Talk is Jericho – Chris Jericho’s Rock & Wrestling Rager – Behind the Seanes
Release Date: October 24, 2018
Recap by: Caitlin Lavelle
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Todd Martin just reviewed in detail (82 min!) the JERICHO CRUISE that he just returned from. VIP members can listen now. NOT VIP? Go VIP now for just $3.99 ($6 off) to hear about the cruise & get 30 days of VIP access! https://t.co/gOh5wg4HnE Enter coupon code "cruz" OR "beto" pic.twitter.com/fzjcdZDIxB
— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) November 2, 2018
4:50 – Jericho on deciding to promote a cruise
On October 27th, Chris Jericho’s Rock & Wrestling Rager at Sea, a cruise, will set sail from Miami, Florida. Jericho says he’s been working on this cruise for three years, and that he was inspired to do his own cruise after his band, Fozzy, performed on the KISS Kruise.
Jericho says his idea was to do a cruise based around music and wrestling, and that he wanted it to be an extension of his podcast – diverse, with wrestling, music, comedy, the paranormal, and everything in-between.
Jericho says his management approached Sixthman, a promotion company that he’s working with for his cruise. He says he wanted his cruise to be different from WCW’s Bruise Cruise (which Jericho performed on) and WWF’s Wrestle Vessel.
10:50 – Jericho on booking wrestling promotions instead of individual wrestlers
Because Jericho wanted to avoid issues with talent falling through due to injury and contract changes, he decided to partner with a promotion rather than book individual independent wrestlers.
Jericho says his top three prospective wrestling promotions to book on the cruise were NXT, Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground, with Pro Wrestling Gorilla as an honorable mention. Jericho clarifies that this was before All In, the Madison Square Garden sellout and Alpha vs. Omega.
12:30 – Jericho on pitching the cruise to NXT
Jericho says he met with Triple H in Philadelphia to pitch featuring NXT on his cruise.
Jericho says Triple H was, “Kind of into it, fairly cool about it, and hooked me up with his assistant and a bunch of other people…I didn’t think they were going to go for it, but (I was) doing the due diligence that I should be doing, because I was working for WWE at the time, knowing they could probably shut this down if they want to.”
Jericho says it took WWE/NXT about 6 weeks to turn down the offer to be on the cruise. He also says Vince doesn’t like cruises because he read somewhere that people got food poisoning on a cruise, and now believes people get food poisoning on every cruise.
15:10 – Jericho on partnering with Ring of Honor for the cruise
As soon as he was turned down by NXT, Jericho says he reached out to Christopher Daniels to ask for contact information for Ring of Honor (ROH). Within a matter of hours, on that same day, Jericho says ROH had agreed to be on the cruise.
17:45 – Jericho on booking his band, Fozzy, as the headlining music act on the cruise
Jericho says he originally tried to get Alice Cooper to headline the cruise, but quickly found out Cooper was out of his price range. Jericho says Papa Roach, Alter Bridge, Stone Sour and Shinedown, his other prospective headliners, were also too expensive.
Jericho explains that while Sixthman is paying for all of boat expenses, Jericho is paying all of the talent out of his pocket.
Jericho says he spoke to Paul Stanley, who explained why they center the KISS Kruise around KISS, and Jericho was inspired to make Fozzy the headliner.
Jericho decided, “I’m going to put all the eggs in the Fozzy basket, because I’m not going to rip myself off. I’m not going to no-show myself.”
21:40 – Jericho on putting a wrestling ring on a cruise ship
Jericho says the cruise line was concerned about the logistics of securing a wrestling ring to the deck of their ship, and ended up hiring a team of engineers to figure out how to do it. Jericho says Triple H actually offered to lend Jericho an NXT ring and aid in set-up if need be, but Jericho says they didn’t end up needing NXT’s help.
22:45 – Jericho on losing his original ship
Jericho says the cruise was originally going to leave from New Orleans and go to Jamaica in March of 2018 (around Wrestlemania 34). Four days before the originally proposed on-sale date (in May 2017), Jericho got a call from Sixthman explaining they had “lost their boat.” Jericho says he thinks a large corporation swooped in, offered more money and booked the ship for the same weekend Jericho was planning to hold his cruise.
Sixthman eventually secured the original boat’s sister ship, the Norwegian Jade, to sail out of Miami in October 2018. Jericho says he had to call Ring of Honor and talent to make sure they were still available, but most everyone would still be able to make the cruise.
38:25 – Jericho on booking Rey Mysterio
Jericho mentions that he’ll be recording a live several live Talk is Jericho podcasts on the cruise, including a ‘Remembering Eddie Guerrero’ show with Konnan and Rey Mysterio.
Jericho says Rey Mysterio, “Is going to be on the cruise. He has resigned with WWE, but one of the caveats was, this (the cruise) is a carved out date, which I’m sure Vince is going to be thrilled about.”
40:55 – Jericho on booking Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler
Jericho says Jim Ross was one of the first people he called about doing the cruise, and that J.R. was on board before his wife, Jan, passed away. Jericho said he told Ross he, “didn’t have to go” after his wife died, but J.R. said he still wanted to go on the cruise.
Jericho says Jerry Lawler called him after he announced the cruise. Jerry told Jericho he had never been on a cruise before and really wanted to go, and so they worked out a deal.
42:55 – Jericho on booking Kenny Omega
Jericho says he wanted Kenny Omega to have top billing and calls him, “the hottest guy in the business right now.”
Jericho says, “He was not booked at first, because Kenny does not have a contract with Ring of Honor…It was after Alpha vs. Omega at the Tokyo Dome. I just called (Kenny) one day and said, ‘Would you be interested in coming on the cruise?’ He said, ‘Well, no one asked me, is there room?’ I was like, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’”
Jericho said he only asked Kenny to commit to doing one match.
44:55 – Jericho on booking Cody
Jericho says he asked Cody if he’d come on the cruise as soon as Cody signed with Ring of Honor, and that Cody was on board immediately as long as he could bring his wife.
45:35 – Jericho on Booking The Young Bucks
Jericho says the Young Bucks were the first act that he announced for the cruise, and calls them the biggest names in Ring of Honor and worldwide.
46:15 – Jericho on booking a main event for the cruise [Alpha Club (Y2Jackson/Bucks of Jericho) vs. Bullet Club]
Jericho says it was Nick Jackson who suggested Jericho team with the Young Bucks to face Kenny Omega, Cody & Marty Scurll.
Jericho says, “I said, ‘That’s great, and what if I induct you guys into the Alpha Club, and make it Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club?’ From the Vince McMahon school, you need a tagline.”
46:40 – Jericho on issues with Lance Storm
Jericho says his original idea for a main event on the cruise was The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio & Lance Storm.
Jericho says, “Lance was originally booked on the cruise, but due to circumstances that I don’t want to get into, he’s not booked on it. He’s also no longer on Killing the Town (on Jericho’s Podcast network) anymore.”
50:10 – Jericho on his arrangement with Ring of Honor
Jericho says Ring of Honor was in charge of booking their talent for the cruise, and that he wasn’t familiar with some of the wrestlers who have ended up on the cruise. He says he paid Ring of Honor a flat fee for all talent, rings and everything, and that he was impressed with how many people they ended up sending on the cruise.
53:45 – Jericho on booking Impact Wrestling on the cruise
Jericho says he got a call from Don Callis, Co-Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling, pitching the concept of inter-promotional matches that would be exclusive to Jericho’s cruise.
55:48 – Jericho on booking the Slaughter on the Water (Sami Callihan vs. Marty Scurll)
Of Sami Callihan, the first Impact Wrestling talent announced for the cruise, Jericho says, “I’m a big fan of Sami. I love his promos. He gets it. It’s real to him.”
Jericho says there were a couple of suggestions for who to put Sami against, but that Jericho decided on Marty Scurll because he was the biggest name pitched and he thought the two would have the best match. Jericho says Callis came up with the ‘Slaughter on the Water’ name for the match.
Jericho says he called the cruise to ask if they could do a ‘deck fight’ (a play off of a street fight), and that the cruise line sent back a list of questions to assure that their guests would be safe and their ship wouldn’t be damaged.
1:06:40 – Jericho on naming the cruise
Jericho says he originally wanted to call the cruise, ‘The Cruise of Jericho’ or ‘The JeriCruise’. He says the cruise line wanted him to use his full name, and came back with the name, ‘Chris Jericho’s Rock & Wrestling Cruise.’
Jericho says he likes to have the same letter-sound three times when he’s using alliteration, and that he often employs the rule of threes in his promos. He proposed ‘Rock & Wrestling Rampage’ and ‘Rock & Wrestling Regatta’ before finally agreeing on ‘Chris Jericho’s Rock & Wrestling Rager at Sea’.
The ‘at Sea’ portion of the name was insisted upon by the promotion company, Sixthman.
1:09: 35 – Jericho on booking WWE Hall of Famers for the cruise
Jericho says he booked DDP early on in the process because he thought he could do yoga demonstrations aboard the ship.
Jericho says he asked Ric Flair to do the cruise, but that Flair didn’t really get the concept and turned him down.
Chris Jericho explains that when he was unsure whether Jim Ross would make the cruise, he booked Mick Foley as a potential alternate host. Now that J.R. is coming, Jericho says he simply shifted Foley’s role.
Jericho says he’s been trying to book Ricky Steamboat on Talk is Jericho for 5 years, and that he was the first guy he wanted to book to do a live Talk is Jericho with on the cruise.
Pat Paterson reached out to Jericho through his agent, asking to be on the cruise. Jericho calls Paterson his mentor, and says he wanted to accommodate whatever Pat wanted to do. Jericho calls Pat an amazing Karaoke singer, and pitched ‘Pat Paterson’s Karaoke’, to which Pat agreed.
1:12:30 – Jericho on booking James Ellsworth on the cruise
Jericho says James Ellsworth, “Kept calling me over and over and over again to be involved. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with him. At one point we were going to do (a match) for his inter-gender title. I’m not sure if that’s happening or not.”
1:17:30 – Jericho on booking music for his cruise
Jericho says Corey Taylor of Slipknot was originally noncommittal about doing the cruise, but eventually agreed when he began dating Alicia Dove of the Cherry Bombs, a band that was also booked for the cruise.
Jericho says Phil Campbell (formerly of Motörhead) is going to perform Triple H’s theme song with his band Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons.
Jericho says Papa Buck, the Young Buck’s dad, was the final addition to the music lineup, and that Frankie Kazarian will be playing base guitar with him.
VIP SALE ($3.99 for a full month, $6 off): Get tonight's new Todd Martin VIP podcast (82 min.) What happened on the Rock'n'Wreslting Rager at Sea was supposed stay on the Rager, but Todd is back & shares it all. Visit: https://t.co/GUrqs8ossm Choose coupon code "cruz" or "beto" pic.twitter.com/x8uaoBfDzo
— Wade Keller (@thewadekeller) November 2, 2018
1:23:20 – Jericho on booking comedians for his cruise
Jericho says he originally booked Jim Breuer for his cruise, but that Breuer cancelled when he started opening for Metallica. Jericho replaced Breuer with Craig Gass, Brad Williams and the Impractical Jokers. Jericho says the Impractical Jokers wanted to be involved because they’re Chris Jericho fans.
1:25:10 – Jericho on going all in for his first cruise
Jericho says, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if we’re going to do another (cruise). I don’t know if they’re going to want to do another one. I know if this is a success financially, they’ll be excited and a little be surprised. I think they kind of underestimated all of us…how loyal and fanatical you guys are as fans.
“If it goes the way I want it to go, yeah – next year, I’ll have to worry about that next year. I already have some ideas. Like I said, I’ve got the formula down. The first one is always the hardest.”
1:33:17 – Jericho on the Roman Reigns announcement
On Roman Reigns’ announcement that he has Leukemia, Jericho says, “If anybody can beat it, he’s going to beat it. He’s a strong dude. He’s a Samoan, of course, those guys are crazy. One of my favorite opponents in the ring, and one of my favorite people out of the ring. I love you, Uce, and I know you’re going to kill this.”
Timestamps:
0:30 – Introduction
2:48 – Conversation starts
4:50 – Jericho on deciding to promote a cruise
10:50 – Jericho on booking wrestling promotions instead of individual wrestlers
12:30 – Jericho on pitching the cruise to NXT
15:10 – Jericho on partnering with Ring of Honor for the cruise
17:45 – Jericho on booking his band, Fozzy, as the headlining music act on the cruise
21:40 – Jericho on putting a wrestling ring on a cruise ship
22:45 – Jericho on losing his original ship
30:00 – Advertisement
33:50 – Conversation resumes
38:25 – Jericho on booking Rey Mysterio
40:55 – Jericho on booking Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler
42:55 – Jericho on booking Kenny Omega
44:55 – Jericho on booking Cody
45:35 – Jericho on Booking The Young Bucks
46:15 –Jericho on booking a main event for the cruise [Alpha Club (Y2Jackson/Bucks of Jericho) vs. Bullet Club]
46:40 – Jericho on issues with Lance Storm
50:10 – Jericho on his arrangement with Ring of Honor
53:45 – Jericho on booking Impact Wrestling on the cruise
55:48 – Jericho on booking the Slaughter on the Water (Sami Callihan vs. Marty Scurll)
1:01:30 – Advertisement
1:05:05 – Conversation resumes
1:06:40 – Jericho on naming the cruise
1:09: 35 – Jericho on booking WWE Hall of Famers for the cruise
1:12:30 –Jericho on booking James Ellsworth on the cruise
1:17:30 – Jericho on booking music for his cruise
1:23:20 – Jericho on booking comedians for his cruise
1:25:10 – Jericho on going all in for his first cruise
1:30:45 – Outro
1:33:17 – Jericho on the Roman Reigns announcement
Rating: 7/10
Chris Jericho obviously loves wrestling, and it’s fun to listen to how excited he is about this project. There’s a lot of cruise promotion (obviously), but there are also some really cool behind-the-scenes stories about how this cruise came together.
Writer Bio
Caitlin is a wrestling fan who hopes to one day discover that she is the illegitimate daughter of Vincent Kennedy McMahon and the rightful Anonymous RAW General Manager. Until then, she’ll keep on living in Orlando, Florida with her husband and son.
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