AEW's Chris Jericho Details His Plans For After Retirement

Chris Jericho premiered another episode of his Saturday Night Special this past weekend, and during the discussion, he revealed who his favorite opponent from the "Attitude Era" of WWE was – The Rock. Jericho explained that Rocky was such an exceptional talent on the microphone that it was hard to face up to him on the same level.

"Obviously my favorite opponent from the 'Attitude Era' was The Rock," Chris said. "We had great chemistry because that was one of the few guys that I could go toe-to-toe with him on the mic. The Rock was so great on the mic, he just buried everyone that he was in the ring with verbally. Which makes it so hard for people to think that the heel can beat you.

"I'm not saying the Rock did it on purpose, but he was just so f–king charismatic that it was hard to face up against him," Chris continued. "So, I could [stand up to him] and that's one of the reasons we had such good chemistry in the ring physically, but also as opponents. I was the ultimate heel, he was the ultimate babyface, and I thought we worked magic together. We probably would have done a lot more if he hadn't left to go be a big, famous movie star."

Chris took some time during the show to go in-depth about his future retirement from the ring. He mentioned how he was originally sowing the seeds to retire in 2015, however, the storylines with Kevin Owens as his best friend reinvigorated his love for wrestling and kept him around indefinitely.

"I was planning on retiring years earlier but I just started having fun again," Jericho explained. "It all started when I just did the house shows [with WWE] in 2015. That's when I thought, 'Oh, I'll probably just wind down and do house shows for a while.' Then I realized, yeah, these are fun [without] the pressure, not being on TV was amazing.

"And then I went back for one more little stint. I went back and it was actually supposed to be for a 3-month stint... In that 3-month span, I think I was only going to work until WrestleMania or whatever it was. I think Vince said, 'Just come back and do a run, we'll figure it out.' I think t was to do something with Ambrose, that's what it was.

"And I came back and I started having so much fun, and then I met Kevin Owens," Chris continued. "We had a great chemistry, we clicked right away, and I was like, 'This guy get it. He's a lot like me, like, he doesn't take things seriously but he takes his work seriously. He's not afraid to look himself look stupid if it's willing to get a reaction. That's when the whole Jericho/Owens best friends thing happened, and that's when I was like, 'This is awesome'.

Whenever the day finally does arrive for Jericho to hang up his boots, he has plans to become a regular commentator and consultant to AEW. He also looks forward to creating new media with his band, his podcast, and other outlets.

"I don't know when I'm going to retire. But when I do, I would love to continue being involved in commentary and being a consultant," Chris stated. "I don't want to be an Executive Vice President, I don't want to be a writer. I'd love to be a consultant. And obviously, [touring with] Fozzy, man. That's the best thing about being with Fozzy, we can do this until we're 77-years-old like The Stones. Also, I would continue doing stuff like Saturday Night Special, and Talk Is Jericho, and there's a lot of cool acting things coming up too. So, I will be entertaining you until the day I leave this mortal coil."