How A Classic Chris Jericho Gimmick Inspired Released WWE Star
Chris Jericho’s incredible run in pro wrestling is inspiring the next generation of wrestlers, as evidenced by a recent statement from a former WWE star.
Javier Bernal is a former WWE NXT wrestler who was among a group of wrestlers released by the company in May 2025. Bernal, who is married to NXT’s Tatum Paxley, will be using the name Javi as he moves forward with his career.
During his NXT run, Bernal went by the nickname “Big Body Javi” for much of his run as a heel who thought he was bigger and tougher than he actually was. The point of the Big Body Javi gimmick was that he was a delusional guy who thought more of himself than the fans did.
Javi did a virtual signing with K & S WrestleFest, where he discussed the inspiration behind Big Body Javi and how it was a character that was on television before he was born – WCW’s Chris Jericho in 1997. Javi was born in February 1999, but he has seen Jericho’s career and was inspired by that particular WCW run.
“You know, it’s funny because the way I thought of Big Body Javi and then the other way people thought of Big Body Javi and when I mean other people, I mean just creative. When you go into these creative meetings, you have your idea honestly, then you have their idea and there’s — I’ll just say five. I don’t know how many but five people in a room so we’re all trying to figure out what one idea there is.
So, Big Body Javi to me was like, I am so confident in a land of giants, I’m gonna call myself the biggest one, and also, it sounded cool. Big Body Javi. It just sounded frenetic, right?
You can see from my gear even that I’m a very big fan of Chris Jericho. Specifically, this character was very inspired by WCW, ‘97 Jericho… Very arrogant, pompous.
I wasn’t (born at that time). I was born — I think I was alive when he did his WWF debut, I think.”
Correct. Jericho made his WWE debut in August 1999, so Javi was about six months old when that happened. Javi continued talking about the gimmick.
“But that was about it. But very Van Halen, very Steel Panther. That’s like the best way to describe Big Body Javi and it was very arrogant, very fun though because you could — as much as you hated it, you kind of liked him because he was funny.
The Big Body Javi stuff is kind of where I got my break and I did these backstages with McKenzie (Mitchell), and again, going back to the Jericho thing, I did the Big Body Files where I had a list of (names) on a computer sheet of paper and it would list people I’d wanna wrestle. The Man of a thousand and one holds type of gimmick.”
Chris Jericho Taking Break From AEW
The legendary Chris Jericho is a former 9-time World Champion who most recently held the ROH World Title earlier this year before losing it to Bandido. On April 9th, Chris Jericho ended his “Learning Tree” gimmick and took off for a much-needed break.
At 54 years old, Chris Jericho is one of the oldest active wrestlers in AEW or WWE, yet he continues to perform at a high level.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently spoke about Jericho’s AEW absence and how he felt it was time for a break.
“His Fozzy tour is over, so right now, he’s done some TV work while he’s been gone—a couple of TV shows that he filmed. But as far as coming back to AEW, there’s nothing on the table right now. As far as, is he ready and available?
I mean, you know, technically, he’s always been available, because even when he tours, Wednesday is open. But you know, I think that he felt that it was time for a break, and so that’s the deal with them.”
Considering AEW’s biggest show of the year, All In Texas, takes place on July 12th, it’s possible Jericho could return to TV before that to set up a match or perhaps return at All In Texas itself.