Battle of the Baybay
Posted: Mon May 28, 2018 10:59 pm
Wednesday, May 23rd: London, England
It was the third and final night of Chris Jericho's sold out "Words of Jericho" tour in the UK. Jericho was sharing stories from his career, which were well received by the crowd. As had been the case throughout his wrestling career, Jericho preferred not to follow a script; although there were certain stories he told every show, Jericho had a tendency to improvise, and change which stories he told depending on his audience. The London show was no exception, and as it was getting towards the end of the show, Jericho decided to tell a story he hadn't told for a long time.
Chris Jericho: So I've been wrestling for over 27 years, and I've spent 17 of those 27 years working for EBWF. How many of you can remember my EBWF debut, back in 2001?
There were a few cheers.
Chris Jericho: That's impressive, because I'm not sure even I can remember!
The crowd laughed, and Jericho grinned.
Chris Jericho: Alright, here's an easier question for you. How many of you can remember when I won the King of the Ring tournament?
There were more cheers this time, and Jericho pointed at a fan in the front row who was cheering.
Chris Jericho: What year was it?
Fan #1: 2011?
Jericho nodded.
Chris Jericho: That's right! See Kenny after the show and we'll get you a free t-shirt. So in 2011, for the first and only time in my career, I was crowned King of the Ring. Now as those of you who were watching EBWF back in 2011 will remember, the company was going through a tough time. Our television network, NBC, ousted Wes Ikeda from the Board of Directors and tried to run EBWF themselves. Dick Ebersol from NBC was basically acting as the EBWF CEO... Dick by name, dick by nature.
More laughter from the crowd. Jericho continued.
Chris Jericho: And the thing was, Dick really didn't like me. He barely used me, then got pissed when I agreed to appear on Dancing with the Stars. At one point, I wasn't even going to be in the King of the Ring tournament that year... then after they agreed to put me in the tournament, two weeks before the pay per view, they pushed it back a week. For the first and only time in EBWF history, a show was delayed, due to the sheer incompetence of NBC. I had to cancel a couple of Fozzy gigs just to make myself available for the show. Obviously it turned out to be worth it. There's a lesson to be learned here, I think. And as cliché as it sounds, the lesson is that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It's a philosophy I've followed throughout my career, and that's why I'm the first and only ten-time EBWF World Champion.
The crowd cheered as Jericho smiled smugly. After Jericho had told a couple more stories, he wrapped up the show and Kenny McIntosh, who had organised the tour, came out onto the stage with Jericho.
Kenny McIntosh: Did you all enjoy that?
The crowd cheered loudly and applauded.
Kenny McIntosh: I'm glad. I've been at all three nights and every single one has been different, so on behalf of everyone in attendance here tonight, and everyone who was at the shows in Glasgow and Manchester, I want to say thank you Chris.
The crowd applauded once more, and began chanting "Y2J".
Chris Jericho: Thank you. You're flattering me.
Kenny McIntosh: Now before we call is a night, we're going to take some questions. If anyone has a question they would like to ask Chris Jericho, raise your hand and we'll try and get to you.
Lots of people raised their hands, and Kenny pointed to a guy in the third row.
Fan #2: Chris, you mentioned winning King of the Ring in 2011... with the 2018 tournament already underway, I was just wondering, how hungry are you to win this year's crown?
Jericho smirked.
Chris Jericho: I'm very hungry, kid. In fact, for those of you who haven't seen the announcement, this Monday on Warfare I will be competing in the first round against the debuting Adam Cole.
A few people in the crowd shouted "Adam Cole baybay!", which made Jericho laugh.
Chris Jericho: He stole that! Baybay is my thing.
Kenny McIntosh: You know Chris, while we're talking about King of the Ring, one thing I've noticed is that there seem to be a lot of new names competing in this year's tournament, one of them of course being your opponent Adam Cole. Is that part of the excitement for you, getting to work with people you haven't wrestled before?
Chris Jericho: Absolutely, Kenny. When you've been wrestling for as long as I have, there aren't many guys I haven't worked with, so it's always exciting for me to get the opportunity to work with someone new. Adam Cole is a guy I've heard a lot about, and having watched a few of his matches, I can tell he's an extremely talented wrestler. For those of you who don't know, when I'm not working in the ring, I'm also EBWF's Director of New Talent Development, which means I spend a lot of time scouting future EBWF superstars. Adam Cole is someone I pushed to get signed, and it gives me great pleasure to also be his first EBWF opponent.
Someone in the crowd shouted out, "are you going to beat him?"
Chris Jericho: I sure as hell hope so! And if not, I'm going to sue him for gimmick infringement.
Kenny asked for more questions from the crowd, and pointed out a woman sat near the back who had raised her hand.
Fan #3: Hi Chris, Laura here... I'm a huge fan. Having been wrestling for over 27 years, what is it that motivates you when you step into the ring? What do you want to accomplish before you retire?
Chris Jericho: That's technically two questions, but I'll allow it! I mean I mentioned earlier that I am a ten-time EBWF World Champion, and that's something I'm very proud of. But that doesn't mean I'm going to put my feet up... I don't just want to be the first ever ten-time World Champion, I want to win the World Title again. That's something that motivates me... I want to be the EBWF's top guy. And honestly, competing in King of the Ring is something that always excites me too. When I won the tournament in 2011, I didn't really get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked, because of all the backstage problems happening at the time. I feel like winning it again this year would be a much more enjoyable experience... so Adam Cole, consider yourself warned baybay!
Kenny McIntosh: Well Chris, we're running out of time but on behalf of all of us, good luck on Monday. We'll be rooting for you!
Jericho smiled as the crowd chanted his name once more.
It was the third and final night of Chris Jericho's sold out "Words of Jericho" tour in the UK. Jericho was sharing stories from his career, which were well received by the crowd. As had been the case throughout his wrestling career, Jericho preferred not to follow a script; although there were certain stories he told every show, Jericho had a tendency to improvise, and change which stories he told depending on his audience. The London show was no exception, and as it was getting towards the end of the show, Jericho decided to tell a story he hadn't told for a long time.
Chris Jericho: So I've been wrestling for over 27 years, and I've spent 17 of those 27 years working for EBWF. How many of you can remember my EBWF debut, back in 2001?
There were a few cheers.
Chris Jericho: That's impressive, because I'm not sure even I can remember!
The crowd laughed, and Jericho grinned.
Chris Jericho: Alright, here's an easier question for you. How many of you can remember when I won the King of the Ring tournament?
There were more cheers this time, and Jericho pointed at a fan in the front row who was cheering.
Chris Jericho: What year was it?
Fan #1: 2011?
Jericho nodded.
Chris Jericho: That's right! See Kenny after the show and we'll get you a free t-shirt. So in 2011, for the first and only time in my career, I was crowned King of the Ring. Now as those of you who were watching EBWF back in 2011 will remember, the company was going through a tough time. Our television network, NBC, ousted Wes Ikeda from the Board of Directors and tried to run EBWF themselves. Dick Ebersol from NBC was basically acting as the EBWF CEO... Dick by name, dick by nature.
More laughter from the crowd. Jericho continued.
Chris Jericho: And the thing was, Dick really didn't like me. He barely used me, then got pissed when I agreed to appear on Dancing with the Stars. At one point, I wasn't even going to be in the King of the Ring tournament that year... then after they agreed to put me in the tournament, two weeks before the pay per view, they pushed it back a week. For the first and only time in EBWF history, a show was delayed, due to the sheer incompetence of NBC. I had to cancel a couple of Fozzy gigs just to make myself available for the show. Obviously it turned out to be worth it. There's a lesson to be learned here, I think. And as cliché as it sounds, the lesson is that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It's a philosophy I've followed throughout my career, and that's why I'm the first and only ten-time EBWF World Champion.
The crowd cheered as Jericho smiled smugly. After Jericho had told a couple more stories, he wrapped up the show and Kenny McIntosh, who had organised the tour, came out onto the stage with Jericho.
Kenny McIntosh: Did you all enjoy that?
The crowd cheered loudly and applauded.
Kenny McIntosh: I'm glad. I've been at all three nights and every single one has been different, so on behalf of everyone in attendance here tonight, and everyone who was at the shows in Glasgow and Manchester, I want to say thank you Chris.
The crowd applauded once more, and began chanting "Y2J".
Chris Jericho: Thank you. You're flattering me.
Kenny McIntosh: Now before we call is a night, we're going to take some questions. If anyone has a question they would like to ask Chris Jericho, raise your hand and we'll try and get to you.
Lots of people raised their hands, and Kenny pointed to a guy in the third row.
Fan #2: Chris, you mentioned winning King of the Ring in 2011... with the 2018 tournament already underway, I was just wondering, how hungry are you to win this year's crown?
Jericho smirked.
Chris Jericho: I'm very hungry, kid. In fact, for those of you who haven't seen the announcement, this Monday on Warfare I will be competing in the first round against the debuting Adam Cole.
A few people in the crowd shouted "Adam Cole baybay!", which made Jericho laugh.
Chris Jericho: He stole that! Baybay is my thing.
Kenny McIntosh: You know Chris, while we're talking about King of the Ring, one thing I've noticed is that there seem to be a lot of new names competing in this year's tournament, one of them of course being your opponent Adam Cole. Is that part of the excitement for you, getting to work with people you haven't wrestled before?
Chris Jericho: Absolutely, Kenny. When you've been wrestling for as long as I have, there aren't many guys I haven't worked with, so it's always exciting for me to get the opportunity to work with someone new. Adam Cole is a guy I've heard a lot about, and having watched a few of his matches, I can tell he's an extremely talented wrestler. For those of you who don't know, when I'm not working in the ring, I'm also EBWF's Director of New Talent Development, which means I spend a lot of time scouting future EBWF superstars. Adam Cole is someone I pushed to get signed, and it gives me great pleasure to also be his first EBWF opponent.
Someone in the crowd shouted out, "are you going to beat him?"
Chris Jericho: I sure as hell hope so! And if not, I'm going to sue him for gimmick infringement.
Kenny asked for more questions from the crowd, and pointed out a woman sat near the back who had raised her hand.
Fan #3: Hi Chris, Laura here... I'm a huge fan. Having been wrestling for over 27 years, what is it that motivates you when you step into the ring? What do you want to accomplish before you retire?
Chris Jericho: That's technically two questions, but I'll allow it! I mean I mentioned earlier that I am a ten-time EBWF World Champion, and that's something I'm very proud of. But that doesn't mean I'm going to put my feet up... I don't just want to be the first ever ten-time World Champion, I want to win the World Title again. That's something that motivates me... I want to be the EBWF's top guy. And honestly, competing in King of the Ring is something that always excites me too. When I won the tournament in 2011, I didn't really get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked, because of all the backstage problems happening at the time. I feel like winning it again this year would be a much more enjoyable experience... so Adam Cole, consider yourself warned baybay!
Kenny McIntosh: Well Chris, we're running out of time but on behalf of all of us, good luck on Monday. We'll be rooting for you!
Jericho smiled as the crowd chanted his name once more.