Jay’s Ways – Five Takeaways From Chris Jericho On Broken Skull Sessions

WrestleMania 37 is officially in the books. I thought it was a really good two night event and will have many memorable moments replayed for years and years to come. With WWE Network now residing on the Peacock Network though, that was not our only wrestling ‘fix’ for the weekend. We were treated to a shocking Broken Skull Sessions interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin chatting with All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho! Yes, Jericho is currently in AEW…but was featured on the WWE Network during WM Weekend. A big deal in and of itself. While I thought the interview dragged at over two hours, there were definitely a couple of big takeaways. Here are my main five points worth discussing:

Chris Jericho Will Return To WWE Eventually – I have long said that Chris Jericho and Jim Ross will return to WWE down the road. Outside of some extreme circumstances, they know where their legacy lies. They know who owns their tape library and history. Same reasons why Bret Hart FINALLY returned to WWE in late 2005 for the compilation DVD. WWE owns all of their footage and in some ways, will always be their home. There has never been any bad blood between Jericho and Vince McMahon. Same with many veterans who depart the company after years of service. Heck, Jericho and Vince spoke about his decision to wrestle in Japan, just as they chatted about AEW and his future plans. Still, when Stone Cold asked about doing an episode with Jericho, Vince replied not once but TWICE that it was a cool idea. Thumbs up from Vince had to speak volumes to Jericho. I’m not saying he will be back in a month or even a year…but the bridge has been re-built when in reality, it was never broken to begin with.

There Is No AEW VS WWE Anymore – There may have been some trepidation and worry from WWE’s side when AEW first launched. A billionaire with money to throw around and sign talent, a big Turner deal to air programming on in prime time for TNT live every week, touring across the country, multiple big names ready to go, etc. Clearly, WWE was signing guys and gals up left and right to keep them away from AEW. Even at ridiculous prices. Yet, a little over a year after Dynamite debuted on TNT, WWE stopped caring. It was what it was. The show has its’ audience, and WWE will roll on regardless of whatever they do. Most big names have stuck with WWE, and AEW has only been able to get a select few disgruntled former stars and aging veterans from them. No harm, no foul to WWE. Jericho all but admitted they weren’t competition (which they never were), and the fact this even aired said it all. Stone Cold brought up AEW many times, and they were not shy about it one bit. Nobody cared. WWE is way up here, and Chris Jericho is way down there in AEW. Cool.

No GOAT Discussion – I know Stone Cold and WWE have to hype up their guests for the Broken Skull Sessions in order to make it a HUGE DEAL AND MUST SEE! However, things went a tad bit overboard when Stone Cold and Chris Jericho started discussing all-time greats, as if Y2J is even in the discussion. Look, he’s not. I know he has a very decorated 30 year career. I respect the heck out of that. I get it. Yet, they were talking as if he is up there with the Mount Rushmore Of Wrestling or something. Give me a break! In no world does Jericho touch the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, John Cena, Bruno Sammartino and countless others. Not even close. That does not even include names like Triple H, Kane, Randy Savage, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Kurt Angle, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper, Edge, Roman Reigns, and others who are in that same tier of big legends. Just saying…

Awesome Book Idea – I will give major praise to Chris Jericho for having the idea to keep track of every single wrestling match of his career. A little note or story about the match, the finish, the crowd, the location, the whatever. I love that and think it’s something that should be done more often. Yes, we have the internet now and everything is documented but coming from the actual star, it holds more weight. I believe Bret Hart did something similar too. Really neat.

So Many Stories – In the end, my biggest takeaway was the fact that Chris Jericho may have more stories than anybody else is wrestling history. He wrestled overseas, he wrestled in ECW, he had a career in WCW, he had a big run in WWE during the Attitude, he jumped over to New Japan Pro Wrestling late in his career, he has had multiple returns to WWE, he has been a face, he has been a heel, he was in tag teams, he was in the mid-card, he was in the main event, he closed WrestleMania as the first ever Undisputed Champion and as he sits currently, he was the first ever AEW Champion who just appeared on the WWE Network during WrestleMania Weekend. Absolutely unbelievable. No doubt this guy has seen it all and due to his relationship with Vince McMahon and being able to connect with fans, he may have another lengthy run left in him. Despite all the calls about his age and other nonsense, he isn’t done. Not just a long shot. One heck of a career.

By Justin Watry – follow me on Twitter: @JustinWatry