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Chris Jericho appeared as a guest on Fight Network Radio on October 23rd to chat about the recent release of his autobiography, A Lion‘s Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Fight Network Radio can be heard every Monday through Friday at 3pm EST on Hardcore Sports Radio (Sirius Channel 186) and online at www.hardcoresportsradio.com and www.TheFightNetwork.com. The following is a transcript from that interview:
John Pollock (Producer/Co-host, Fight Network Radio): And now, I want to share a bit of a personal story. You know, you always remember your first. My first time came when I was nineteen years old. It lasted about ten minutes - I was a bit shaky, a little nervous. And it took place in the back of a toy store, of all places, in Mississauga, Ontario. Yes, my first interview was with our guest at this time - he has recently authored A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Ladies and gentleman, it is a pleasure to welcome to Fight Network Radio, Chris Jericho. Chris how are you doing today?
Chris Jericho: I’m doing good, man, I’m doing good. And I was also your first in another way as well, but we won’t get into that on this channel.
Pollock: That’s in the follow-up book.
Jericho (Laughs): Yeah, exactly. That’s for a different demographic as well. I heard the very end when they put me on the air, where you said there were a glut of wrestling books and this one was a must-read. Which book were you talking about?
Pollock: Ah, I was actually chatting about your book. I prefaced it saying that if I said it on the air with you here, you would assume I’m just kissing ass here. But honestly, Chris, I read this book and it right now is at the top of the list. And I’ve read Tom Billington’s book, read Pain and Passion, the Foley books … this one is right up there, I thought you did a bang-up job on this book.
Jericho: Well, I appreciate that, man, and that was my goal obviously at first. When you’re gonna do something like write a book, it’s a huge project, it’s something that took a lot of time. But I knew with the experiences that I had and with the writing skills that I had that I could do a good one. I want to take it to the next level, though, and my goal is to try and knock Foley’s Have a Nice Day off the mountain as the best wrestling book of all-time. So, whether that happens or not, it’s always nice to hear that you’re in that category, and that was my goal right from the start.
Pollock: Now, I think you definitely have a spot right up there on the mountaintop. At this point, Chris, you’ve been just about everywhere in the last week or so. Are you sick of media interviews yet, or are you still a few weeks away from that point?
Jericho: No, they’re just getting started, basically. Well, I started kind of getting some last week. This week, yesterday and today, has just been crazy, and it continues on until November 16th. My last two signings are actually in Toronto and Winnipeg, which is great. And, I mean, I never get sick of media, because if you work as hard as I have on a project like this … I mean, my job is to write the best possible book I can. And you want people to like it, and you want people to read it. And I’m a press whore - I’m going to promote it everywhere I can, because I want people to know that it’s out there so they can make the decision whether or not they want to check it out. But, like I said, it’s not something that I’m kind of half-assed about. I enjoyed this project, people have been digging it, and I want to take it to the streets, so to speak. So, I’m not sick of it, and I’m happy to talk to anybody. I just did an interview with a fourteen-year-old kid that has his own website. And yesterday I did VH1 … national cable news shows, all the way down to a fourteen-year old kid’s website. So, whatever it takes. I’ll come to your birthday party and do an interview for a hot dog and a glass of orange juice, similar to the match that I had in 1991 when I wrestled at a kid’s birthday party for the same payoff. No ketchup or mustard even!
Pollock: Ah, man, that’s not worth it! You gotta have at least some mustard in there. Another question I wanted to ask you, Chris, I know you mentioned the Foley template, but were there any other wrestling books that sort of motivated you to write your own? Because I know there’s a ton of guys out there who may have read Hulk Hogan’s book and thought right away, Gee, I could even do that. Was there one particular book outside of Foley’s or was that kind of the path you wanted to follow there?
Jericho: Well, I didn’t limit my book to wrestling books. Like I said, I knew wrestling fans would dig this book because of the stories that are involved. And I knew Jericho fans would dig it, because … well, it’s me. But I wanted to take this to the next level - What can I do to make this a book that anybody might want to read, and that anybody can take something from? There was a book called One Train Later by Andy Summers of The Police that he wrote that came out last year that was just a tremendous … such a well-written book, and very funny and very sarcastic. I wanted to kind of do a combination of One Train Later and Have a Nice Day, in that I had so many experiences, not only in the ring, but more importantly, outside of the ring - what led me to these places? What led me to be held up on the side of the road at gunpoint in Mexico City, or be threatened with getting my finger chopped off by the Yakuza in Tokyo, Japan, or almost getting into a fight with an ex-convict in Tennessee over a dirty dish? Like all these things … pooping my pants on a plane in Mexico - yes, the mighty Chris Jericho pooped his pants! Even, you know, losing my virginity in thirteen seconds to a super-hot beer model. Like, all of these things are part of my life, and they happened as a result of wrestling - but not in the wrestling ring. So, I wanted to take it beyond just the typical biography of, you know, I was born in 1970 … and then I gave him a hiptoss and a bodyslam, and boy, howdy, was it exciting! That was all there, but I wanted to tell more of the story of what led me to my ultimate dream of making it to the WWE.
Pollock: And it’s funny how you mentioned that, because there were a number of times in the book where I almost had to pause and realize that what he is discussing … wrestling really is a backdrop for this story, and really I find the story mainly is about this destination that’s the WWE. But really, almost any destination, it’s kind of the journey that’s the most entertaining part of it that you’re telling in this book.
Jericho: I mean, that’s a great point. A lot of people say, “Why didn’t you include your WWE experiences?” Well, that’s a whole other book in itself. But the thing that was so cool about my career and you don’t even realize it, but I’ve been around for almost two decades now, and I have so many things that happened to me over those years and so many reasons why I should have given up on this dream that I set for myself when I was basically eight years old in that I was going to be a WWE wrestler. And the fact that I was five-foot-eleven and at the time one-hundred and ninety pounds, and living in Winnipeg, Canada … how was I gonna do that? I wasn’t sure how I was gonna do it, I just do that I was gonna do it, and this was the destination - like you said, the journey is so interesting and so unique, and I don’t think another wrestler will ever be able to tell the story of how he got to the top this way, because it’s just not like that anymore. So … it’s actually ironic that Bret’s book came out around the same time as mine, because I think he and I are the last two guys that can write a story like this and tell the tale of how we ascended to the top of the business in such an internationally erratic way.
Pollock: Yeah, you mentioned that with Bret’s book coming out at the same time, it’s almost wrestling’s version of Kanye vs. 50 here. Was your publishing company … did they specifically target your book to be coming out at the same time as Bret’s, or was it just a coincidence?
Jericho: Actually … that’s a great analogy, Kanye vs. 50.
Pollock (Laughs): Hopefully, you’ll turn out to be Kanye.
Jericho: I’m Kanye, of course. But, yeah, actually, our publishing date was set right when I got the deal, about two weeks after I left the WWE. They decided that October of ‘07 was going to be the date. And then about six months later we heard that Bret’s was coming out at the same time, and … to me, it’s like sometimes when you go to the movies, Spiderman comes out and Pirates of the Caribbean comes out, and there’s more than enough interest in both of our careers and in both of our businesses/sports that … I mean, I think that people are more importantly more interested by just a good tale. And like I said, I think it was more of a coincidence than anything, because Bret’s been working on his book for years and years and years. So, I think that it’s just one of those cool coincidences that happened. And also, like I said, these are the last two books that can be written by guys like us. So, enjoy it while you can, because it’s not going to happen again for a long time - if ever.
Pollock: And, earlier I made a joke about the Hulk Hogan book, and for those who haven’t read it … I mean, it’s a great piece of fiction if that’s what you’re looking for. And I wanted to ask you, Chris, because it seems like such a diametrically opposed view where a lot of these older guys who will put out wrestling books, it’s almost like … it’s just inherent that they have to exaggerate and embellish certain facts and stuff from the past, whereas this generation I’ve found - whether it be your book or from talking to other guys like Adam Copeland - it’s almost like you guys take pride in being very meticulous and being accurate, and just wondered where this change came, where wrestlers … it was almost like a line in the sand between workers and the guys who just wanted to tell history as it was.
Jericho: You know, I wanted to keep the book as honest as possible, even to … where, you know, when I lived in Hamburg, Germany, I knew there was this Nazi bunker that was basically across the street from where I lived, and over the years it had been transformed into my head as being Hitler’s bunker. So, I went and Googled it and just looked up Nazi bunkers in Hamburg, and found the exact one and found that it wasn’t Hitler’s bunker, but it was called the Hafen bunker - it was a Nazi bunker, Hitler was there, he hung out there. But I wanted to be as detailed as possible, because if you tell one thing that’s not true to your knowledge, then you lose all the credibility for the things that you tell that are true. And that goes throughout my career - I was looking at dates and how to spell guys’ names to find out where these guys were from, for guys like Endio Guahardo in Germany. No one’s ever heard of this guy, but a guy like William Regal worked with him, or Fit Finlay worked with him, and these guys know this guy. So, if I get that one detail wrong and those guys read it, well then, it’s bullshit, or … you know, sorry for my language …
Pollock: It’s Sirius Satellite Radio, you can say anything you want.
Jericho (Jokingly): Yeah, come on! But the point is, I wanted to keep it as real as possible and as organic as possible. I didn’t sit down with any agendas and say, I want to talk about this, this, and this. All I did was sit down with a notepad and say, Okay, I want to think of a hundred things that happened to me in Mexico that I think would be interesting. Now a hundred things in Japan … a hundred things in Germany … a hundred things in WCW … a hundred things from in childhood … a hundred things in training. And put all those in chronological order and just start writing. And that’s basically how it came out. And, I think it is very honest, because I’m just a kid and a fan who had a dream and followed it and did it. And there was a hundred reasons why I should have quit, basically on a yearly basis. But the only reason why I didn’t quit was because it just wasn’t an option for me. So, I really had nothing to prove, because in the end, I won. I made it to WWE, I became the Undisputed Champion - I did everything I set out to do and more. So, I can tell the story of how I lost my virginity in thirteen seconds. Or, I can tell the story of how every time I started in a new promotion my first match sucked - in every single one, even all the way up to WWE. I can tell these things and say I did Super Liger in ‘97, it was a bomb. It sucked. It was terrible. But, a lot of guys won’t admit to their failures because they have this wall set up. I have nothing to be ashamed of, because in the end, I won! That’s also why I don’t really bury any people, because there’s really no reason to. I mean, there’s a couple people who I think just deserved … just for the sake of the tale to be told … like these guys who were just out of control. But, in the end, it’s like, You guys did your thing and I did mine, and I came out on top, so I win. And I think that’s the overall point in the story, that in the end this dream was achieved.
Pollock: And I think Scott Hall had it coming in your book, so I think it was more than well-warranted.
Jericho: He really did … and I really didn’t dwell on it, I would just mention it, because it was a tough period with those guys just out of control. I’m sure that if Scott was asked, he might even admit that these guys were out of control, and Nash and Hall. But, like I said, Hogan was a complete jerk to me until the thing happened with Goldberg, where I met with Hogan, Goldberg, and Bischoff in the dressing room and explained my point of how Goldberg shouldn’t beat me in Nassau and not on Pay-Per-View. It’s a long story … but how he should spear me in the aisle way … he did, and then Hogan afterwards said, “You were right, I was wrong. You believed in it, you did it right, and it was great T.V.” And right before I went to the WWE, he said, “Can you take me with you?” And after that we became friends. And those guys know - I mean, Booker T was the same, and DDP, and Big Show, and Bischoff. All those guys just had different attitudes in WCW, because that was the mindset there. People are a product of their environment, and it was not a productive environment. And then all those guys, when I met them over the next few years, they were all completely different and changed. But for that point in time, these were the people that I met, and that’s why I told the story the way that I did.
Pollock: Now, I have to mention and give kudos to your publishing company, Grand Central Publishing. They have to be without question the most accommodating company I’ve ever dealt with. They went so far as to include suggested questions for Chris Jericho. And I’m sure an intern worked very hard here, so I want to give out one of their questions here to you that came in the press package: “Do you see yourself as a role model, Chris, to aspiring wrestlers, as you were once a young athlete in search of mentorship?”
Jericho: I would take that one step further: I don’t see myself as a role model just for wrestlers. I think as a role model to any young people, and not like as a person you should put up on a pedestal - which of course, you should, because, you know, I’m your first - but it’s one of those things where I think people who have a dream and who have a goal and just don’t know if they can do it … the only people who will tell you that you can’t do something are the ones who have failed. The ones who have made it will always tell you you can do it - I did it, you can do it. I think that’s one of those things that with the belief in myself, an iron will, a never-say-die belief that God wanted me to do this … that was the end of it. I was gonna do it - end of story. I think that’s something people can take, and … I’m not gonna say make me a role model for it, but take influence from that and appreciate the fact. Because everybody has a dream and people sometimes … you know, when I was leaving to go to wrestling school, the minister at my church took me up on stage and said, “This guy’s gonna become a wrestler”, and “We’re so proud of him”. People started laughing, because in 1990 me saying I was gonna be a wrestler … I might as well have said I wanted to be a sword-swallower, or a mime, or find the loch-ness monster. It seemed so preposterous. And people weren’t laughing to be malicious, but they were laughing out of pride and shock. I never forgot that. It drove me even further. You know, Screw these guys. I’m gonna shove it up their candy-asses someday and show them that they’re wrong. And that’s what I did. So I think it’s one of those things … you can take everything I went though … whether you like wrestling or you don’t, you can apply it to if you want to be a florist, or a street-paver, or a blacksmith, or whatever it is that you want to do, you can still use these principles, which is never give up on yourself, and if you believe in something that you can do and you really believe it, then you can do it. You can make it reality. And I think that’s the point of this book. And that’s the point of my entire attitude and lifestyle that I started when I was nineteen.
Pollock: Now, back to one of my questions. You’re a guy that along with The Rock, were able to incorporate comedy a lot and be main event-level performers. Do you think there’s a fine line between what a main event guy can get away with and still remain a draw and top and taken seriously by the audience? Because I think some guys have had a really difficult time using too much comedy on top.
Jericho: Well, I think there’s a certain aspect where you have to draw the line, where when you start the match and you’re in the ring the comedy needs to stop. There’s a few elements that you might want to use, but that’s where you have your credibility, is in the ring. I think outside the ring, it’s all about entertaining and connecting with the crowd. If not, you’re just a couple of guys in your underwear rolling around and doing little dance moves, basically. If you can connect with the crowd and make them care about you, and make them believe in what you’re doing, make them be entertained by you, and make them want to pay money to see you and buy a ticket to see you, that’s the battle. Wrestling for me has always been show business first, athleticism second. I took the athleticism very, very seriously. I took pride in the fact that I … whatever I was, as a worker - you want to say I was one of the best in the world or if you want to say I sucked. To me, I think I proved my point that I could actually take anybody that I was working with and have a good match with. And that’s because I had so many different ideas and thoughts and experiences from all these different countries, that by the time I got to the States I could think outside of the box, which a lot of the guys just don’t know how to do because they haven’t had that experience. Same thing goes with personality and charisma, and doing promos, and connecting with the crowd, and catchphrases, and the look, and everything - everything you do in front of the camera, people are watching. And you have to make them believe in what you’re doing, you have to make them care, and it’s like I said, this is show business. Same way that when I was fifteen years old, I loved David Lee Roth. He was my favorite. He was so cool, you know, all the stuff that he did - the entertainment, the kicks, the clothes, the costumes … I just saw Van Halen a week ago and I freaked out like I was fifteen again, because he’s still the king of all frontmen. And that’s what you want to be when you’re a wrestler, and that’s why I said I was the “party host” - this is a party, you’re the host, you want to make sure everybody has a great time and make sure everybody gets their money’s worth. I think that’s the most important thing about wrestling, and that’s why I think guys like The Rock … even Austin, he had a great comedic side to him. But when he was in the ring, that comedic side was gone. And you knew that. But you knew that you would be entertained by either side of Steve Austin, or either side of Chris Jericho, or either side of The Rock, or any of the guys that can really do that to the highest level.
Pollock: Okay, well, Chris I want to thank you for rocking this party today. This book honestly, I think it’s a must-read, I think even non-wrestling fans would really enjoy it. I finished this book and thought to myself, Man, I wish he had one more big run left in him, but I know how iron-clad those stips are when you lose a “You’re Fired Match”. So, Chris, I just want to say thank you for the career and you’ve given us, and a whole lot of wrestling fans … I know that one day … the tapes are out there.
Jericho: Well, I appreciate that, man. It’s actually the “Jerichoholics” are out there. Don’t copyright infringe on Christian Cage. But it’s one of those things … I think people are waiting for it and if I can just get the papers passed to the right people and get some legal codicils figured out …
Pollock: You never know.
Jericho: … maybe the firing will be over-ended. And then when I do finally make my return - whenever that may be - it’ll be the wrestling version of the Van Halen/Eddie Van Halen reunion, where it’s something that people have been waiting for so long that’s going to blow the doors off the damn roof.
Pollock: Last question, Chris: My first interview, you gave it a negative five out of ten, second was a three out of ten. I think I’m getting near a five after today.
Jericho: Now don’t get to high on yourself there, Junior. I think you’re about a four. Your mediocrity is still very, very gigantic, but if you keep it up and keep interviewing, maybe someday you can get to six. And, maybe - maybe - someday, once you interview Funaki …
Pollock: (Laughs)
Jericho: … if you can really get a good interview, maybe you can reach legendary status. Until then, you’ll always be my first time - but not my last, baby.
Pollock: Alright. And if I ever reach that vaunted status, I want you to show me the Scott Norton trick.
Jericho: Ooh, I don’t think you’ll be … Scott Norton arm wrestling trick … if you ever want to know it, come up and ask me, and maybe I’ll tell you. But if not, I’m still the arm-wrestling champion of Monterey. Read A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, available in fine book stores all around the country to find out exactly what I’m talking about.
Pollock: Awesome. Thanks so much for joining us, Chris. We’ll be talking to you real soon. Thanks a lot.
Jericho: Alright, and I look forward to it. See you later.
Pollock: Alright, everyone, that’s Chris Jericho. We’re all out of time. Excellent interview, my first there - Chris Jericho, right here on Fight Network Radio.
(Transcribed by Adam Wilcox)
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