AEW superstar and former world champion Chris Jericho recently spoke with TalkSport about a wide range of topics, most notably how The Wizard feels about his old rival MJF and comments on the Salt of the Earth’s ongoing contract dispute with president Tony Khan. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says the MJF contract dispute has nothing to do with him so he stays out of it:
“After 30 years in this business I’ve learned if it doesn’t have anything to do with me I stay the hell out of it. I don’t really care. If I had an angle with MJF or if I was involved in the contracts I’d be much more interested in it, but I stay out of it, it has nothing to do with me.”
Says a contract was signed for a reason, and that the best thing to do is just put on good performances and earn the money you signed up for:
“Only thing I will say is a contract is a contract. If every athlete in every sport wanted to be paid more now, then what’s the point of having a contract, you know what I mean? We’ll see how it plays out. I’m happy with my contract and I know in a year-and-a-half when my contract is done, we’ll have some negotiations to discuss and that’s how it goes. Until then, I want to do the best performances that I can, put on the best shows and the best stories, keep the people interested happy and excited and when that contract is up, I’ll be rewarded for it.”
How MJF is not as good as he thinks he is and is still very young:
“MJF is 25 [actually 26]. He has a lot to learn. He’s not as good as he thinks he is and like I said, it really is nothing to do with me but I’m sure he’ll be back. 18 months is a long time to stay at home and that’s Tony Khan’s prerogative. You’re under contract, you want to stay at home? You can stay at home and not get paid and that’s what happens. We see it happen in other companies and that’s just how it goes. If you didn’t expect that, then why did you sign your contract in the first place?”
Says MJF’s character would be watered down in WWE:
“Oh absolutely [his character would be watered down in WWE]. He’s better off staying in AEW. But, again, don’t stick your finger in the light socket. You tell a little kid not to do that and they’re going to do it to see what happens. I’m not going to tell anybody not to go elsewhere because I did it. I did it for years. I did it to come to AEW. I walked away from WWE. When I signed my AEW contract Vince McMahon said ‘Can you get out of it?’ – No, you told me to go here!”
Says if a talent doesn’t want to be someplace than they should leave:
“So if Max, or Cody [Rhodes], if they want to go elsewhere, that’s kind of the way it goes. That’s pro sports and that’s what pro wrestling is. It happens in the NFL, in the NHL, the Premier League – guys come and go. You got to have the best team possible with people that want to be there and if you don’t want to be there, it’s just not going to be conducive to your own performance anyways.”