All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho has fired back at his critics and insisted he has ‘zero intentions’ of retiring.
The 53-year-old legendary professional wrestler, who is one of the biggest names in WWE history, has been blasted by some AEW fans in recent months with chants of ‘please retire’ ringing out in arenas across the United States.
However, the former world champion has insisted he is blocking out the noise and focusing on his career while he’s still physically and mentally able.
‘Sting at 64 retired and everybody is different. To me, when the “please retire” chants were going, I was laughing because I have zero intentions of that,’ he told the Daily Star.
‘I’ve got a six pack, I can do a moonsault, and I know exactly what I’m doing in the ring. I know how to write storylines. I like the company I work for. I like my boss. I like the guys and girls in the company.’
Jericho compared himself to the Rolling Stones, and said anyone who retires does so when it’s ‘right’.
He argued: ‘Why would I want to retire? What’s the point because someone told me to? F**k off. I remember the Stones in ’89, when they did the Steel Wheels Tour, they were calling it the Steel Wheelchair Tour. “The Stones are too old. The Stones should retire.”
‘I just saw The Stones two months ago and they were amazing. They didn’t care. You retire when you know it’s time and you know it’s right. It’s not the right time right now.’
Jericho argued that ‘until that moment’ where he feels the need to hang up his boots, he has ‘no intention’ of quitting, with ‘no time limit’ on his career ending.
‘It could be this week. It could be five years from now. I don’t know. I just know that as of this moment, I’m having a great time,’ he said. ‘I love going to work. I love contributing. There is no reason to stop doing that.’
After making his wrestling debut in 1990, Jericho went onto become a major player in ECW, WCW and later WWE, where he became a four-time world champion in the company.
He joined AEW at the very beginning in 2019, becoming the promotion’s inaugural world champ and a regular fixture on its weekly programming.
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