WWE/NJPW News: Chris Jericho opens up on the difference between NJPW and WWE, Alpha Club vs Bullet Club and more

What’s the story?

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho discussed a variety of topics including his recent change of character in New Japan Pro Wrestling and his upcoming scheduled match against The Bullet Club on his cruise ship event.

In case you didn’t know…

Earlier this year, at NJPW: Dominion 6.9, former WWE World Champion Chris Jericho made history by winning the prestigious IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the very first time in his decorated career, making him a 10-time IC Champion in overall.

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Simultaneously, Jericho also seems pretty busy outside of the wrestling ring, focusing on his upcoming Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea.

The heart of the matter

While interacting with Sports Illustrated, Jericho opened up about the creative freedom he’s apparently allowed to have in NJPW, compared to that of WWE. His recent goth look and the upcoming Alpha Club vs Bullet Club match on the Cruise of Jericho. Below are the highlights from the interview: (H/T: Wrestling Inc)

His character transition in NJPW:

According to Chris Jericho, his recent return in Japan has turned out to be a solid experience so far, mainly due to the fact that Y2J gets to be a part of this worldwide growth of New Japan Pro Wrestling, where there are apparently so sorts of creative restrictions as well.

Jericho also stated that prior to the build-up to his match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12, he also had the opportunity of doing an original beatdown with the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion and it is something people usually don’t get to see in the WWE.

"It's very cool to go back to Japan, where I started, and be part of this worldwide growth of New Japan. There are no real restrictions on what I can do in New Japan. We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays, and we did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can't do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Body character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe."

His recent goth look:

As per Jericho, his apparent intention was to look as much as like Bushi, thus eventually prompting Y2J to wear the black lipstick and mask as part of his attire.

Additionally, Jericho also claimed that several people have apparently noted that Jericho’s goth makeup has a vibe from Clockwork Orange or Alice Cooper or a combination of the two. However, it was inspired by neither and Y2J’s gimmick rather feels more like a serial killer or lunatic character.

Alpha Club vs Bullet Club on the cruise:

Jericho said that it way back in the month of June when he initially inducted The Young Bucks into the Alpha Club in Osaka, Japan and thus it eventually led to a Bullet Club vs Alpha Club main event on the cruise.

"We were all in Osaka back in June and I inducted the Bucks into the Alpha Club. So now we can do Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club as the main event on the cruise. Coming from the world I come from, which is WWE and Vince McMahon, the tagline sells tickets even more than the match. The only way to see it is to come on board."

What's next?

Chris Jericho is still yet to make an appearance for NJPW ever since capturing the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, however, expect the IWGP IC Champion to show-up at some point down the line in 2018 itself.