"It's part of the game" - WWE veteran on CM Punk taking shots at AEW star amid his absence (Exclusive)
AEW star CM Punk has been involved in much of the drama surrounding the promotion since All Out 2022. In a previous Instagram Story, Punk seemingly took a shot at Chris Jericho, and Vince Russo believes that's simply a part of "the game."
Backstage politics has always had a massive impact in pro wrestling and has arguably allowed some of the biggest names in the industry to flourish. Jericho's prominence backstage in AEW has led to some criticism online. However, according to Russo, stars must have a commanding presence in the locker room to succeed in their careers.
During the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo discussed the alleged issues between CM Punk and Chris Jericho. He also touched upon Y2J's status in pro wrestling.
"When you’re at that level for so long – you’re not at that level for so long if you’re not ‘playing the game.’ No way in heck. To have that type of a run for so long on top, you’ve got to be playing that political game. You have to be, bro, you wouldn’t be in the game if you weren’t ‘playing the game!’" (02:51 onward)
Check out the entire episode below:
CM Punk's Instagram Story elicited varied responses from wrestling fans. One Twitter user even accused Jericho of snaking his way into a leadership role in AEW, which the veteran didn't take lying down.
Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite or Rampage? Catch up with the results right here.
Vince Russo claimed that notable names like The Undertaker also played the same politics as Chris Jericho
A report from PWTorch once suggested that Chris Jericho is considered "the closest confidant" of Tony Khan among all the stars on the AEW roster.
Crazy fact of the day: @IAmJericho last match in ECW was against 2 Cold Scorpio at The Doctor Is In show on August 3, 1996.
To make this even more incredible, a 14 year old Tony Khan was there at the event supporting his favorite wrestler from ECW (Chris Jericho).
26 years… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/egb4eRXS8p
Russo compared Jericho to some of the biggest WWE names and claimed that backstage politics is simply something that has to be done.
"I’m talking about guys like Taker! I’m talking about guys like [John] Cena! I’m talking about guys like The Rock! I’m talking about guys that I think were great guys – don’t get me wrong, Jericho’s a great guy. All those guys I mentioned were great guys. It’s part of the game, bro. If that is what you wanna do if you wanna be on top, and stay on top, that goes along with the job. So I don’t look at Chris or any of these guys in a negative way, that’s the job!" (03:26 onward)
It remains to be seen if Chris Jericho's backstage sway in AEW will allow him to shape the promotion to his own will or if he's trying to impart his knowledge to the up-and-coming company.
If you use any quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.