Chris Jericho made an appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to discuss a wide range of topics.
During it, he was asked what he thinks his legacy will be. Here is what he had to say:
“G.O.A.T. is such a thrown around word right now. It’s funny because I started using that in 2016 when I came back, and no one even really knew what it was. I got it from a rap song. I remember Vince saying, ‘Why are you calling yourself a goat?’ I’m like, ‘It’s the greatest of all time.’ I wish it was a better name like a bear, or the rhino, but the G.O.A.T. kind of sounds dopey. Now of course, everyone uses it. That’s not for me to say that I’m the G.O.A.T. but if other people say it, it’s much appreciated. Thank you. What I think I am one of the G.O.A.T.s of is longevity and always keeping relevant.
Also, just always evolving. The G.O.A.T. of evolving. Like David Bowie might not be the greatest singer of all time, but he is the G.O.A.T. of always changing his character and keeping it fresh, and evolving into something different, but still being David Bowie at the root of it. I think it’s the same for Chris Jericho in that I always do change things. I saw something the other day of like 12 different Jerichos in a picture. It’s like if you want to dress like Jericho on Halloween, you have 12 different options, at least. I don’t think too many wrestlers can say that, so if you want to talk about a G.O.A.T. in my opinion, that’s one of the things that I’ve done almost better than anybody else, is constantly evolve and change, to never being a nostalgia act. I never wanted to be that. I always wanted to have a new album to go out and tour on, and not just keep relying on the stuff that I’ve done in the past. I always knew when it was time. I knew when it was time to diss Y2J in ‘07 when I came back. It just didn’t work anymore. I knew it was time to switch things up when the Pinnacle beat us down. You get rid of the sunglasses and the flashy sequined jackets. We come back in black, and now it’s more of a dark based black type of a look. It’s subtle, but it’s something that people know that this look is different from this look. This attitude is different from that attitude. I think it’s something that people pick up on, but you have to lead them down that path, and let them know that this is a different guy.
This is now a babyface. This is now a heel. This is now somebody who’s gone to another company, or someone who’s gone to a different country. There always has to be something a little bit twisted and different about it to keep people’s attention, and to keep yourself relevant. We actually tried to get Back In Black for our return promo after we attacked The Pinnacle in our dressing room, and they wouldn’t even give us the time of day. There’s been other ones. We wanted Van Halen, right after Eddie died, we wanted to use Running With the Devil, they came back with ‘$500,000’. Well that’s just a polite way of saying, ‘No f*cking way.’ AC/DC didn’t even come back with that. Then I see them on an Applebee’s commercial using Back In Black, so I guess they’re fans of the baby back ribs or something like that. I thought the whole concept of Back In Black fit. It’s a saying that everybody knows. It rolls off the tongue, and it fits the mindset of what we’re doing. We’re coming back more focused, serious, and darker. That’s kind of how it’s been throughout this whole return.”
