Chris Jericho recently reiterated that he will never work for another wrestling company in the United States other than WWE. It’s a statement Jericho has been making ever since taking a sabbatical from wrestling in 2006.
The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion was a guest on a recent episode of “Inside the Ropes.” He went into further detail regarding his current situation with both NJPW and WWE.
“I got asked to do Long Beach, I said no, I got asked to do Cow Palace, I said no, I got asked to do All In, I said no,” Jericho explained. “I don’t want to do that.”
“(This) is the most I’ve made for the least amount of matches I’ve had in my career,” Jericho said regarding his current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He then stressed he would not be entertaining offers from promotions other than WWE to wrestle in the United States unless they were willing to offer a significant payday.
“I’m not going to work anywhere else unless you wanna pay six f***ing figures,” he said. “This is Mayweather-McGregor type s**t for me.”
During the interview, Jericho talked about the commitment he made to Vince McMahon and WWE.
“The unwritten rule is I don’t want to go into the States,” Jericho said. “I feel like that would be a real slap in the face to Vince.”
While Jericho seems committed to living up to his promise, one has to wonder how long he can avoid being booked on NJPW’s United States shows. As the company looks to expand internationally, Jericho is a star the company likely wants to promote outside of Japan.
As for Jericho’s relationship with WWE, the last time he appeared on WWE programming was at the Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
