12
August
2010
With WWE SummerSlam just around the corner, critics and fans all over the world have been speculating about the big 7-on-7 Nexus vs. Team WWE elimination main event.
In a match that is eagerly anticipated, it seems everyone has their own opinion about what the finish might be and this has cemented the storyline as being one of the hottest in WWE this year.
One man who is certainly looking forward to the event is Team WWE’s Chris Jericho.
“I think the Nexus angle has been genius,” says Jericho. “It is a tremendous idea that’s really great because it’s a bunch of new guys that on their own mean nothing, but together it’s the hottest angle of the summer.
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Interview with TheScore.com
26
July
2010
Interview with Fanhouse.com
22
June
2010
Chris Jericho has always said that he is much more than just a WWE superstar. He’s your party host and the most entertaining person to be on your TV screen.
Now, he’s getting another chance to prove that as he hosts the new game show Downfall which debuts Tuesday at 9PM ET on ABC. It’s just the latest evolution for him in entertainment to go along with his successful wrestling career, being the lead singer of the rock band Fozzy and writing his first autobiography which was a New York Times bestseller.
On Monday, FanHouse spoke with Jericho about Downfall, what’s next for him in the world of entertainment, how much longer he would like to wrestle, the WWE moving to PG rated content and more.
Brian Fritz: Tell me about the show Downfall and your role as the host.
Chris Jericho: Yeah, I’m hosting the show for ABC called ‘Downfall’. It’s produced by Free Mantle Media which is the people who do American Idol and America’s Got Talent so it’s a pretty big time show. The premise of it is we shot it on the top of a skyscraper in downtown LA 100 feet from the ground on the roof. There’s this giant conveyer belt and you put all your prizes and money on the belt which starts moving. If you answer the questions in the category you pick correctly in time, all the stuff that is on the belt is yours. The longer you take, the more stuff topples off the edge and lands on the street below. If the money goes over the edge, then you go over the edge as well. The contestants are hooked up to a harness, like a zip line. If they don’t answer the questions in time, they go over the edge. If things get too panicky and too crazy, you can hit a panic button which resets the game. If you do that, you have to put something on the belt like a personal item that you brought from home. People brought like golf clubs or their china set that their grandma gave them. Or you can actually put your supporter on the belt which would be like your friend, your family, whoever you brought with you to help you out. They can help you answer questions but if things go wrong, they go over the edge as well. It’s quite a dramatic, suspenseful kind of a show. There’s a lot of human element behind it which is what attracted me. Obviously, the smash up derby part is cool too but it’s the game itself that’s actually the fun part.
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Article: Jericho reaches new heights as ‘Downfall’ host
22
June
2010
Chris Jericho doesn’t have a problem with working on the edge – which is good given his latest career move.
WWE superstar/metalhead/actor Jericho is the host of “Downfall” – a game show that seems designed by a mashup of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and the Three Stooges.
On “Downfall” (tonight at 9 on ABC), contestants stand on a conveyor belt atop a 10-story building in downtown Los Angeles. They answer trivia questions as the conveyer belt moves them, and their prizes, closer to the edge. Fail to answer the questions in time, and watch the cash and prizes go hurtling toward the street below. Take too much time, and the contestant takes the quick way down as well.
“I’m not afraid of heights,” Jericho said from his home in Tampa, Fla. “If you’re afraid of heights, this is not the show to be a part of in any capacity.”
Jericho, perhaps best known for his squared circle acrobatics, took on the summer replacement after hearing about the unusual premise.
“When I first heard about it, I thought it was a cool concept,” he said. “You’re literally standing right at the edge. But it gets really involved and really quite exciting. The biggest prize someone can win is $1 million, but there are more twists and turns as the game goes forward.”
Contestants have the option to hit a “panic button” to stop the conveyor belt nudging them along. They can place a personal item brought from home on the line to buy more time, and they can sacrifice a family member – who can assist, but who also faces the 10-story drop.
Source: Boston Herald
Chris Jericho Changing His Image on ABC’s “Downfall”
21
June
2010
HollywoodNews.com: Chris Jericho is a superstar of the WWE. Even though he’s a “bad guy,” he’s held record championships, including WWE’s first undisputed title. TV viewers will get to see a new side of Jericho on the game show Downfall. He hosts from atop a 100 foot building, while contestants answer questions. Wrong answers lead to prizes, and family members, dropped from the roof (on bungee cables where people are concerned.)
“One of the great things about me being on Downfall is that it does give me a chance to show who I am as a personality,” Jericho said in an exclusive interview with Hollywood News. “Forget about wrestling, Chris Jericho the character, Chris Jericho the personality and the charisma that I have which you hone over the years of working in the WWE. That’s also from acting and from having my own radio show and from being the lead singer of a rock n’ roll band. All that stuff comes in handy when you stand 100 feet off the ground hosting a show in front of millions of people.”
The heights of Downfall bear some comparison to Jericho’s wrestling career. He flies off the top rope to slam into his opponent in the ring. Only the height has increased now. “The first time I ever was in a ring, I was looking up at the top rope and going, ‘That’s not very high at all.’ Then once you get up there looking down, well, it’s a little bit higher up than you think. I think that’s some of the issues that some of the contestants on Downfall had. When you’re standing at the bottom looking up, it doesn’t look too bad. When you’re up there the other way around, it’s a lot more intimidating so it was kind of like being on the top rope when you’re ready to jump off, except the top rope’s only about four feet off the ground in comparison to being 100 feet off the ground for Downfall.”
Remember, a large part of wrestling happens outside the ring. The performers have to trash talk each other and rile up the crowds to set up their dramatic storylines. That prepared Jericho to host a TV show.
“They all stem from the same place. It’s all show business. It’s all about ingratiating yourself with the fans and getting them involved in what you’re doing. So to be the game show host, you’re kind of being the party host. You’re the ringleader of the show. That’s kind of similar to what you do when you’re in the ring. You get them involved whether they love you or they hate you. They have to want to see you and pay money to see you. That’s kind of the same thing you do when you’re acting or when you’re a musician or any of those things. It all comes to just being an entertainer, being charismatic and having a good personality and getting people involved in what you’re doing.”
Other star wrestlers have hosted game shows before too, but Jericho is confident enough to talk smack to them. Now I feel silly for comparing Downfall to American Gladiators. “I’m much better of a game show host than Hulk Hogan ever was and our show is a much better game than Gladiators too so I think that’s kind of a bad analogy.”
In the ring, Jericho usually wears spandex tights to fight, so Downfall will show him in a different fashion presentation. “I wear a fancy pants suit,” Jericho joked.
It’s important for Jericho that people see him in a new way. Even though people understand that wrestling is a performance, they find it hard to separate him from WWE’s Chris Jericho.
“Like I said, it’s show business. Some people still can’t figure out the difference sometimes but that’s kind of half the fun of being good at what you do. You can manipulate people into believing something that isn’t necessarily true, but you want them to believe it because that’s where we’re going in the course of the show.”
If you are interested in learning more about the real Chris Jericho, he has a second autobiography coming out with a third already formulating. The first book, A Lion’s Tale, has been a hit. “It’s not a wrestling book, more than it’s just a follow your dreams coming of age type of a story. I think you can relate to it if you’re a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about wrestling. It’s about this kid who had this dream when he was young and tried to figure out how the hell to make it true. So I get great feedback all across the board from it.”
See Jericho on Downfall, premiering June 22 on ABC.
Audio Interview @ ProWrestling.net
21
June
2010
WWE star Chris Jericho spoke with Jason Powell on Thursday regarding his WWE career and his new show “Downfall,” which debuts Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Jericho comments on whether WWE officials expressed concern over him hosting an ABC show, the hit television show he had to pass on due to his WWE schedule, his thoughts on WWE releasing Bryan Danielson, his future goals, and more.
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Listen to the Interview
Jericho plays it safe on `Downfall’ show
21
June
2010
LOS ANGELES — Pro wrestler Chris Jericho is willing to take hits in the ring but will be playing it safe as host of ABC’s new game show “Downfall.”
“Downfall” is staged atop a 10-story downtown Los Angeles building, with contestants vying for prizes and up to $1 million cash by taking a trivia quiz. Players face the risk of being pushed off the roof — strapped into a decelerator harness — if they lose.
Jericho is on the rooftop, too, but tethered to a platform to avoid an unexpected trip.
“It’s scary when you get up there and stand on the edge,” Jericho said. “That’s the reason I’m the host. I don’t ever have to go over the edge — unless the show gets canceled, in which case I’m the first one that gets thrown over.”
Jericho’s sense of humor has been on display elsewhere, including regular appearances on VH1 and E! and as guest host on shows including “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” and “MadTV.”
He draws parallels between his World Wrestling Entertainment experience and “Downfall” beyond their show business elements. The game show begins its six-episode run Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT on ABC.
“They’re both high-intensity, energetic games,” Jericho said. “You’re putting something on the line.”
Besides the suspense, he said, “Downfall” is also an “amazing spectacle.”
The show’s setup includes a huge conveyer belt that sends replicas of prizes, up to and including cars, as well as contestants’ personal mementos crashing to the street.
“As a kid, you want to stand and drop eggs or GI Joes off the building and see if they fall apart. That’s the primal instinct that makes the show so interesting,” Jericho said.
But, he hastened to add, no players were harmed in the filming of the show.
Interview with Live Audio Wrestling
27
May
2010
In a recent interview, WWE wrestler Chris Jericho evaluated TNA as a promotion with a good talent roster, but needing to make management changes to maximize the product.
“They have all the right talent; they’re just having growing pains. I think they just need to make a couple more front office moves,” Jericho said, with his voice trailing off as if not wanting to throw anyone under the bus, in an interview with John Pollock on Live Audio Wrestling last week.
Jericho also talked about TNA needing to focus on Thursday nights after getting a taste of Monday nights up against WWE.
“It’s too bad it didn’t work out on Monday nights, but it’s such a machine and you can’t compete with WWE in this day and age,” Jericho said. “Things have changed from 15 years ago and I think all those guys are figuring that out. They should take Thursday night, make it their night, and create a niche for themselves and do something different from what it is that we’re doing. You can’t compete with us. We’ll never lose.”
Jericho also talked about his work in WWE and why he’s been able to stay over no matter whether he’s booked to win or lose matches.
“Nobody will ever steal my spot because I do what I do very uniquely. Whether I’m on first or whether I’m in the main event, it doesn’t matter to me,” Jericho said. “If I get five minutes of TV time, watch out because I’m going to take advantage of it. I can’t control the booking; I have no power over that. All I can control is the time that I’m given and the storyline that I’m given to do the best possible job with it.”
Source: PW Torch
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- Listen to the Interview (Starts at 1:16:00)
Code-”Breaking the Law”: Chris Jericho & Judas Priest: Part two
12
May
2010
In part two of WWE.com’s exclusive Superstar to Superstar interview, Chris Jericho talks with heavy metal legends Judas Priest about the 30th anniversary of their seminal album, British Steel.
CHRIS JERICHO: What is it about British Steel’s track list that keeps fans both young and old tuned to Judas Priest?
ROB HALFORD: Every year you’re going to try and come up with something different than the last release. We never want to replicate a previous offering that we’ve made. At the time, we were still relatively young and growing as a band. It may also have been that we didn’t have the luxury of six months or a year to make a record. That’s why these tracks are so uncomplicated, Read the rest of this entry »
Code-”Breaking the Law”: Chris Jericho & Judas Priest
11
May
2010
In 1980, Judas Priest released British Steel, an album that is revered as the definitive heavy metal album and helped create the attitude associated with the genre of music. This week, Judas Priest released British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition to celebrate the album’s original release. WWE’s Superstars often resonate with heavy metal music, whether through their entrance theme, their ring attire or their attitude.
The latter is certainly the case with Chris Jericho. The four-time World Champion and lead singer of the rock band Fozzy brings the attitude associated with heavy metal to being a WWE Superstar. While Jericho may claim to be “the best in the world at what he does,” many in the heavy metal community consider Judas Priest as the best heavy metal band of all time. In this exclusive Superstar to Superstar interview, Chris Jericho talks with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton commemorating 30 years of British Steel. Read the rest of this entry »
Christopher Keith Irvine, better known as Chris Jericho, was born on 9th November 1970. He is wrestling for the WWE, currently on it's Raw brand, and has held the Intercontinental title a record setting 9 times. As well as being the lead singer of Fozzy, he has also written his own auto-biography 'A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex', a New York Time's Best Seller and hosted his own radio show.. 
