WWE/NJPW News: Chris Jericho on his recent return to NJPW and which WWE Superstar he would like to work with

What’s the story?

Pro Wrestling veteran Chris Jericho was recently interviewed by The Mirror, to promote the "Words of Jericho" one-man shows in Glasgow, Manchester, and London next week. However, during the conversation, Y2J also spoke about a host of wrestling related topics, including his recent return to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In case you didn’t know…

During this month’s NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku show, former six-time WWE World Champion Chris Jericho made his impactful return to the promotion when he attacked current IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito after being disguised as a Los Ingobernables de Japon fan.

Jericho, who earlier in the year, claimed on Twitter that he was indeed done with New Japan Pro Wrestling for good, eventually made his return to the company, in what was another typical Chris Jericho surprise move.

The heart of the matter

While speaking with The Mirror, Chris Jericho opened up about his return to NJPW and also commented on which WWE Superstar he’d like to work with on a long-term basis.

According to Chris Jericho, he believes that fans were apparently convinced with the fact that he was initially set to make his NJPW return at their Strong Style Evolved show at Long Beach, California.

However, that was apparently not the actual case, and Jericho instead made his NJPW return on the 4th of May, in Fukuoka.

However, prior to his return to Japan, Y2J was also very confident regarding the fact that several fans around the globe have somehow managed to keep track of his flight schedules, thus spoiling his NJPW return in one way or another. (H/T: Wrestling Inc)

"I don't know man. It's one of those things, the cat got out of the bag, but everyone was convinced I was going to be in Long Beach too [NJPW held a show titled Strong Style Evolved in California on March 25]. You can't tell me that you really knew for sure because no one knew for sure."

"I have found out that fans have a way to track your flight patterns now... which really makes me feel safe. Maybe that's how, they found out that Chris Jericho was flying into Tokyo or whatever it was, but once again, I don't feel bad because we were very specific, very secret about it."

"I flew into Haneda Airport, stayed a night there, then secretly flew into Fukuoka and stayed at a different hotel, so if people say they knew I was there that's wrong, because there might have been some rumors, but it's not like I was busted or caught red-handed or anything along those lines. If I hadn't have been there, people would have just said 'oh that's Jericho, we thought he was going to be at Long Beach too'."

Chris Jericho claimed that one of the most important elements on today’s Pro Wrestling industry, is the storyline behind a feud. As per Y2J, the idea of his surprise attack on Tetsuya Naito was seemingly a brilliant touch to their on-going developing story.

"It's all about the story. If it's a good story I will work with anybody. I enjoy wrestling still but I enjoy the storyline behind it. I liked the idea of a surprise attack on Naito, I like all these type of things that you don't really expect to see. That's why I still enjoy wrestling”

In addition, Jericho stated that he is currently also willing to work alongside the likes of Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, or Daniel Bryan, given the fact that if the creative team can come up with a proper storyline

“Yeah sure, working with [Braun] Strowman would be great, working with Daniel Bryan would be great, working with any of those guys would be great, I love Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and all of those dudes. But what's the story behind it? If we can come up with a good story, then I'm all in. If not, then I will just continue doing what I'm doing right now and having a lot of fun doing it."

What’s next?

Chris Jericho is currently slated to challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship when he goes toe-to-toe against Tetsuya Naito for the first time at this year’s NJPW: Dominion 6.9 pay-per-view.

Author’s take

Chris Jericho’s return to NJPW has been absolutely stellar and personally, I’m really hyped to see what Y2J has to bring to the table at Dominion when he goes head-to-head against 'The Ungovernable' Tetsuya Naito for the very first time.

Will the nine-time WWE IC Champion add the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to his illusive list of achievements? Only time will tell!