Chris Jericho Recalls Vince McMahon Helping Him Avoid An Arrest Overseas
Currently on tour with his band Fozzy, Chris Jericho stopped by Orlando's 101.1 WJRR for a Q&A. While Jericho talked mostly about his influences in music and his latest Fozzy album, Jericho also discussed his wrestling career. Jericho defeated Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship this past summer, and also made a surprise appearance at All In. When asked about his wrestling schedule, Jericho said he simply doesn't have enough time for it.
"Just kind of pop-ins. I'm doing some stuff in Japan this year and that's about it," said Jericho. "There's been so much touring with Fozzy that I haven't had the time nor desire to do wrestling stuff. Nor could I, even if I wanted to because the Judas record was so successful we've be touring basically nonstop since May of last year. So I really don't really have that much time to do more than just popping in-and-out, here and there. Like I said, Japan has kind of been the most regular and I've only been there, twice? I'll end up having five matches, or six matches because we're doing the cruise. I think that's about it. That's all I'll have time for."
Jericho's last WWE appearance was at the Greatest Royal Rumble in April, where he was the last participant to enter the 50-man Rumble match. While many have questioned whether or not Vince McMahon was supportive of his appearances at NJPW, his relationship with McMahon appears to be fine as Jericho said that he has nothing but respect for him.
"Obviously a very intimidating guy, just by all the stuff he has accomplished, but great guy though," Jericho said. "Really cool guy. Loves AC/DC, that's his favorite band. Anybody that loves AC/DC is cool automatically. Just a good guy and very driven, very intense. Intimidating, but also he's great to work for. I really enjoy throwing ideas around with each other, butting heads in a creative way. He's the boss. You know he's the boss, but he doesn't rule with an iron fist. He doesn't have to because he has the respect of everybody that works for him.
To prove his point that McMahon has his back, Jericho told a story about a WWE event in Brazil where Jericho was about the be arrested, but McMahon made sure to get him out of the country quickly.
"About six, seven years ago I kicked a flag in Brazil which is a felony, which no one told us beforehand," Jericho explained. "Like, it's really bad. Long story short, the army wanted me arrested and taken to the jungle prison. He was really mad. Very furious. He actually suspended me for it. But in the meantime he got me out of there within hours. He's like 'you're getting out of there now.' So we went straight to the airport, got on the plane and took off and went to some other country. We weren't supposed to leave until the next day and he said 'you're leaving now.'"
Chris Jericho's Rock' N' Wrestling Rager At Sea is set to take place at the end of this month and features wrestlers from NJPW and ROH and will also have appearances from wrestling legends and Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor. You can listen to WJRR's entire Q&A with Jericho above and more information on Jericho's cruise here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 101.1 WJRR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.