Chris Jericho Says He Has No Restrictions In NJPW

Chris Jericho says there are no restrictions to what he can do in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion has only wrestled 3 matches in 2018, but he has remained one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world.

Jericho made waves when he wrestled Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2018. He appeared at WWE’s big Raw 25th Anniversary just a few weeks later, his first appearance for the company since he started working for New Japan.

In April, he was back in WWE competing in the Greatest Royal Rumble. By June, he was the IWGP IC Champion after dethroning Tetsuya Naito at Dominion.

“It’s very cool to go back to Japan, where I started, and be part of this worldwide growth of New Japan,” Jericho said to Sports Illustrated recently. “There are no real restrictions on what I can do in New Japan.”

Jericho would continue to talk about the restrictions in WWE versus NJPW.

“We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays,” Jericho continued.

“We did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can’t do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Brody character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe.”

Jericho has always said he would never wrestle for a company other than WWE on American soil. Events which have unfolded this year may test his commitment to this, however.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if he still intends to stand by his earlier claims, Jericho gave an answer some fans will find surprising.

There’s been speculation that Jericho is interested in working for Impact Wrestling. Jericho responded, “Of course!” when asked if he’d consider ‘going to’ Impact.

This October, Chris Jericho is hosting the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager cruise, which departs out of Miami on October 27th and travels to the Bahamas.

Talent from WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor will be appearing on the ship. Very few people can pull off something like this. Chris Jericho is among a rare breed of performers who makes his own rules in this business.