Chris Jericho: If There Was No AEW, I Don’t Know If I’d Still Be Wrestling

Chris Jericho turned 51 on Tuesday and is still going strong in AEW, filling a variety of roles for the company.

Jericho remains a focal point on television as the leader of the Inner Circle and taking part in major pay-per-view matches. He also chips in behind the commentary desk on AEW Rampage and has been heralded for giving advice backstage, whether it to wrestlers or Tony Khan.

Speaking to Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media podcast, Jericho discussed why he could see himself doing commentary even after his in-ring career is over.

“The plan was for me to be a guest commentator that week and I said, ‘instead of just doing it for the week, I’ll do it the whole time and you have me locked in.’ It worked out good. Tony Schiavone and I had great chemistry, it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and took a real Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura mindset towards it. Tony Khan kind of put it in his library to keep it for later and when Rampage came up he said, ‘I want you to do commentary for Rampage.’ ‘That’s great, sure. I love it.’ It was something I would probably transition to. I have fun with it and enjoy that side of things. I like being on camera. Behind the scenes, I like giving advice and that sort of thing. Being a producer or agent or coach as we call them, I don’t know if I could do that well. I don’t know if I can really explain ideas. I like helping, but I like being on camera,” he said.

Jericho continued by explaining how he’s able to keep going strong despite turning 51 on Tuesday.

“[I’m 51 years old], I don’t feel it. I’m still contributing at the highest of levels. I was never the fastest wrestler or the most high flying, I can still do the stuff I always did, but now it’s the storylines and promos and keeping things interesting and moving forward. My demos and ratings are always near the top, thanks to everyone watching, but I think it’s because I keep it interesting. You can’t teach experience. If there was no AEW, I don’t know if I’d still be wrestling but because there is, it’s exciting for me, I love being a part of it, I love working here. I love showing up for work every week and I think that goes a long way. If you are satisfied mentally and creatively, that makes the physical go a lot longer. When you start feeling stifled and getting angry and feel like you’re not going what you want to be doing, the physical gets worse. Those two combined is keeping me excited and enjoying what I’m doing. I feel great, I have zero injuries, there’s no reason to not continue going,” he said.

Jericho is to lead the Inner Circle of Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana & Ortiz against The Men of the Year (Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page), Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Dan Lambert at AEW Full Gear.

Elsewhere during the interview, Jericho discussed the fine line between getting heat in a promo and making people uncomfortable. You can find his full comments by clicking here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.