Chris Jericho Says Celebrities Train Harder Now As They Respect The Pro Wrestling Business More

Chris Jericho is a true veteran in the pro wrestling world with over three decades under his belt. He has also worked with several celebrities in the past and also present, including the likes of Mike Tyson.

While speaking on Hollywood Life, Chris Jericho was asked why celebrities such as Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal and Bad Bunny have worked much better inside a pro wrestling ring, in comparison to celebrities in the past such as Jay Leno back in the Monday Night Wars.

Chris Jericho boiled it down to celebrities simply respecting the business more, which is why they train harder in order to perform better in the ring.

“You now have guys that have a large amount of respect for pro wrestling,” Jericho said. “You can throw Jay Leno’s name in there and I will raise you a Karl Malone, a Dennis Rodman or a Lawrence Taylor way back in the day. There are athletes and guys like Bad Bunny who have been lifelong fans of wrestling and really respect what we do and want to be involved. Those are the ones that always work the best. If you take a guy who doesn’t want to do the training and do the things to put on a good match, you will not get one. Then it becomes more of just a stunt casting.

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“Shaq took it very seriously. He worked very hard to put on the match he did. The same thing with Bad Bunny. You can tell the training was there because what he did was very much like the match we had with Shaq.

“I don’t think these recent celebrities want to come in there and embarrass themselves or, more importantly, embarrass the sport with all the respect that they have for it. It’s the same thing with Mike Tyson. He loves being around the business and respects the business, and he has since he has been a kid. All he wants to do is his best. And at the end of the day, he is Mike Tyson, so there is always that element of what he is going to do. But if he didn’t want to be there for the right reasons, he wouldn’t be there.”

Bad Bunny’s performance at WrestleMania 37 was certainly received well by fans and pro wrestlers alike. We wonder whether his example will open the doors for more celebrities to follow suit and actually work hard to compete inside the squared circle.