Chris Jericho comments on the criticism of his long-term storylines.
The former AEW World Champion is somewhat known for his lengthy programs in AEW. He is currently engaged in a feud with Ricky Starks; the two stars first crossed paths in December, and the story has been a consistent part of AEW TV ever since. They faced off on the January 4 episode of AEW Dynamite, and they will meet again at AEW Revolution.
Speaking with Casey Pratt of ABC7 News, Jericho discussed his rivalry with Starks and noted that the plan was always to stretch it to the Revolution pay-per-view. Jericho described how some fans will complain about whether a storyline is too long or short, but he believes that great stories require time for people to invest in them. He cited Titanic and saving Private Ryan as two examples.
“That’s one of the things, when we started the Ricky Starks story back at the end of December, the idea was always to make it all the way to Revolution. I like to tell long-term stories, and it makes me laugh sometimes when people bag on me for that,” Jericho said. “It’s like, well what’s the rush? If it’s too short of a story, people complain. If it’s too long of a story, people complain. To me, what is too long? As long as there’s a beginning, a middle and an end, it’s like, ‘Well, Titanic’s too long. Saving Private Ryan is too long.’ Well, both of their movies are two of the greatest of all time that won multiple awards. They’re three hours long, and you gotta invest in it. If you wanna go f-ck around on your phone, or if you wanna go to Chipotle in an hour, don’t watch those movies.”
Jericho then explained how he thought Starks could benefit from being involved in a long-term storyline so he could work on his character. He stated that he wanted to build Starks into a bigger star, and he’s confident that the former FTW Champion has learned a lot through the experience.”
“I think it’s the same with the Chris Jericho storyline,” he said. “So Ricky Starks is a guy that I thought, ‘Wow, he could really use some long-term storyline stuff.’ Working on his character, figuring out who he is as a performer, and wrestling-wise, he’s got it. He has a real connection with the crowd that I wanted to really expand upon. In the ring’s a different story. Outside of the ring, Ricky Starks, let’s build this guy. Let’s build him into a bigger star.
“Not just with this program. Let me show him some tricks, and more importantly, it’s like, you can lead the horse to water, but the horse has to drink it. Once the horse drinks it, he knows, ‘Okay, I can go to this pond and I can use these tricks.’ I think Ricky’s learning that. We had a great segment on Wednesday. I think he really learned a lot, and I think it’s been a great experience and a great story. It’s gonna be a great conclusion, or is it, at Revolution on Sunday.”
Jericho will face Peter Avalon on the March 1 episode of AEW Dynamite.
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