Chris Jericho Reveals How 'All In' Appearance Came About

Last Saturday night's All In PPV show from Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks set a new standard for independent wrestling shows and opened the door to even bigger things as this growing section of the wrestling audience has the opportunity to expand.

One of the most surprising portions of the show featured an appearance from Chris Jericho, dressed up immaculately just like Pentagon Jr., as he attacked Kenny Omega following Omega's match with the real Pentagon.

It was also notable due to the fact that it was Jericho making an appearance at a non-WWE North American show, something he has refused to do previously. Jericho has been a big part of NJPW's biggest shows through 2018, but all of his matches and angles have taken place in Japan, specifically refusing to appear on any of their U.S. shows as the company has expanded to North America.

Jericho explained why he eventually switched his tune on appearing at All In and how it all came together during a discussion this week on Talk Is Jericho.

He revealed that Cody first asked him to appear on the show several months ago, to which Jericho responded, "No, I'm not really wanting to work any shows in the states that aren't WWE shows. I told him I appreciated the offer, but I'm not gonna do it. I also got asked to do [Strong Style Evolved] and those New Japan and all that other stuff as well, so that was kind of the thing. But over the course of the last few months, my mindset's kind of changed a bit to where I'm enjoying being a part of this kind-of new revolution of wrestling that's going on... So I just thought, well, you know, I'll consider it, but the idea has to be right."

Jericho continued, "So Cody called me again and originally asked me if I wanted to be Bernard the Bear… So the idea was maybe do something in the main event where The Bucks come down with Bernard the Bear or something and then I [reveal myself as the bear] and attack Kota Ibushi, obviously Kenny's partner in The Golden Lovers. I was like, 'Why don't I attack Kenny?' It was like, well, it's not really an angle match and whatever - we just couldn't figure it out, it's like, 'Nah, I'm not really interested in it.'"

On the third attempt, an agreement was worked. The natural way to bring Jericho into the fold was by tying his appearance in with his upcoming wrestling cruise. That event is being billed around a match that will take place on the ship with Jericho and The Young Bucks taking on Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll, and Cody. Hence, Jericho attacking Omega at All In and ending the segment by yelling "I'll see you on the Chris Jericho Cruise!"

What made Jericho's appearance at All In even more shocking was the fact that his band Fozzy had a concert in the Kansas City area on the same night. This road block was able to be worked around by positioning Omega's match slightly earlier in the show and having his band's stage time pushed back a bit. Jericho boarded a plane for Kansas City immediately following his All In segment and was able to make it to the show on time.

H/T to Wrestling Inc.