New Japan Pro-Wrestling just put up a great interview with Chris Jericho that was conducted after he defended his Intercontinental Championship against EVIL. In it, he discussed not wanting to face Naito at Wrestle Kingdom, his match, and why EVIL might be a top guy in the future.
His thoughts on EVIL:
I’ve never been in a match with EVIL before. I think the fact that the match was so great; the quality, the fighting spirit, the intensity, the strong style. I think EVIL was very good. He’s got a great character, a great gimmick and I really enjoyed working with him. I think it’s the best match EVIL has ever had – a classic match, a must-see match. That makes it 1 for him and 557 for me, which is just a result of the experience that I have in comparison to EVIL. I really enjoyed it. He’s a very good wrestler here in Japan and I think he learned a lot from me last night. He almost won once or twice, which is surprising for me and good for him. But he didn’t win. I won, just like I said I would.
Who He’d Rather Face In NJPW Rather Than Naito:
Why does Naito get a rematch? Why? What does he do? He beat Zack Sabre Jr. You know, ZSJ is a great technical wrestler, but I can break him in two like a branch. I beat Naito. I beat EVIL. To me, you don’t just get to have a re-match just because you say so. When I lost the WWE title to John Cena, I didn’t just come back the next day and say, “I want a re-match”, it doesn’t work that way. I don’t care what NJPW says, I don’t care what the NJPW officials say, I don’t care what Harold Meij says – there’s not going to be a re-match! If they want to try to make the match, I’m not approving it and I’m not agreeing to it. Hey, Naito’s amazing, he’s one of the best wrestlers in NJPW but I already beat him, so now you have to think of other matches that Chris Jericho can have, maybe versus Suzuki or Ibushi or Okada. Tanahashi even. These are the guys I’m looking at.
On doing a Samson Clutch:
It’s always a tribute to him…Fuyuki was a big Sempai for me and a big influence. When I was working for WAR in ‘94 and ’95, I was in Fuyuki-Gun with Jado and Gedo. He spoke no English but was very smart psychologically as a bad guy, as a heel. I learned a lot from him both about the psychology of wrestling and about Japanese wrestling. When we were having 8-man matches against Heisei Ishingun, 4 New Japan guys versus 4 WAR guys, 7 Japanese, 1 gaijin. I was only listening, not only learning Japanese but learning wrestling movement and always thinking. He was a very good mentor and I was sad when he died…He was a very quiet guy, he came off as almost arrogant like intimidating, but I think maybe he was just shy, quiet but a very smart guy.
If EVIL Can Be A Top Guy:
I don’t rate and think of performers that way, everyone is unique and different. If you say “Oh EVIL’s like this guy, or that guy” then it’s usually not a good thing. I think he’s got a great character. Obviously, it’s a little bit of an Undertaker theme, but it’s an original take on that. In the ring, I don’t know… it’s hard to compare… He’s a very Strong-Style type of wrestler, but he’s fast. I just really think that if you put him in comparison with Okada, Kenny or Tanahashi; he’s different from those guys and I think that’s one of the reasons he has a chance to be a real top guy in NJPW because he’s unique, but he’s very good. He’s a very skilled wrestler; he has an exciting Strong Style, he’s kind of a throwback to Nagata and Choshu, that sort of style. He’s not really a high-flyer, but he can do anything that he needs to do to stand out. He’s a unique performer.
Make sure to check out the full interview for even more.
