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Despite being smaller in stature, Chris Jericho has had massive charisma and exceptional talent, allowing him to achieve great success inside the squared circle.
One factor that added to Jericho’s legacy is that he frequently stood up for himself, especially during a tougher time in the 90s. Chris Jericho made quite a few enemies throughout his career, with fellow big names like Scott Hall and Triple H reportedly disliking him,
Repeatedly, The Ocho has proved his naysayers wrong and has even outlasted his contemporaries in the business. Jericho has carved quite the legacy for himself throughout his Hall of Fame career, which extends his time with AEW.
At 51, Chris Jericho remains an important figure in All Elite Wrestling, becoming the inaugural AEW Champion in 2019. He is currently the reigning Ring of Honor World Champion and leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Le Champion has firmly established himself as the locker room leader who is not afraid to call out his colleagues if they get out of line.
Here are just three occasions when Jericho confronted WWE and AEW stars backstage.
#3. Chris Jericho reportedly confronted CM Punk backstage after AEW All Out brawl
The latest example was during the alleged backstage brawl at AEW All Out between CM Punk and The Elite. The fallout from the incident continues, with new reports shedding light on the situation.
According to the latest reports by Fightful Select, Chris Jericho confronted the Chicago native and engaged in a heated verbal exchange, calling him a 'cancer' in the AEW locker room and a destabilizing force for the company. The Wizard was also seen whispering about the situation to AEW President Tony Khan during the press conference.
CM Punk's response was not recorded verbatim, but he apparently replied to The Wizard that it was 'none of his business' and that he needed to leave. Sources close to Punk's camp confirmed that the two men did indeed have a confrontation that night.
The new revelation is no surprise, given that Jericho has always been an outspoken figure. There have been additional reports that the AEW locker is currently 'Anti-Punk' and has no interest in working with him again.
#2. Chris Jericho once won a real-life backstage fight against Goldberg
Chris Jericho and Goldberg have had a tumultuous history, stemming from their days in WCW back in the 90s.
The story went that Goldberg refused to work with the cruiserweight as he didn't see him as a big enough commodity. Jericho would call out the main eventer every week on Nitro to make a name for himself until, eventually, Goldberg would squash him on pay-per-view emphatically.
Fast forward to 2003, Chris Jericho has long since left WCW to join WWE. During his time there, he established himself as a main event draw, winning the Undisputed World Title after defeating the likes of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock in one night. Goldberg was then the new kid on the block, joining Vince McMahon's company two years after WCW folded.
They engaged in a heated backstage confrontation at a RAW taping on April 7, 2003. Goldberg criticized Jericho's performance during the main event, where he teamed up with Triple H to face Booker T and Shawn Michaels. When Y2J got wind of Goldberg's incendiary words, he confronted the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, leading to a backstage scuffle.
It was reported that Jericho took down his larger opponent with a legitimate front face lock before the two wrestlers were eventually separated by other wrestlers and officials.
Jericho recounted the incident years later in an interview with Bubba The Love Sponge:
"Goldberg and I got into an argument because we had a lot of problems in WCW because he thought his s**t didn't stink, and he basically put his hand on my throat and screamed in my face. I'm not a tough guy, but when you put your hand on someone's throat you better be ready to go."
He continued:
"I took him to the ground and I put him in a front face lock, and my plan was to hold on as long as I could until he got up and killed me, but he never got up, and I just kept squeezing, and I know if you push someone's chin into their chest you can make them pass out, so that's what I was doing," Jericho said.
It appears that Chris Jericho and Goldberg made amends with each other later in life and now consider each other to be friends. Goldberg even appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast as a guest.
#1. Chris Jericho stood up to Brock Lesnar after SummerSlam 2016 main event
One of the most talked about backstage confrontations that Chris Jericho had was against Brock Lesnar after the SummerSlam 2016 main event between The Beast and Randy Orton.
At the end of the match, Lesnar delivered stiff-looking elbows to The Viper's exposed skull, which caused him to bleed profusely. It was a highly controversial finish that was uncomfortable to watch and caused fans to speculate if Brock had gone into business for himself.
Chris Jericho confronted the former UFC Champion as soon as he returned to the Gorilla Position. The AEW star recently made an appearance on the True Geordie Podcast and discussed the incident:
“He was basically just like butchering him with elbows to the head, and I didn’t know if it was planned or not and nobody would tell me. Elbows to the side of the head can kill you. Your temple, if you get hit hard enough in the temple, you die… I was like, ‘If this is real, it’s bulls***. If it has been called, it’s still bulls***. He’s taking liberties and it pissed me off.’ I was in Gorilla and I was f***ing angry about it… And we got into a little bit of an issue.”
Not many people would have engaged with a trained fighter, but the Demo God has no qualms going up against The Beast Incarnate:
“I was like f*** it, I’m going to bite his f***ing nose off. I see this big, giant, fat nose, and I am like… I’ll bite his f***ing nose off, see how tough he is then. He might kill me, but he’s going to walk around for the rest of his life with no f***ing nose," said Chris Jericho. (H/T: Wrestling Inc)
Thankfully, the two men were separated by Vince McMahon and Triple H before things got worse. The former WWE Chairman would reassure Chris Jericho that he had told Brock to do that.
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