Y2J: "We’re in a Crisis Period in WWE"
The Baltimore Sun recently conducted an interview with Chris Jericho. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Fans really seemed to be excited about you and Edge teaming together. How disappointing was it to have it end so abruptly because of Edge’s injury?
It was disappointing because I think we had a great story line in the works, with a lot of trips and traps that were going to lead to a certain place. But it was one of those things that the moment it happened you’re like, “Well, OK, what are we going to do now? Back to the drawing board.” You can’t do anything about it. It’s part of what we do. So it was very disappointing. And then as soon as I found out that they’re going to push The Big Show, I was intrigued about it. You have to turn a negative into a positive and I think we’ve done that. We’ve made the best of the situation while we wait for Edge to heel. Like I said, it would have been great, but everything happens for a reason. You have to drop it and go on. Big Show has been a great replacement. Everyone said it had to be Dolph Ziggler or The Miz. No, this is about two world champions at the top of their game who have a certain stature. Yeah, it would help them, but it wouldn’t help me. We’re trying to reinvigorate the tag titles and reinvigorate Big Show as well. The guy is a giant. He’s a commodity and people need to be reminded of that and we need to start promoting that.
When you were in WCW, it seemed as if the guys at the top were reluctant to work with and elevate guys who had potential such as yourself. Now that you are in the position of being a top guy, did what you experienced in WCW influence how you approach working with younger guys?
It wasn’t reluctance; it was just denial. They just wouldn’t do it and it [ticked] me off so much because there was a lot of money left on the table. It’s something that I said that I would never do. We’re in a crisis period in WWE and we need to build new guys. When Shawn Michaels came back to Raw, he said, “Whose been built since I left?” On Smackdown we’ve built [John] Morrison and [Dolph] Ziggler and Cryme Tyme. The Intercontinetal title has been rebuilt now with Rey Mysterio. But I can’t tell you on Raw who has been built over the last six months. They better do it soon, because when this generation of performers is gone, who will replace them?
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