Chris Jericho Reveals How CMLL Appearance Came Together

Chris Jericho takes pride in his work with AEW and isn’t shy about expressing it. Known for his love of competing globally, it was no surprise when he made a surprising appearance at CMLL Viernes Espectacular last week. Jericho has now revealed how this unexpected collaboration came together.

Chris Jericho made a surprise appearance at the CMLL event on June 28, where he attacked Mistico and issued a challenge for a match. This marked Jericho’s first appearance at Arena Mexico since 1995, adding to the excitement of the event.

While speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho shared how it came as a surprise when Corazon de Leon returned to Arena Mexico. Having been in Mexico from ’92 to ’95, Jericho recalled his last match at Arena Mexico in September 1995. He revealed his excitement about returning to Mexico City, attributing the opportunity to AEW’s collaboration with CMLL.

“It was a huge surprise this week when Corazon de Leon returned to Arena Mexico. I was in Mexico from ’92-’95, and the last time I wrestled in Arena Mexico was September 15, 1995. It was really cool to go back to Mexico City, and how did that come about? We started working with CMLL in AEW, and when I was going through the transition between the whole Kenny Omega and the Golden Jets, and then Kenny got sick, and the. Sammy [Guevara] and I were a kind of a team and that really didn’t work out well, and then Sammy got suspended, so I was doing some Corazon de Leon, working with some luchadors. I had a match with Titan, I had a match with Atlantis Jr., and it started to occur to me that with this new relationship with CMLL and AEW, maybe it’d be cool to go back to Arena Mexico and have a match.”

Advertising

Advertising

Jericho then mentioned reaching out to Rocky Romero, who acts as a liaison for AEW with CMLL and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, to explore the possibility. Together, they discussed potential match-ups and agreed that facing Mistico would be ideal—a match that Jericho described as almost a dream scenario for Corazon de Leon. Negotiations with CMLL initially suggested a tag team match, which Jericho was hesitant about. After reconsideration, they settled on a singles match, reflecting Jericho’s desire to revisit the arena where he began his career.

“In the meantime, the BCC and Matt Sydal, filling in for an injured Wheeler Yuta, went to Arena Mexico and had a match and just had the best time. The crowd was so amazing and everyone was super excited, and it just really kind of opened up my mind completely that it was time to make me return to Arena Mexico, kind of a full circle. I’ve wrestled in Mexico since then, a few times with WWE. But it was never in Arena Mexico, which is owned by the Lutteroth family, and it’s the oldest wrestling company in the world. It’s one of the oldest arenas in the world, and they call it the cathedral of Lucha Libre. So I just started talking to Rocky Romero and letting him know that I was open to going back.

Rocky is kind of a liaison for AEW to both CMLL and to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, so he’s very valuable. We just started discussing what could I do? What would be a great match to have, and who would be there that I’d do something good with? We kind of decided that Mistico would be the perfect kind of almost a dream match of Chris Jericho, Corazon de Leon [and] Mistico. So we did some negotiations with them, and they came back with the original idea of doing a tag team match, which I wasn’t feeling. Then we kind of went to back to the drawing board and again kind of came up with the idea to go a singles match. That’s what we decided to do. Then you start the negotiations, and it’s always great to get for something that you’re doing, but this is not so much for the money as it is just for me to return to this place where I pretty much cut my teeth.”

Regardless, we’ll have to see how Chris Jericho’s match against Místico will turn out, as fans were shocked to see Jericho back in CMLL again after almost three decades.

Are you looking forward to Chris Jericho’s future appearances in CMLL? Let us know in the comments section below!