Chris Jericho on ditching Y2J persona in WWE: ‘I don’t wanna be a nostalgia act’
Chris Jericho has reinvented himself throughout his wrestling career. From his Y2J days to varied character evolutions in WWE, Jericho has stayed relevant by embracing change. He discussed the decision and thought process behind his 2007 WWE return.
In an interview with Dan Marston, Jericho revealed that revamping his WWE persona in 2007 and moving away from the iconic Y2J persona, debuting a new look was the biggest risk ever taken in his career. He discussed the importance of constantly reinventing oneself.
“I think probably when I dropped the whole Y2J persona and the countdown. There was a time when I came back in 2007 where I was kind of a, not gonna say a diluted version of Chris Jericho, but you know, it wasn’t the same. I had shorter hair, and it just, times had changed, right? So, I thought, I don’t wanna do this anymore, I don’t wanna be a nostalgia act,” said Jericho.
“So, I switched from, I cut my hair, like I said. I switched from long tights to trunks. Dropped the Y2J. I told the announcers ‘Don’t ever call me Y2J ever again.’ Did a whole new video package that had none of that. And then, the countdown was synonymous with Jericho. Get rid of the countdown. It’s done.”
“And, that was kind of the first time where I really took a shot, cause it was like, you know, it’s almost like KISS when they took off the makeup.”
“You’re doing something very drastic here, and you want people to understand we’re doing something different. Whether you like it or don’t like it, that’s not for us to decide, but here’s where we’re going, here’s the path that we’re taking, come on board if you want to.”
“It was a big risk, but not for long, and it’s something that I had to do. And, that’s when I realized I can reinvent myself whenever I start feeling a little stale, and people will like some of it, not like some of it, but I can’t worry about what people think. I just have to worry about what I can do to be the best personality I can be.”
“Well, that’s exactly right. And, my biggest inspiration in show business is David Bowie. I always was really obsessed and interested in really paying attention to what he was doing, which he always reinvented himself.”
Jericho has continued the philosophy of change in his AEW run too. Since joining the promotion in 2019, he has undergone several character transformations including ‘Le Champion’ when he was the inaugural AEW World Champion, leading Jericho Appreciation Society and iterations with The Learning Tree.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.