AEW's Chris Jericho: I Embrace The Fact I'm A Sports Entertainer

Prior to last weekend's AEW Revolution, Chris Jericho spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of his match with Eddie Kingston. He discussed a number of topics, notably the idea of being a 'sports entertainer.' The former AEW World Champion stated:

"Nobody has more knowledge about the business than Chris Jericho in the ring as a modern performer. Nobody. Not one person. I know exactly what fans like, I know exactly what fans want, and when you’ve been doing this as long as I have, people have a tendency to take you for granted. Sports entertainment, what’s the difference? It’s entertainment, which is why you watch wrestling in the first place. And wrestling is a sport, at least I consider it to be. So yeah, I’m a sports entertainer. And so is Eddie Kingston. Except he’s just not a really good sports entertainer because he hasn’t been around like I have. He hasn’t main-evented a WrestleMania or been the AEW champion or wrestled pretty much everyone that’s been anyone for the past 30 years.

"Using sports entertainment as a detriment just shows how stupid people can be. That’s what we all are. Either you’re really good at it or you don’t really understand it. I embrace the fact that I’m a sports entertainer. You could use it as an insult or write it on a tweet or post it on Instagram, but it’s all part of putting together a great match. It’s all part of understanding what it takes to draw money and understanding what it takes to survive in a political environment that is very, very prominent in every wrestling company, including AEW."

Jericho faced Kingston in the opening match of AEW Revolution on Sunday, losing via submission. He refused to shake Eddie's hand afterwards.