Chris Jericho Confesses To Taking Massive Risk In WWE

Chris Jericho just revealed a big risk he took in WWE.

Before signing with AEW, Chris Jericho wrestled for the WWE for several years. He started his career as Y2J. Jericho was also the first ever Undisputed Champion. After a successful WWE run, he decided to take time off for a couple of years before returning again with a whole new persona.

Throughout his wrestling career, Chris Jericho has managed to stay relevant by changing his gimmick multiple times to keep up with the change in time. This has helped him remain relevant no matter where he worked. However, one of those changes proved to be a big risk for Jericho.

Chris Jericho took a big risk when he dropped the Y2J act

During an interview with Dan Marston, Chris Jericho revealed that he took the biggest risk when he returned to WWE in 2007 and dropped the Y2J act that had made him famous during his first run in the company. He changed his hair cut and wrestling gear. He even recalled telling the announcers to never call him Y2J again. He even got rid of the famous Y2J countdown.

“I think probably when I dropped the whole Y2J persona and the countdown, there was a time when I came back in 2007 where I was kind of, I’m not going to say a diluted version of Chris Jericho, but, you know, it wasn’t the same. I had shorter hair and times had changed, right? So, I thought I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to be a nostalgia act. So, I switched from, you know, I cut my hair, like I said, and I switched from long tights to trunks, you know, dropped the Y2J. I told the announcers, ‘Don’t ever call me Y2J ever again.’ Did a whole new video package that had none of that. And then the countdown was so synonymous with Jericho. Get rid of the countdown. It’s done.”

Chris Jericho further compared his transition to that of the famous rock band Kiss who took off their makeup. He said that the change was done to make people understand that they were going in a different path with his new gimmick.

“And that was kind of the first time where I really took a shot cuz I was like, you know, it’s almost like Kiss when they took off the makeup. You know, you’re doing something very drastic here and you want people to understand we’re doing something different. Whether you like it or don’t like it, that’s not for us to decide, but here’s where we’re going. Here’s the path that we’re taking. Come on board if you want to. And that was kind of the, it was a big risk, you know, but not for long. It’s something that I had to do. And that’s when I realized I can reinvent myself whenever I start feeling a little stale and people will like some of it, not like some of it, but I can’t worry about what people think. I just have to worry about what I can do to be the best personality I can be.” [H/T Ringside News]

It’s good that Chris Jericho decided to reinvent his gimmick back in 2007.

Also read: Triple H & Stephanie McMahon Call Out Chris Jericho Over WWE Botch

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