Chris Jericho on Ending His In-Ring Career in AEW, His Biggest Goal

– During a recent interview with Matty Paddock for The Daily Star, Chris Jericho spoke about ending in his in-ring career in AEW and what the future would be for him in wrestling once he hangs up his boots. Below are some highlights:

Chris Jericho on ending his career in AEW: “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. I don’t hold a torch for WWE. To me, that’s not ‘the place to be’. AEW is the place to be. It really is. I’ve been in WWE. I know how it works. They work that way, I don’t care if Vince is there, Hunter is there, or whoever is there. They have a way of doing things, and I was there for 20 years and was pretty good at it. I like the way we do things at AEW better… so I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to finish my career in AEW. I never thought that I wouldn’t finish my career with WWE, but things happened, and I was just like ‘I want to go to Japan and do this match [with NJPW]’ and it opened up a whole new world for me. It was like ‘oh my gosh, this is the fun side of wrestling again!’ Business is business and there’s always ups and downs, but I have zero interest in ever going back to WWE. That’s not out of bitterness or anger. I love Vince and I love Hunter and all the people there. But I just really dig AEW, and I have a stake in the game. I came here right out of the gate – I was the guy. Besides Jim Ross, there was nobody that had really been on television on a national basis other than me. I take great pride in that. I started here, why would I want to walk away? There’s so much more that we can do. The sense of accomplishment is massive.”

On if he’d move into a backstage role once he’s done wrestling: “Do I help with backstage pre-tapes? Absolutely. I probably do two or three of those a night, and maybe that’s kind of where I go to. I don’t really see myself as an agent, I’m more of an in-front-of-the-camera kinda guy. So, we’ll see.”

On his wrestling future: “I don’t know what the future of me and wrestling is. I could quit tomorrow, or I could quit in six years, I don’t know. I’ll worry about that when it happens. Right now, I do enjoy the backstage role of helping guys and girls out with their interviews and promos. There’s a lot of stuff I do backstage at AEW. When we have Dynamite, I get there at 1 and leave at 11 or 12 – it’s non-stop, all the time. That’s fun for me, but to exclusively do just that? I don’t know. I still like being part of the show.”

Jericho on becoming World Champion again: “Do I want to be world champion?. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be in the business. But do I need to be? Probably not. I don’t really need a belt to be in the main event so as long as I can continue to tell stories that help grow the show, the talent and me… I just think that I’m really happy with what we’re doing. My biggest goal is to see us continue to build this amazing universe.”

Chris Jericho will face Ricky Starks in a one-on-one rematch later this Sunday at AEW Revolution 2023. The event will be broadcast live on pay-per-view on Sunday, March 5.