– Chris Jericho recently spoke to Brian Fritz of Fanhouse.com. Here are a few highlights:
What’s your thoughts about the future of the wrestling business because it’s changed so much over the last decade. The WWE isn’t going anywhere but some of their numbers are down. With TNA, we don’t know what the future is going to be. Wrestling seems to be dying over in Japan. What’s your thoughts about the future of the industry?
It’s a very star-driven business. It always has been and always will be and there’s always transition phases. They kind of got painted into the corner over the years when Vince took over the territories and had all the best of the best but he didn’t like small guys. So there were a lot of small guys who were doing more high-impact work that had to go to other places. Maybe Stampede (Wrestling) or Japan or Mexico or England or Germany. And there’s a whole generation of guys who did that that ended off with guys in my generation. And then when those guys were all done, then where do you find guys? Then suddenly, instead of guys with nine years experience before they go to the WWE like me, you have guys with two years experience or one year experience or no experience. You can’t teach experience. That’s the difference. So the business has changed.
I’m not one of those guys who sits back and goes ‘it was a lot better in my day,’ it’s just the way it is. I think the bell curve of a five-star match even five years ago will change to where a five-star match now or a year from now or five years from now might have only been a three-star match a couple of years ago because the experience level has gone down. The quality will go down. There’s always going to be somebody that’s better than the last. There’s always going to be that next Cena that just connects like Rock or (Steve) Austin connected. Or like Jericho connected. Not that I’m at the level of those two guys, but you know what I mean. There’s always going to be somebody that figures out what to do. And there’s going to be natural athletes.
One of the smart things and one of the interesting things are these second- or third-generation guys that come out, because those guys have true respect for the business. They might not have experience working but they have experience being around the business and learning it and studying it. Wrestling is always going to be around. WWE is always going to be around. It’s woven itself into the pop-culture fabric at this point. And it’s going to twist and turn and change just like the NHL has or football has or music has. Who’s the next band that’s going to be playing stadiums 10 years from now? There isn’t one. It’s scary. It’s just the way the world has changed. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens. But there’s always going to be people who come out there and connect with the crowd and draw money. That’s just the way the world works.
How much longer do you think it’s going to be where Vince McMahon calls all the shots like he has for so many years?
Well, I think what Vince is going to do right now is give up some of the legwork, watching ‘Raw’ from gorilla and all that sort of stuff. But Vince will always have the last word until the day he dies. I guarantee that. He’s not the type of person that’s going to be able to go and sit at home and watch the show without having the final say. He’ll be more influenced by certain people. He’ll give up some of the lighter work I’m sure. Vince McMahon is a genius. He is a bona fide genius and his specialty is the wrestling business. And when the day comes when Vince does not have the final say and doesn’t have any answers as to what is going on, which will be the day he dies, that’s when I think the business is going to be in a little bit of trouble because he’s a visionary. You can copy those visions but you can’t have them on your own and not just anybody can do that. You can’t just appoint someone and say ‘you’re the next guy that’s a genius.’ Vince is one of a kind and that’s why he’s killed every other promotion and that’s why everything he does wrestling-wise turns to gold.
I mean, the latest example is The Nexus invasion. If you would have told me that they were going to take these eight guys that no one’s ever heard of and make them into the hottest heels and the hottest storyline in the company, anybody would have said no way. You would have said it, but he did it. He saw what could happen and it worked. It was huge. I thought it was a great summer. I thought that Nexus angle, the original one, was amazing. So, once again, even Vince in his mid-60s is coming up with these great ideas where you go ‘wow!’ Who would have thought of that and who would have taken a chance to even try it? I think the key to the WWE’s ebb and flow is Vince, and when Vince is gone it will be very, very interesting to see what happens.
Whenever that day does come, it’s assumed that Stephanie (McMahon) and Triple H (her husband) will be the people running the company. Do you think there would be major changes of how they look at the business and how they do things creatively from what we see now?
I don’t think so. Obviously, they’ve been taught by Vince and been groomed by Vince since they were very young, especially Stephanie but Hunter too. He came there in 1995 or whatever it is. But I think you’ll see when that happens that Shawn Michaels will have more influence, Undertaker, guys like that, even myself. I could work in the WWE until I’m 65 years old if I want to. I have never been asked but I think I could. I think I have the kind of reputation. Guys like Edge as well. But once again, it gets diluted. Vince is the boss. Not Stephanie. Not Triple H. It’s not Undertaker. Not Shawn Michaels. When Vince goes, then let’s talk to Stephanie and then let’s talk with Triple H. Then suddenly you have two bosses. Or maybe John Laurinaitis is involved and it becomes more of a committee thing.
Vince is the boss, and when you have one boss that everyone trusts … Sure, he’s crazy. We’re all crazy. There’s days when he comes up with ideas that are horrible. But he’s still Vince and his track record speaks for itself and you have to trust everything that he goes for because most of the time his instincts are right. And everyone knows who to go to when you have a question. Even if he says no to something when you know it will work, if he says no then you’re done. That’s it. So when he leaves, I think the power will be spread out a little more. I think that would be a big difference.
