Chris Jericho On Roman Reigns: "In AEW, He'd Be So Over"
Le Champion speaks on The Big Dog...
AEW World champion Chris Jericho joined Konnan's Keepin' it 100 podcast to discuss the differences creatively between his current employer and WWE, and he minced no words when discussing the lack of realism in the promos where he used to work.
He referenced some dialogue from the recent Survivor Series pay-per-view to reinforce his point, saying, "There was this promo with The Miz and Daniel Bryan and Miz was saying for the sake of our children and our families, you have to stop The Fiend. Nobody talks like that. You can still put the guy over big time, but what is he going to do, break into your house? Steal your kids?
"It’s just not believable. It’s cartoonish in a bad way."
Jericho went on to cite how differently somebody like the polarizing Roman Reigns would fare in AEW, should he experience the creative freedom of the company.
"If you have a guy like Roman Reigns in AEW, he’d be so over because Roman Reigns is a legit really cool dude," Jericho says. "He’s a great guy, super cool. He’s the kind of guy you want to hang out with, but they never portray that on the show.
"They always give him these promos to read. The real Roman Reigns never shines through."
Jericho praised the way things are creatively in AEW, adding, "Most of the stuff that you have seen me do is from my brain, or from collaboration with Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, Nick Jackson, whoever it may be. But it’s not like they are working against it, they are working for it.
"There may be times when there are disagreements, and obviously, Tony Khan is the boss so whatever he says goes, but there are very few disagreements. If he knows you have an idea that you are passionate about, he, most of the time, goes with it because he is a very open-thinking type of guy, so it’s a lot more freedom in allowing artists to be artists."
He referenced some dialogue from the recent Survivor Series pay-per-view to reinforce his point, saying, "There was this promo with The Miz and Daniel Bryan and Miz was saying for the sake of our children and our families, you have to stop The Fiend. Nobody talks like that. You can still put the guy over big time, but what is he going to do, break into your house? Steal your kids?
"It’s just not believable. It’s cartoonish in a bad way."
Jericho went on to cite how differently somebody like the polarizing Roman Reigns would fare in AEW, should he experience the creative freedom of the company.
"If you have a guy like Roman Reigns in AEW, he’d be so over because Roman Reigns is a legit really cool dude," Jericho says. "He’s a great guy, super cool. He’s the kind of guy you want to hang out with, but they never portray that on the show.
"They always give him these promos to read. The real Roman Reigns never shines through."
Jericho praised the way things are creatively in AEW, adding, "Most of the stuff that you have seen me do is from my brain, or from collaboration with Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, Nick Jackson, whoever it may be. But it’s not like they are working against it, they are working for it.
"There may be times when there are disagreements, and obviously, Tony Khan is the boss so whatever he says goes, but there are very few disagreements. If he knows you have an idea that you are passionate about, he, most of the time, goes with it because he is a very open-thinking type of guy, so it’s a lot more freedom in allowing artists to be artists."
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
