Chris Jericho's Interview

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

Interesting quote here from Chris Jericho from his nterview with the Baltimore Sun. He is showcasing some epic IWC negativity the likes of which I've only heard about on this board. Sorry Sidious. It stems mainly from his frustration in terms of creating new stars.

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?

I think he seems a bit to chuffed about his work on SmackDown! Calm down Chris, Cryme Tyme aren't that popular. And they were over before you started working with them. but the fact reamins, that what he said is true and that since Wrestlemania 25, RAW hasn't done much at all in terms of character building. Ziggler and JoMo have risen up, but the most you could say for RAW is Kofi and The Miz.

Whats the general concensus on this?

 

[OIL]

I agree with Jericho. SD! has pushed Morrison & Ziggler quite a bit, and while they may not be stars at the moment, they're well on their way if they keep up the hard work. It shows SD! doesn't need to rely on the big stars to be entertaining.

But the same can't be said for RAW, hense why they needed HBK to return. When MVP was first drafted and started fueding with Orton, I thought he was going to be pushed. But, no. I was wrong, and the WWE Title scene has stayed the same since. What's happened to The Miz? He was good when with Morrison, and could have gone far. But no, now he's doing nothing. Something needs to change.

 

[DaNewGuy]

I don't see that Raw needs to create new stars. If the farm system of ECW can get people over enough to be accepted as part of the midcard on Raw or Smackdown!, then the new guys can be pushed on Smackdown!. As I see it, Raw has almost al ofl the star power, and Raw sells PPVs. Meanwhile Smackdown! pushes newer talent against the established guys who are going nowhere (Mysterio). Smackdown! is good at this, just look at Jeff Hardy; people accept him as a credible main-eventer. Would he ever have reached that level on Raw, I doubt it. The sameis true of CM Punk. When the time comes, and guys like Punk get moved over to Raw, they'll be accepted as top teir guys on Raw that much more easily. As long as somewhere stars are being created then it doesn't matter where.

That said, Raw is building some stars, like Swagger. The difference is that Swagger is being pushed slowly. He hasn't ascended too high since his debut on Raw because he doesn't need to. The seeds are being planted and Swagger is ready to grow from upper-midcarder to main eventer, just as soon as a spot opens up. He's being held in this position by virtue of fued with MVP and mini-fued with Bourne, which has helped develope his character from being a cocky young guy who can back it up to more of an egomaniac character who can't stand losing (Bourne) and who thinks he is above others (MVP).

 

[mattropolis]

I don't see that Raw needs to create new stars...As I see it, Raw has almost al ofl the star power, and Raw sells PPVs.

I disagree with this pretty hotly. Y2J is right on the money. Raw has become a farce and SmackDown has been producing the best wrestling show week in week out for the last little bit.

Raw is certainly not the reason Vince gets my PPV $. Cena vs. Orton...not giving me goosebumps. In theory..everything what you said should be true. The reality of the situation is that Raw is more of a celebrity talk show forum these days than a kick-ass wrestling show.

And Jeff Hardy is the most over guy in the company, while there is no room for him on Raw that doesn't mean he couldn't reach the "level" of a top star over there. The fact that this huge draw would have been buried is just another depressing reality of the absurd Monday night show.

 

[Tenebrous]

I am going to agree with Chris Jericho as well. Raw isn't selling PPVs. Go back and watch every PPV this year and each PPV's best match came from Smackdown. Punk vs Hardy/Mysterio vs Jericho have to tie for the best feuds of the year. Raw is the same thing we have seen since 2003-04 just with the addition of Cena. Raw isn't building anyone. They're half-ass building Swagger but when is the last time he beat anyone of note? When's the last time MVP beat somebody worth mentioning?

Smackdown has made Hardy the most over guy in WWE, made CM Punk look really credible; John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler look like future headliners while Raw is recycling storylines and bringing in people that don't give a shit about sports entertainment. Last week Tyson Kidd pinned Jeff Hardy. Granted it's a handicap match so Hart Dynasty should win but you see what I'm getting at. This almost never happens on Raw. The main event rarely loses to the lower tier talent unless it's to reunite DX.

There is no one being built on Raw with the exception of Legacy (vaguely) but we all know they won't beat DX on Sunday. Question is why not? You can't build stars when the midcard only feuding amongst themselves and never going over the established guys.

 

[Freddy4190]

I totally agree with Jericho. RAW's lack of young talent that are actually worth a damn, or credible, or anything is laughable. Smackdown and ECW both have it, RAW is just pushing the same old bullshit in different ways trying to trick the fans into thinking it's something brand new. Really? Cena vs. Orton at Summerslam AGAIN? I'm not saying I won't enjoy it, but i'd much rather see something different, a new superstar, whatever. This whole CM Punk/Hardy angle on Smackdown has been great imo, I can't wait to see it all culminate this Sunday.

 

[DaNewGuy]

I disagree with this pretty hotly. Y2J is right on the money. Raw has become a farce and SmackDown has been producing the best wrestling show week in week out for the last little bit.

Raw is certainly not the reason Vince gets my PPV $. Cena vs. Orton...not giving me goosebumps. In theory..everything what you said should be true. The reality of the situation is that Raw is more of a celebrity talk show forum these days than a kick-ass wrestling show.

And Jeff Hardy is the most over guy in the company, while there is no room for him on Raw that doesn't mean he couldn't reach the "level" of a top star over there. The fact that this huge draw would have been buried is just another depressing reality of the absurd Monday night show.

You make a good point, and I'll bet that much of the IWC agrees with you. However we don't make up a very large percentage of WWE's target audience. The IWC hated Cena, but he was clearly popular enough with the rest of the fans to merit his long title reigns; selling merchandise and PPVs to 'normal' fans is more lucrative than catering to a niche audience like the IWC. Just ask ECW. Hardy sells merchandise, Mysterio sells merchandise, but neither of them sell PPVs like John Cena. Their title reigns were kept short for a reason.

Give Hardy and Punk and the like some time. People will buy PPVs to see John Cena, HHH, HBK, Undertaker and the like wrestle, and on the card will be the guys Smackdown! are pushing. They might see Ziggler beat Mysterio and think 'this guy beat Rey, he's pretty good'. When they're eventually drafted the fans will be interested in them because they have had their characters developed on Smackdown!. It will then be more beleivable when they face the stars on Raw, which will help elevate them to the top level. Meanwhile, Smackdown! can develope some more stars while Raw's stars sell the PPVs.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Like I've said in previous posts many times, WWE has a hard time switching someone from ECW or Smackdown to Raw and have them succeed like they might have on their other brand... unless they are main eventers. Lets look at some of the people that were drafted to Raw this year only... M.V.P., drafted from SD! to Raw, had a great debut with WWE Champion Randy Orton, had a great few weeks that followed, and now four months since the draft, he's fueding with Jack Swagger. I never thought MVP seemed ready for the main event, but I see that a lot of you do. The Miz , debuted on the Raw brand and immediately started a fued with John Cena. Even now, I believe the win/lose record is 6-4 Miz, but we all know that Cena was the real winner of that fued. The Brian Kendrick, was the hottest thing on SD! the previous year, switched to Raw, had exactly ONE win, and now he's fired. Evan Bourne, he was amazing on ECW until his injury. He returns 4-5 months later is a still okay, but not as good. Now, he's practically a jobber on Raw. The only Raw draftee I have faith in is Jack Swagger, and I'm not really sure if I should.

If you look at it, it's more of a plus to get drafted out of Raw than to Raw. Sure, it's the flagship show, but there's always a chance that you won't go far. It's stuff like this that Chris Jericho says that makes me agree with him when he says he's an honest man... even outside the ring. If Raw really wants to compete with Smackdown in even the slightest bit, they need to take a page out of SD!'s playbook and BUILD NEW STARS! Once Kofi Kingston loses the United States Championship, I think he's ready for the main event. We'll have to see how he competes with the main eventers and see how he fares, with Triple H out of the way. Jack Swagger always seemed ready, but it's WWE's job to see that in him also. That's two new stars right there, and with Batista returning soon, he can have new opponents, along with John Cena and Randy Orton.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Raw does have some talented young guys on the roster, but most of Raw's effort for much of this year has been focused on the main event scene entirely. While Randy Orton and John Cena are still young guys, the fact is that Triple H, HBK and Batista are starting to get up there. HBK probably doesn't have more than a few years left and, given his somewhat frequent injuries, I'd say the same goes for Batista. And Triple H is getting a little stale. However, Vince will milk every last dime that he can from them.

But yeah, Jericho's right. As of right now, there isn't anybody on Raw right now that one can look at and say could be legitimate competitor of or take the place of any of Raw's big five. They have some guys that have a lot of promise, but they're just not really doing anything interesting with most of them. Out of the younger guys, the Miz and Kofi feud that the WWE is building over the U.S. title is the only interesting thing that's going on. I think it's a good step forward and the United States Championship does seem to be worth a lot more than it was during the 6 months Shelton Benjamin had it. But, I think Raw needs to do more.

As of right now, Smackdown is a far superior show. Probably the biggest thing that's really hurting it at this point is that it's on a shitty network that a lot of people don't have access to.

 

[PoeticSoul]

Raw would be nothing without. Cena, Ortan, and DX. I would say Batista also, but he's always hurt. so if those guys all got hurt, or just left what would raw have left? I mean just take a long look at the roster. Look at Chavo. All he's done is push a wheel chair and get beat buy a midget. Yawn! Then there's Festus. Do I really need to say anything about that. They need new talent or they need to start giving guys a push. They should give Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes a singles push. I mean the tag team thing has become a joke in the wwe. Maybe they should just combine raw and smackdown like the old days. What ever they do. they should do it soon. I've been watching raw since i was a kid. I've been a long time fan. but even i'm getting tired of the bullshit they call a show.

 

[byrnside]

Are people forgetting about Rhodes and DiBiase? Maybe not Rhodes so much, but I think DiBiase definitely has potential. I like the Miz too, but he isn't growing as rapidly as Morrison. As for MVP, I love MVP, but he needs to evolve his character. I mean John Cena didn't get to the top rapping, it helped, but when he got closer to the top he dropped that angle, which kind of sucks, but could you picture him doing it for all the little kids these days? MVP needs to at the very least change his attire. Does he still come out to the moonbounce thing? I haven't actually watched RAW in sometime.

Just because the internet crowd is rooting for the Smackdown cards on PPVs, the majority of the money comes in from the guys on RAW, which is also a shame. But me, I'm still in love with watching Triple H, HBK, RKO, etc. But it's definitely getting/gotten stale, and they won't last forever obviously. Orton still has a ton of gas left in his tank, but obviously he's going to need to start using it against guys the likes of MVP for sure.

Don't get me wrong either, I love that Smackdown has some budding stars, I feel like they're the WCW of old, that Jericho represented with guys like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, etc. [The guys who busted their ass and put on a show, while the older guys were ruining everything else.] I think in some ways the WWE wrestlers are evolving into a smaller generation of athletes. And they need to go ahead and embrace that. Look at what WCW did.

 

[Cebeards]

I've always like Chris....smart guy, based on what he said I think shawn wants to play a role in bringing up new guys on Raw....kinda exciting.


it seems over the past few weeks Vince has really kicked this shit into gear. I desperately hope it isn't to get DX over again or I'm gonna lose even more faith in Raw. But, If Legacy pulls off a win, then the main event picture on Raw could broaden slightly, setting up the possibility of Legacy making an even larger impact. I think this Legacy/DX but should go a few months, we will get some good promos and even better matches. This could build into wrestlemania, HHH could get sick of losing to Legacy and blame it on Shawn. Who doesn't wanna see heel HHH vs HBK at mania? But I'm getting ahead of myself. I think Miz is being primed for the US title. If Swagger goes over MVP then I see him feuding with Cena, they had a good mini match on raw. Swagger would have to have a decisive win against MVP though. Kofi has no real character, but he can jump high....so can Shelton...see where I'm going with this? Bourne needs to go to Smackdown to properly develop himself.


On the Smackdown side, why hasn't Morrison been part of a feud yet? Really they have just been using him as the glory boy but aren't giving him any feuds to develop a character. He is the future, in every way shape and form, but they are just pushing him to the front without much of a story along the way. If they ruin his character I'm gonna be pissed.

good enough for now

 

[latinoheat8979]

Well here's my opinion on this Smackdown does have future main eventers in waiting with John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler but Raw isn't doing too bad either and I think they currently have more future Main Eventers in waiting with The Legacy, Jack Swagger, The Miz, MVP, and Kofi Kingston but with Cena, HHH, and Orton always main eventing RAW it's hard for them at the moment to get the spotlight whereas on SD I can see Morrison and Ziggler getting a chance to Main Event quicker because Jeff and Punk are currently Main Eventers and were given a fair chance to Main Event thus more opportunity for them on SD. I agree though that it doesn't matter which brand you main event on once your a certified Main Eventer you can be on either show as a Main Eventer period. There are some guys that are on the roster that just can't seem to get to that Main Event level such as Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin that if used right could also be Main Eventers but it seems that won't ever happen. Also with ECW kind of a farm system for building future stars WWE isn't in too bad shape.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I think Raw has elevated Jack Swagger. The Miz is in a better place now. Raw needs to establish a midcard before they try to establish main eventers. For too long, Raw has had a great main event scene, but it got crowded, and no one wanted to move down. On SD!, the top of the card was full of guys who could be compelling without the belt. With the exception of Cena and HBK, everyone else on Raw needs to be in the title scene to mean anything to anyone. I think Raw is doing a good job of having Kofi Kingston keep winning and moving Jack Swagger into the midcard. Swagger will be a maineventer soon enough, but some time with the US title definitely won't hurt him or the title.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Interesting quote here from Chris Jericho from his nterview with the Baltimore Sun. He is showcasing some epic IWC negativity the likes of which I've only heard about on this board. Sorry Sidious. It stems mainly from his frustration in terms of creating new stars.

I think he seems a bit to chuffed about his work on SmackDown! Calm down Chris, Cryme Tyme aren't that popular. And they were over before you started working with them. but the fact reamins, that what he said is true and that since Wrestlemania 25, RAW hasn't done much at all in terms of character building. Ziggler and JoMo have risen up, but the most you could say for RAW is Kofi and The Miz.

Whats the general concensus on this?

Maybe I'm just slow tonight or that it's simply late, but I don't understand why you are apologizing to me.

In response to Jericho's comments .... Where I do feel that Jericho is over-rated by a lot of his fans, he hits on some decent points, and I respect the guy for being honest and forthright about it. Of course, a lot of this crap in WWE about them failing to make new stars has been called out for some time now. As much complaining that I do about today's WWE, I really haven't addressed this to a large degree ... however, I have touched base on it a couple times in the past.

However, in a roundabout way, I have repeatedly attacked WWE for failing to put an emphasis on the Mid-Card and Lower Mid-Card Divisions .... as well as the Intercontinental Title and US Championship. And the only person who is to blame for that is Vince McMahon and his flawed philosophy he surprisingly adopted from WCW in that "only the Main Event matters ... everything else is just filler". WRONG. And it has finally caught up with Vinnie Mac ... and now he is upset about it. Well, if he and his Creative team were doing their homework all this time, instead of taking this lazy approach to booking, he wouldn't be in this predicament today. If you are providing emphasis to the Midcard, you are essentially grooming your Main Eventers of tomorrow. Which boggled my mind why he was treating the IC Title and US Title like shit all these years. Now, he's simply paying the price for doing so.

However, he has realized his mistakes, evidently, and now is getting his ass in gear with making those titles mean something once again. Unfortunately, it is 2004 all over again, and he is rushing some stars to the top, just like what he did with John Cena and Randy Orton.

As far as Jericho's particular comments about Raw and Smackdown .... Smackdown unquestionably does a better job at developing new stars. Not a great job, but better than Raw, at least. Where as I have major issues with both Raw and Smackdown, Smackdown at least deserves credit in that regard. Ziggler, who I honestly thought was on the chopping block a couple months ago when he was jobbing in squash matches, has been groomed as a legitimate contender to the IC Title, and probably has a good chance at getting it this Sunday.

Smackdown has also done a good job with turning Punk Heel and making him their World Champion. I don't think all of the fans accept him quite yet as Main Event material, as I do feel he was rushed to the Main Event on Raw too soon, but they'll come around.

Smackdown has also helped promote John Morrison to the Upper Midcard. Unfortunately, he should have held the Intercontinental Title before being shot up to the Main Event. I think the plan was to have Morrison feud with Punk once Jeff leaves, however they may have rethought that strategy and will have Punk feud with a recently turned Face Matt Hardy, instead. Better move, I think, as Matt Hardy is more established than Morrison. But I still feel Morrison should hold the US Title before he feuds with someone like Punk.

Cryme Tyme, I think, also has a good chance at getting the Unified Tag Team Titles (for Pete's sake, why can't they get rid of one of the sets of titles, and just call them the "WWE Tag Team Championship"? They look ******ed carrying 2 sets of titles to the ring.). But that is another elevation for Smackdown, as Cryme Tyme never held the titles before.

Jericho's comments regarding Raw have been right on the money. I'm just surprised he made those comments, as I would thought WWE would take issue with making comments like that in person. And they may get him some heat with Vince, but we'll see.

Raw has elevated The Miz and Kofi Kingston. However, that was all relatively recent.

Jack Swagger should have held the US Championship by now. And again, he should BEFORE they try to shoot him up to the Main Event.

I think if Creative is smart, and they aren't, they have a perfect opportunity to create a Breakout star while utilizing the Guest GM concept. That is a perfect opportunity to propel someone up the roster, if they so desire.

But Jericho is brave for making those comments publicly.

 

[BillAlfonso]

Where to begin? I think Jerhico's right and I think what they need to do is leave the main event as they are now out of Raw and Smackdown and save that for PPVs. Let's wind the clocks back 18 years, I remember back in the day when Flair, Sting, Luger, etc. were the main eventers in WCW, you didn't always see the same combinations of performers in the main event matches even though they were still involved. For example, Sting might have a match against someone joke of a heel that he should rightly squash but one of the Horsemen come in a beat Sting down. Later that night in the main event, Flair would be taking on an up and coming face. The up and coming face looks as if he could beat Flair which prompts him and the Horsemen to cheat, of course, and after the match they beat him down. Sting comes out to save the face and exact some revenge, now the face has gotten the rub from Sting and The Horsemen, who were both involved the the main event match without facing each other. Voila! You've made a new guy, now he helps Sting fued with the Horsemen and maybe gets a shot at the title later on. Nowadays, we have Cena/HHH/RKO every week and by the time the PPV rolls around, we've already seen it.

 

[Tastycles]

I don't know. The Miz has gone from being the wingman in a tag team to fighting John Cena on PPV, that's a pretty big build up. MVP has interrupted Orton and fought with him, and Kennedy looked good for a step up until, well, he stepped down spectacularly.

I do see his point, but you have to realise that Raw isn't where people are built, they're built elsewhere and moved. With the exception of the Evolution guys, though even they were on Smackdown, the vast majority of Raw's post brand split stars were built very slowly or on another brand. Benoit and Cena were built on Smackdown, CM Punk was built on ECW. I see no difference with Swagger being built on ECW and moving.

Raw needs a decent midcard platform to build stars from, and I think we're finally seeing that, so while Jericho has a point, it doesn't matter like it did in WCW.

 

[Chill]

Originally Posted by Chris Jericho
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?

I don't entirely agree with what Jericho says here. I think RAW has a good crop of young stars who are currently in the process of being built up and being put over (maybe not as quickly or steadily as Smackdown but that's not to say it aint happening). A good example is Rhodes and Dibiase. Unless I'm only imagining things, they have been pushed on RAW for months now. Ok, their initial association with Randy Orton may have riled some people because they were nothing more than "Orton's lackeys" but that can't be said of them at the moment, they have been going after the tag titles in recent months and obviously are now feuding with DX independent of Randy Orton. Dibiase and Rhodes have also been involved in countless RAW main events and a headline match at Backlash. Also, there are now rumours their match with DX will be headlining Summerslam, regardless of whether that happens or indeed whether Legacy wins, that's still not bad going for two young stars. How Jericho has neglected to see the push Rhodes and Dibiase have been receiving is beyond me.

Then you have The Miz...the guy was pushed to the moon upon first arriving on Raw and he got involved in a fued with not just RAW's hottest commodity but the WWE's hottest commodity in John Cena. Sure, he may have lost the matches but the experience and exposure he got on RAW each week and on PPV has arguably turned him into a competent heel. Maybe Jericho hasn't been watching RAW this past while, strange though since he has been hogging some of the spot light himself on the show...you would think observing all this up close would make him realize that RAW isn't totally neglecting the younger stars, no?

Then we have Jack Swagger who was moved from the C show to the so called 'flagship' of the WWE. Maybe because he hasn't exlcusively went after the US title yet or become WWE champion equates to him not being pushed on RAW in Jericho's eyes. But the way I see it, Swagger has been getting decent TV time, fought a great match with Cena (only WWE's biggest star), he's been getting time to talk on the mic and has been building a solid enough feud with MVP and is appearing on Summerslam (a big four PPV no less). Maybe Jericho could tell us where recently pushed Smackdown star John Morrison is going to be this Sunday? Not Summerslam anyway...

Then you have Kofi Kingston who is only the US Champion but obviously that means he's being neglected on RAW, right? Okay, I would agree to a point that Kingston's reign hasn't exactly been spectacularly booked but he did retain at Night of Champions against multiple opponents no less (but that mustn't have been any sort of achievement).

For the 'flagship' show of the WWE and considering how many genuine main event talent is on RAW, I don't think the show is doing that bad a job with some of the younger guys at all. Sometimes, yes it would be nice to see some of the guys mentioned actually pushed into the main event but then again it's not like Morrison, Ziggler and Cryme Tyme are headling PPV's themselves is it? Smackdown does a good job of pushing younger talent without a doubt but that doesn't mean RAW is completely shitting all over it's younger stars either in my opinion.

 

[Rebecca]

I give Jericho props for saying this, and I do agree with him. But my take on is that WWE have done a pretty good job of hotshotting people up the ranks. Guys like CM Punk, The Miz, MVP, Vladimir Kozlov, Mike Knox, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, and John Morrison have been pushed pretty far in such a short span of time. I think people are being kind of overly judgmental when it comes to attempting to push new names. The only thing really getting in the WWE's way is it's current established main event players and their unwilling natures of not wanting to put someone new over, because, granted, all of these names have went far in a short span of time, outside of maybe CM Punk, none of them have really had that defining victory that's solidified them as being legit competition for big gold.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I think people need to get over this particular thing, Jericho included. What everyone seems to forget is this is exactly the same company - it still has WWE in the name, and the money made is still going into McMahon's pocket. You think all these stars built on Smackdown will stay on Smackdown? Don't be stupid. Young talent will be spread throughout when it's needed to be taken over on Raw. Raw is getting the higher ratings, why's that? Because it is the better show. If those ratings fall dramatically there'll be a superstar change. The brands work together, you need to realise that.