"I wanted to work for Vince McMahon" - AEW star on why he wanted to join WWE
Chris Jericho has said the reason he joined WWE was to work with Vince McMahon. Jericho had always been a fan of WWE, and it was his dream to work for McMahon's promotion.
The current AEW star joined WWE in 1999 after his three-year run with WCW. In WCW, Jericho won the Cruiserweight Championship four times and the World Television Championship once.
Chris Jericho discussed his run in WCW on Broken Skull Sessions with Stone Cold Steve Austin. During their interaction, Austin asked Jericho why he decided to leave WCW in 1999.
"Prompted by the fact I wanted to work for Vince (McMahon). Oh, yeah (wanted to work with McMahon). Always. Always having this plan in mind - keep in mind, I grew up in Winnipeg. We didn't have WCW there, we didn't really have NWA. I wanted to be the WWE Intercontinental Champion. I wanted to work for Vince McMahon. I wanted to work in Madison Square Garden, where my father played hockey and I remember watching him as a little kid. Unfortunately, WWE wasn't calling me at the time but WCW did. And I thought, 'If I could go there, maybe I'll become a big star and they'll take me.'"
Jericho wanted a match with Goldberg in WCW and decided to leave the company when they rejected that plan.
Chris Jericho in WWE
Jericho had a Hall of Fame career in WWE, where he won numerous titles and memorable feuds. He is a former World Champion, holds the record for the highest number of Intercontinental Championship reigns, is a multi-time tag team champion, and a Grand Slam Champion in WWE.
The first-ever AEW World Champion reinvented himself on a number of occasions in WWE, right until his departure from the company in 2018.
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