Seriously... Chris Jericho to TNA!?

Here is an intriguing article and interview with Chris Jericho conducted by none other than TNA Wrestling

“Life is about possibility. It is about tearing down walls so that we may see farther; traveling new roads so that we may experience greater; shattering old ways of thinking so as to understand better.”

It was a dreary Sunday evening in Chattanooga when I saw Fozzy in concert for the first time two years ago. I arrived tired and with modest expectations. After all, I knew Chris Jericho personally, worked with him professionally and saw him cheered hundreds of times by thousands of fans as a wrestling superstar. This, on the other hand, was a small venue. And surely this music thing must be some quirky, fleeting hobby of his.

Was I ever wrong.

When the band took the stage at Rhythm and Blues that December evening, I was instantly impressed. Their energy was rampant; the crowd raucous. This was not the Chris Jericho I thought I knew. He truly was the “Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rolla”!

Their sound is varied. “It falls somewhere between Pantera and Journey,” Jericho told me, “heavy, with melodic vocals and tons of guitars solos.”

True. But what really amazed that night me was how natural Chris Jericho looked on stage playing the lead role of rock-n-roll superstar. It seemed so easy, so effortless. And he was having fun.

“On stage, our mission is to make sure everybody in the crowd has a great time,” says Jericho. “And we always succeed.”

Chris Jericho became a wrestling fan when he was a young boy, watching television with his grandmother in the family room on Saturday nights. The Rockers, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Owen Hart and Outback Jack were just a few to make a lasting, first impression. But make no mistake: music was his very first passion in life.

“I had every Beatles record by the time I was ten years old and formed my first band at 12.”

He includes the Beatles, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Helloween as his favorite bands of all-time. They also inspired him to pursue his passion for making music even when he was working full-time as a professional wrestler. That’s why he was so dedicated to Fozzy.

“I started playing in a band to emulate the musicians who made up the fabric of my soul,” he said. Then, with a devilish grin, he added, “Oh yeah, and for the chicks!”

The similarities between wrestling and music are undeniable.

“They’re both hard-hitting, aggressive forms of entertainment that feed off of the reactions from the fans who are experiencing the magic,” Jericho notes. “Both are legitimate forms of art and we are all artists.”

Chris Jericho is much more than an artist: he is a genuine human being. He listens to his heart when others become slaves to the status quo. He is not afraid of taking chances. He leads when most others only follow. Last year, he left the world of professional wrestling at the apex of his career because his heart was calling him to explore new worlds. And he has never looked back.

In the summer of 2003, I, too, left a job when it would have been easy to stay. I, too, felt the calling to leave the world of comfort and safety, to break down the walls of illusion, to venture into an unknown adventure. Driving through the parking gates at work for the final time on my very last day, B.B. King’s, “The Thrill Is Gone” played on the stereo. I immediately began to cry. At that very moment, I felt vulnerable and alone. Fifteen minutes later, when the tears subsided, I checked my voice mail. There was a message from Jericho. He just wanted to wish me well and lend his support. In typical fashion, he even left a droll comment that made me laugh. It was a small gesture, but it made a profound impact. Simple, genuine acts of kindness at times like that become great memories that are never lost to time.

As a wrestler, Chris Jericho’s favorite memory is becoming the first ever Undisputed World Champion, followed by his show-stealing match with HBK at WrestleMania 19. Despite a hectic schedule, he still manages to keep abreast of current storylines. He lists Samoa Joe and LAX as two of his top five performers in the business. And he was absolutely stunned when he heard the news that Kurt Angle was heading to TNA.

“I think it’s amazing,” Jericho told me. “It’s great for the business, for TNA and for Kurt. He needs to be the destroyer guy and not the cowboy hat guy, though.”

Between acting, writing, touring, hosting television and radio shows, recording a new record in the studio with Fozzy, or working on a litany of other projects in the entertainment industry, Chris Jericho’s work schedule is as full as ever. But he’s enthusiastic because he’s following his heart. He has broken down the walls of safety and constraint and has grown tenfold as a person because of it.

Does that mean the countless Jerichoholics who cheered him for all those years while he performed in the ring will never see him wrestle again?

“The hundreds and hundreds of Jerichoholics have dwindled down to about 47 over the last year,” he said. “But there are 22 of them in Peoria alone, so I’m huge there. I might have to return just for them!”

If he does come back, will it be in a ring with four sides…or six?

“Never Say Never Mr. Bond”, he replies, shaken not stirred.