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What's the story?
During an interview with Busted Open Radio, Chris Jericho that he wanted to work a Brock Lesnar-type schedule for NJPW going forward, seemingly ruling out the possibility of a WWE return in the near future.
In case you didn't know...
At Wrestle Kingdom 12, Jericho put over Kenny Omega in his first NJPW match in almost 20 years. The following night, at New Year Dash 2018, he attacked Tetsuya Naito, who had unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome.
The heart of the matter
Chris Jericho told Busted Open Radio that he wanted to be a special attraction for NJPW, in a manner similar to Brock Lesnar, and dismissed the possibility of appearing in tournaments such as the G1 Climax which could hurt his box office appeal.
"I don't want to oversaturate anything; I’m not going to join the G1 Climax and be just another guy. I want to do the Brock Lesnar idea in New Japan. I just want to hit my spots and come and go, almost where you’re like ‘this guy is never there, but when he’s there he makes an impact.
And that might be the extent of it, so I just have to reevaluate and see what I want to do next wrestling wise. What can I do and make an impact, what is available timing-wise, and how is the body holding up.
A lot of people are saying my last match was my best match that I’ve ever had, and I never expected that. I knew it was going to be good, but to have that? That is just a completely different level of excitement.
Once again, I just kind of stumbled into this really cool position by marking smart moves by using my brain. I think the smart thing is, sometimes I think you just have to look at the forest for the trees and see what the big picture is," he said.
What's next?
According to the Wrestling Observer, Chris Jericho is set to face Tetsuya Naito at NJPW USA: Strong Style Evolved on March 25, 2018, effectively ruling him out of the Royal Rumble.
Author's take
Chris Jericho is one of the greatest to have ever stepped foot inside the squared circle, and it is heartening to see that NJPW can afford a legend of his stature. If the company can continue to grow and emerge as a viable alternative to WWE, the professional wrestling industry will be in a far better place than it is today.
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