The Shining Wizards Podcast sent out the following:
Recently the Shining Wizards Podcast spoke with Chris Jericho. Here are some highlights:
On if he still gets nervous before he performs, either in the ring or on the stage with Fozzy: Nervous in a good way. I’m absolutely nervous if I’m going to have a good set, nervous if the people are going to go nuts and that everything is going to work out the way you want it to. I think the day when you don’t feel that (nervousness) is the day where you need to step back and move on to the next thing because it’s not easy. I don’t care if you’ve had 3,000 matches or 3,000 shows under your belt, you just never know what’s going to happen. There’s nothing better than having a great gig or a great match and there’s nothing worse than having a bad one. I’m not nervous where it’s like “oh my gosh what am I going to do?” but nervous in that I want it all to come off good and people leaving saying “holy smokes that was one of the best things we’ve ever seen.” And that’s always my goal, no matter what it is.
On whether it’s inherent that wrestlers to want to perform in other genres of entertainment: I don’t think it has anything to do with pro wrestling. I think it’s either your an entertainer or you aren’t. Do I consider myself a wrestler? No. I consider myself an entertainer and have since I was 19 years old. Anything that falls within that umbrella that I think I can do, I’m going to try it. I think that’s the same with anybody, whether it’s Rock, Foley or Austin. I play the part of a wrestler and I enjoy that, and now I’m playing the part of a singer and I enjoy that. If you’re an entertainer and a performer, you like to do different roles, and that’s the way I’ve always looked at things.
On his success and trials in both wrestling and music: You do need a little bit of luck, but it’s all hard work, dedication, sacrifice and passion. You have to believe in what you’re doing. You have to know that sometimes it’s going to be roses and sometimes it’s going to be crap. It’s like that with wrestling when I first started and to wrestling now even. It’s funny because sometimes we’ll do a Fozzy show and you get 100 people there and people say how can you work in front of 100 people with Fozzy and you just came from working in front of thousands with WWE. Well, you know, not all WWE shows are sold out either. You can go to Greenville, South Carolina on a Saturday and have 1,500 people in a 20,000 seat arena and then you have WrestleMania that’s got a sold out 70,000 stadium crowd. It’s the same with Fozzy. Sometimes it’s not a good show or a good crowd. One week we are playing for 100 people then the next week we’re playing for 80,000 people on the main stage.
His favorite match: The favorite match that I’ve seen was Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker part one at WrestleMania. I think that’s the best match I’ve ever seen in my life.
On the best match he’s ever had: It’s hard. It varies. Again, gun to the head, it’s probably Jericho vs (Shawn) Michaels at No Mercy, ladder match for the World title. And it’s not just because the match itself, which I think is the best ladder match of all time, but because of the circumstances surrounding it and the circumstances that got us there. We had a seven month amazing angle which was one of the greatest of all time in the WWE that was supposed to be a one show only feud but just organically grew into this amazing piece of storytelling that culminated in a ladder match for the World title, which neither one of us were ever supposed to have when the whole thing started. So it was a really cool moment to show what you can do with the right storyline and with the right performers.
For more with Chris Jericho, including Fozzy’s new release “Lights Go Out” and their forthcoming album, the NHL playoffs, and more, visit www.shiningwizards.com and listen to Episode 148: Wizards Are JERICHO. The Shining Wizards Podcast is hosted by Tony, Kevin, Matt, and Eddie, and is available on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, AudioBoo, Geek Life Radio, Clutch and Wiggle Entertainment, Marks 4 Life, and the Shining Wizards Network (www.shiningwizardsnetwork.com).
