to be more serious. Characters are the most important thing in wrestling as are stories. I think the HOOK storyline that has been going on for the last six months has been a great one with twists and turns.”
On if there are any movie or TV character’s he’s drawing inspiration from: “There were a few different ways I was playing it at first. There were a couple of characters I was channeling, but I can’t recall right now what they were. At first, I just gave facts, was sarcastic, and was this know-it-all character. The accusation was I was this know-it-all who was just stealing TV time and burying everyone and being this awful behind-the-scenes person, which has never been the case. I think you can ask anyone in AEW about how much I’ve done or tried to do. It was almost something from a Christopher Guest mockumentary or something like that. I enjoyed creating the persona and laughing at my own jokes and those kinds of things. This very annoying type of person. You know those types of people that are over-the-top and have an answer for everything even though they don’t know what they are talking about. It was probably just different blowhard people that you meet. ”
On his acting work: “It has been great. I have another movie called Dark Match in the can. A horror movie. I did a show You’re My Hero in Canada, which is more of a drama. A lot more offers on the tables for those parts and roles. I’m all for it. It seems now more are coming, which is how it goes. If doing less wrestling and more acing is the way to go for a while, I’ll explore that too. Even in AEW, it’s not like I’m wrestling every week. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not on every show. Maybe 20-25 matches a year.
“There is plenty of time to do other things that come my way. AEW is a great space for that. Tony Khan does allow you to do outside things. When they come up if I need a Wednesday off, I take it. It’s fairly easy because we have such a huge and talented roster. When AEW started, it was built on my back and others. Then we were able to build up different guys. So if I’m out for a month or two, it’s not like there is this gaping hole as far as main event talent. Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, and others, it’s cool for me not to have to worry and have guys who are part of a great team step up.”
On comparing the atmosphere of WrestleMania to All In: “I think working in a stadium is a whole different animal. It’s this breathing entity. It’s exciting. We’re doing a second stadium show in a calendar year that will draw 50 to 60,000 people That’s a big deal to do with a company five years old. I’m proud of that fact. I love wrestling in the UK. When you talk about someone having a breakout moment, a lot of times it’s one specific moment and another time it’s a coming-of-age process. I think HOOK has done that in the last six months. I’m proud that we were able to make this story go to Wembley.
“It was the same with Kevin Owens and what we wanted to do at WrestleMania…I just think the story was well done. Here we are. We did it. It’s a hot angle and fun and still have another piece of the puzzle with me versus Tommy Billington on Dynamite. HOOK versus Big Bill. Then we’re in Wembley. It will unfold into something very exciting. This is the big finale. You’ll have to see where it goes. That’s what wrestling is all about. Telling great stories and leaving people wondering what will happen next. I’m proud of what HOOK has been able to do, and the story as a whole, and proud of what we are going to put together this Sunday.“
