Chris Jericho Calls Out Reality Television Show For Being ‘A Scam’

Fans may remember in 2017, Chris Jericho appeared on Animal Planet’s reality television show Tanked. The show, which was canceled after 15 seasons due to behind-the-scenes drama, followed the operations of Los Angeles’ Acrylic Tank Manufacturing. While Jericho has enjoyed many of his endeavors outside of wrestling, he recently admitted that his experience on the show was a total waste.

During his appearance on the Looper and Randi program, Jericho spoke candidly about the show and said he faced many issues with installation. Apparently, not only did the show tank, it almost tanked many people’s finances.

That thing was a money trap. What a scam that show was. It’s not on the air anymore and I would say that to their faces. If anybody knows anything about fish, they said, ‘what do you want in the tank?’ My son was big fish guy at the time. So you have this elaborate tank with all these props and a list and a light up jacket. ‘Okay, we’ll put this fish in, we’ll put that fish in, this fish, that fish.’

When they leave your house at the end of the show, you have this amazing fish tank. It’s awesome. Problem is, you can’t put 15 or 20 fish in the same water together. They have to acclimate and make sure they can exist. As soon as they leave, they send some dude over who drains the tank to half and then starts to acclimate the fish. The problem is, the fish are dying. My kids are crying because this fish is dead and that fish is dead. Then the pipe bursts and this thing happens.

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I’m not the only one. Howie Mandel and this guy and that guy, everyone had a problem with the show. Eventually, I think the tank was worth, they said 40 grand. After all the fish died, three different guys were supposed to be cleaning it but they quit because they didn’t pay them, they were supposed to pay for the cleaner for a year. I finally had to get rid of this thing.

I had someone come in with a forklift because it was so heavy. For $1000, just get it out of my house. It made for a great family show for an hour, but as soon as it was done and left, it was the biggest nightmare. They should do another show, Tanked Nightmare. Those guys disappeared and the show is off the air, as it should be. Tanked sucks.

The show’s ratings began declining in 2015 even before the behind-the-scenes drama reared its ugly head. The show was canceled in 2019 with the VP of communications for Animal Planet calling the cancelation “a natural end.”

What do you make of Chris Jericho’s horrible experience on Tanked? Sound off in the comments section below.