Chris Jericho attends the All Elite Wrestling panel during 2019 New York Comic Con at Jacob Javits Center on October 04, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for WarnerMedia Company)
“AC/DC Beyond The Thunder” is a legacy film turned podcast that recently hosted all-time wrestling great Chris Jericho to talk about the perfect marriage of rock and wrestling.
Mr. Jericho is no stranger to either, boasting 35 wrestling championships in 30 years and fronting his own rock band Fozzy.
In fact his band even opened for Iron Maiden in 2019, where they covered “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” as a final warm up to the big act. This begs the question – can Chris Jericho rock belts and belt rock? Can he bend pipes and does he have pipes? Can Jericho go toe-to-toe with John Cena and Brian Johnson?
Podcast creators Gregg Ferguson and Kurt Squiers ask the man himself and whether he thought he could have replaced Johnson when he unexpectedly left their Rock Or Bust tour.
“I could do it. That’s kind of my wheelhouse,” said Jericho confidently.
In fact it was legendary Axl Rose who stepped into Johnson’s shoes on the Rock or Bust Tour and Jericho not only gave him props for saving the day, but also alluded to the idea that this might be the first egoless band Axl had been in.
“I think that if you ask the other guys in Guns N’ Roses, I think Axl really got a sense of, like, ‘Holy smokes, this is how it can be. You can be in a great rock ‘n’ roll band and [I don’t have to] worry about the egos or the bullshit that surrounds it.’ I think he really came alive as the singer of AC/DC,” said Jericho.
AC/DC is not just a favorite of The Bone, it’s also a favorite of WWE CEO Vince McMahon according to Chris.
“The reason why you hear so much AC/DC is because that’s Vince McMahon‘s favorite band of all-time,” said Jericho. “There’s a real synchronicity between what AC/DC does and wrestling. It’s very hard-hitting. Electric. It’s a very aggressive feeling that you get.”
There you have it. Whether you knew it all along, or just felt it in your gut, AC/DC and wrestling are the perfectly in sync.
