Chris Jericho spoke with Brian Fritz of BetweenTheRopes.com. Below are some highlights:
His latest run in the WWE:
“The Bray Wyatt cage match in Baltimore and then the Randy Orton – Night of Champions match in Nashville I thought were two… whatever a five star match is. Two really really really good matches that I would put on my list of all-time favorites. And that was good to know because as the years go by, I feel just as good as I ever did. When I go back I’m mentally prepared and I think I still work up to a level I set for myself. But when you go out there and actually do some of those things and actually get the feedback from the live audience that you know you can get and from the critics.
“The fact that my last match was the best match on the pay-per-view against Randy Orton, I take great pride in that. And if I never work again, I know I’ll always have that. It’s still cool to contribute at the highest level and the day — and Brian, I’m not exaggerating about this — the day I feel I can’t compete at the highest level I set for myself and can’t steal the show, I will not do it again. Throw it on the record, I’m the one guy who can say that. I’m sure Shawn Michaels could say that too. You will not see me in the ring again as a parody of myself or anything other than the absolute best and can go toe-to-toe with anybody else on the roster.”
His relationship with Vince McMahon:
“I think Vince sees a lot of himself in me. I’m a rebel. I do things the way I see fit but I do it for the good of the company. I’m a company man through and through. I’ve wrestled for nobody — I haven’t taken a bump in any other ring other than a WWE ring since 1999 when I started working for Vince — and I never will. I won’t go back to Japan for a tour or go work here or go work there. Not interested in it. If I’m going to be wrestling, it for Vince McMahon and Vince McMahon only. And he knows that I think he respects that. He also knows I’m not a ‘yes’ man. I don’t have that in me. I have to tell him how I feel. I have to tell him why I think this is better and I can tell him sometimes he’s wrong. Nobody likes to hear that, especially a guy in his position but I think I can do it in more of a deliberate way, more of an ambassadorial way, but I don’t have that in me and I don’t think he wants that.”
His thoughts on Dean Ambrose:
“I saw Dean when he first started and there was something different about him. He has that Jeff Hardy ‘X’ factor. There’s just something about him that you can’t push on somebody. You can teach them how to take a bump, give them a look, give them wins but certain guys have a certain something about them that you know is going to take them to the next level no matter what. Dean definitely has that and in my opinion — I’m not the god of everything but I have a pretty good track record of picking guys — I think he’s the closest that they have right now to being the next face of the WWE. I don’t think that’s as important now with the Network and less emphasis on pay-per-views and that sort of thing. But as far as a guy who can come in there as the top babyface, I think Dean’s your best best right now.”
