Exclusive: Chris Jericho on co-hosting "The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs," who's underrated in AEW, his cruise & more
Few professional wrestlers -- if any -- have been innovative to the extent of AEW's inaugural World Champion Chris Jericho.
Not only did Jericho make his in-ring debut 30 years ago in 1990 and capture major titles in multiple promotions around the world, but he has further crossed over into mainstream success thanks to his work as an actor, author, musician, podcaster, and television host.
As of late, Jericho has not only been keeping busy with AEW, putting the finishing touches on the next Fozzy album, hosting Talk Is Jericho and appearing every Saturday on the Saturday Night Special via Facebook Live, but he also continues to pop up on a variety of other people's programs.
This Saturday, April 24th, Jericho will be seen on Shudder -- AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural -- as he co-hosts the season's premiere episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.
The Last Drive-In host Joe Bob Briggs had this to say of "Le Champion" himself:
“Chris Jericho is the most exciting wrestling personality to befriend horror since Rowdy Roddy Piper co-hosted They Live! with me on TNT years ago. In fact, Jericho may be the most famous wrestler in the world right now...
I’m gonna share the hosting chair with Chris so that he can go wild on a seventies horror classic he’s been crazy about since high school. He’s a world class athlete, podcaster, actor, musician—he’s really a one-man bundle of pop-culture fun—and on April 24th he’s gonna prove that he’s also a drive-in kind of guy.”
I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Jericho by phone on April 20, 2020, about The Last Drive-In, AEW, Fozzy, Chris Jericho's Rock & Wrestling Rager At Sea, the aforementioned Saturday Night Special, KISS, Rubix Kube, The Decline Of Western Civilization, "The Hounds" and plenty more.
The full interview is embedded below for your listening pleasure, while part of it has been exclusively transcribed for Sportskeeda.
More on all things Chris Jericho can be found online at www.chrisjericho.com.
On how he wound up co-hosting Shudder's The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs:
Chris Jericho: I'm a big horror movie fan. Joe Bob and I connected when he did Talk Is Jericho about a year ago and then he called me to kind of return the favor to do his show. We came to an agreement of what we would like to do, both of us big fans of it, and we made it happen. We're both excited.
On where he's at career-wise in 2020 and if he still has more to accomplish:
Chris Jericho: I never really think like that at this point, I just do things that come up that seem interesting to me. I never said to myself, "I'm going to do a Facebook Live show every Saturday and drink with the fans." That's just an idea that popped in my head, and that's kind of how I do things.
If something comes across my proverbial desk that seems interesting, then I'll go for it. If I don't think it's going to be interesting, or it seems I'm not gonna be too into it, then I won't do it. One good thing is that I don't really have to do anything for money, I just do things that keep me interested and I know that my fans and friends will appreciate.
On whether we may see another member join The Inner Circle:
Chris Jericho: Once again, I don't know, it depends on what happens in the storylines. To me, everything is based on the story, the story that we're telling, what fits, what doesn't fit. I think one of the downfalls of the original nWo was when they started having Virgil and guys like that in there. It kind of takes some of the exclusiveness and cool factor.
If someone's gonna be in The Inner Circle and get asked into The Inner Circle for real, it's gonna have to be for a very good reason and something I'm going to have to be convinced of. I'm not opposed to it, but I'm not actively searching for new members.
On who the most underrated person on the AEW roster is, and whether it's MJF:
Chris Jericho: No, I don't think so at all. I think MJF is a lot like Sammy Guevara, he's moving up the ladder and he's doing a great job at 23, 24 years old. I think Darby Allin's the same. I think Jungle Boy has a huge upside. I think [SCU's] Scorpio Sky has a huge upside.
You haven't seen hardly anything of Dr. Luther yet and all the stuff that he can do. I think Trent is someone that's going to be very big for us at a certain point. Orange Cassidy is very much a cult figure but when people start filling up the arenas again, you're gonna see him being a lot more popular than he has been. There's quite a few.
I think even with The Inner Circle, Santana, Ortiz, [Jake] Hager, all these guys have grown a lot since we joined forces. The sky is the limit for them.