Chris Jericho recently spoke with Jan Murphy of The Sun to promote Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV event. Here are the highlights.
On AJ Styles’ success in WWE:
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Jericho said of Styles’s quick ascension in WWE. “I think any time you get a guy of his stature — there’s a reason why he was headlining the Tokyo Dome in Japan, for example — I knew he would get over. There’s always a little bit of a transition period. I’m happy that I was able to help him with that,” he said. “I think the WWE might not have known how good he was when he first came in and why would they? He hadn’t performed in a WWE ring and therefore they wouldn’t know how good he is. And after a month or two months of seeing what this guy was capable of, I don’t think he had anybody denying the fact that he is one of the best in the world. And now he’s the champion on Smackdown, as he should be. He’s a great performer, he’s a great character … I think he’s a better performer now than when he first got here because he has adapted, he has learned and he’s gotten better. He’s a joy to work with, he’s a funny guy, he understands the business. All across the board he’s A-plus, A-plus, A-plus. I’m proud of him, happy for him and like you said he’s only just begun. My goodness, it’s only been nine months. Imagine where he’s going to be next year at this time.”
On his longevity:
“My schedule with the WWE over the last five or six years hasn’t been full time. This year’s been full time and probably the longest stint I’ve had since 2010 or so. I think that’s one of the reasons why I have longevity, is I can kind of pick and choose when I come and go, pick and choose the shows that I want to do, and I always listen to my body and I think it’s very important when you’re in this business to do that. If I’m ever hurting or something’s not feeling right, then you just have to pull back a bit.”
