Chris Jericho Recalls Confronting Brock Lesnar Backstage At WWE SummerSlam 2016
Back in 2016, AEW star Chris Jericho confronted Brock Lesnar backstage at WWE's SummerSlam 2016 after he was reportedly unhappy with the finish to the Lesnar vs. Randy Orton match.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jericho was asked about his incident with Lesnar.
"When you get into that moment, it is what it is," Jericho said. "You either go for it, or you put your tail between your legs and hide, and I've never been that type of guy. I'm more of the type to die with boots on. So I've had my issues and shoots with MMA guys before, like that one with Brock Lesnar, and I survived by the skin of my teeth."
Jericho referenced his backstage altercation with Lesnar and another past incident with Goldberg during a promo segment on AEW Dynamite last month. While confronting American Top Team's Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky), Jericho mentioned how he and fellow Inner Circle member Jake Hager are not intimidated by MMA fighters.
Tomorrow night on AEW Rampage, Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager will face Men of the Year and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. Previewing the match, Jericho said he expects Jorge Masvidal, who will also be ringside during the match, to get involved in some capacity.
"It's going to stand out as an attraction," Jericho admitted. "There is a good chance that Jorge gets involved. And when you watch Junior dos Santos, you're not going to see him do a leapfrog or a dropkick. He's going to look like a UFC champion in the ring. I'm not expecting him to go out there and be Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania. I want him to go out there and beat the crap out of us.
"And Dan Lambert is an actual heel out there. He understands the business. There will be a lot to the endgame here. One of the reasons is to get Junior dos Santos into the ring, which you'll see on Friday."
Jericho also hopes to elevate Sky and Page through the ongoing rivalry.
"The idea is to get these guys over," Jericho said. "I worked with MJF for nearly a year with The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle, and the idea was always to get MJF and Sammy Guevara over as bigger stars. I now get to work the UFC guys and bring Ethan and Scorpio to the next level."
As noted, a one-hour "Buy In" pre-show will on AEW's YouTube channel ahead of AEW Rampage on TNT. You can click here for the updated cards for both the pre-show and main show.