Chris Jericho Says WWE is Watching NJPW, Christian Gets New Show

Chris Jericho is set to defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a match against Tetsuya Naito in just a couple of hours on Wrestle Kingdom 13. At one point, it was hard to imagine Jericho working for any other wrestling promotion aside from WWE, but his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling last year has proved just how hot the product is at the moment. In fact, with promotions like ROH, MLW, Impact Wrestling, and eventually All Elite Wrestling, WWE may be facing some competition in 2019. It’s been common knowledge for a while now that NJPW is eager to expand in the US and reach American audiences. According to Jericho, WWE officials are all aware of this and the company has definitely taken notice.
During a recent episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast, the former WWE Superstar said that WWE is paying attention to what is going on right now in New Japan. Jericho referenced the upcoming G1 Supercard event that NJPW will be running with Ring of Honor in Madison Square Garden in April and how WWE attempted to prevent the show from happening. Not only was the show still allowed to be announced, but tickets for the event sold out. Jericho also said that WWE is aware of the fact that AXS TV is owned by billionaire Mark Cuban. Although AXS does not reach the same number of homes that the USA Network or Fox does, Chris says that there are investments in NJPW right now, and WWE may be at least somewhat concerned.
“WWE is watching. Anytime you have a company that can come into WWE’s
backyard and sell out Madison Square Garden — you can spin it anyway you
want to; it’s WrestleMania weekend — it doesn’t matter. They did
something that WWE has not done in years.” Jericho pointed out.

The Edge & Christian Show returned to the WWE Network only a few weeks ago. Although the titular wrestlers no longer compete in the ring, fans have been having a blast seeing the duo reunited onscreen. After the show comes to an end, fans can still expect to see Christian on their television screens. It has just been confirmed by the History Channel that the former World Heavyweight Champion will be starring as the host for one of their upcoming new series. Christian will be hosting “Knight Fight.“ Christian is not the only former wrestler to host a History series as WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg hosts “Knife or Death.” Catch Christian when the show premieres on the network on January 23rd at 10pm ET.