Chris Jericho On What Will Happen With WWE NXT Once Vince McMahon Gets Involved With It

One of the #1 contender's for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, Chris Jericho, was a guest on this week's edition of Busted Open Radio. Jericho took some time to speak candidly when on the subject of NXT premiering on the USA Network live every Wednesday night this September. His belief is that Vince McMahon will now start altering NXT to be more like RAW and SmackDown each week.

"If it's another show on the USA Network – not on FS1, and not on the WWE Network. If it's an official, legitimate, nationwide cable show on the USA Network, do you think Vince McMahon is going to be involved in it? Of course he is!" Jericho exclaimed. "It's Vince McMahon; he is a genius. But here's the thing – I think the appeal of it is that it's its own little entity outside the WWE, and when Vince McMahon gets a hold of it and gets involved with it it is going to become another SmackDown and another RAW.

"I think you are going to see all three of those shows interacting with one another," Jericho continued. "I think it's going to be just another WWE show, so whatever the appeal is with NXT, whatever the specialness of it is is going to be changed to another RAW and another SmackDown. I think if you like RAW and SmackDown then you're going to like NXT on Wednesday nights. If you don't, then I don't think you're going to like NXT on Wednesday nights because there's no way that Vince McMahon is going to stay home and not be involved with it. That is what he does, so, great. I think it's another 2 hours of incredible WWE programming on Wednesday nights. If you love WWE then there's more for you to love, and if you don't, then I don't think it's going to make a difference."

For his budding company of All Elite Wrestling, Jericho thinks that their newness has created a "cool factor" that other companies don't currently have to use to their benefit. Jericho claims that the AEW roster never intended to go to war with WWE or other companies as they focus on their debut on TNT this October.

"You do have the cool factor in right now. Part of it is because we are brand new and it's always cool to have brand new, but we never came into this trying to be in a war or go to battle anybody. Obviously, we are all grown ups here. The very fact that we exist, the war begins," Jericho explained. "But I think the war started when Chris Jericho signed with AEW – I think that was the first real deal thing. I think that started a war in Vince McMahon's mind. I think he likes it, I think he thrives on it which, of course, he does because this is what he has done his whole life, and he wins every war he has been in. I told the guys in AEW, 'There is going to be a war'. Their response is that we don't want a war but I told them that it doesn't matter what you want, there's going to be one. I said, 'Let's have some fun with this'."

Jericho is overall hopeful and excited for the future of the pro wrestling business. He reflected on all of the positive changes that have come as a result of him signing with AEW in January.

"I think it's very exciting. It is exciting for the wrestling business, it's exciting for the guys, and Lord knows it's exciting for the WWE roster who all made huge raises as soon as I signed with AEW, which you're welcome for that, guys," Jericho said with a laugh. "But I think it gives you an alternative – not competition but an alternative. And listen, if you are an NXT fan, you don't have to go to the WWE Network to watch it. Now you can watch it every Wednesday night live, so what is the bad in this? We'll see how it shakes out. I think it's going to be a really cool year for the fans and the guys. I think it is going to be exciting just like it was in 1997 and 1998 in the height of the Monday Night Wars."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to Wrestling Inc.

Peter Bahi contributed to this article.