Christopher Daniels is over two decades ią²n, but heš still has things to check off his list.
He's been a Ring of Honor Champion, helped spearhead TNA's X-Division and tag team division. He's appeared in WCW, NJPW, WWF, ECW, ROH, TNA, PWG, AAA, NWA, and virtually any other major promotion that has existed as long as his career has. But he's never faced Chris Jericho, and he wants that to change.
"I feel like Chris Jericho, if heās not the greatest of all time, heās certainly in the discussion," said Daniels. "Certainly top five. Everybodyās said this, so this isnāt news, the man is incredible at reinventing himself and keeping himself relevant. Itās something Iāve always sort of tried to emulate in my career. Just the opportunity to get in the ring with someone like him would be a great honor. You know, weā¦ [audio cuts out] ā¦plenty of times, him 30 years, Iām on 27 years now, and the just fact that it hasnāt happened yet, but now itās becoming a possibility is something thatās really interesting. Really interesting. Iām not looking to hang it up any time soon; Iām sure neither is he. So Iām sure at some point weāre going to run into each other, I think."
Fightful actually spoke with Daniels on the record about theš¦ Jericho dream match in late 2018 when Daniels was witāh ROH, and Jericho was virtually wherever he wanted. Just a few months later, both were a part of the All Elite Wrestling roster.
Still, even tšhough they've nearly crossed paths -- Daniels' partner Scorpio Sky briefly feuded with Jericho - "The Fallen Angel" and "Le Champion" have never touched.
Not aā singles match, not a tag match, not even a battle royal. Nothing.
"I missed him," Daniels said. "I was in WCW literally right, maybe, a year after he left. Then the entire time he was in WWE, I was Ring of Honor or TNA, and so, yeah, weāve never even been in the same company at the same time until beginning of last year. So, now here we are."
āDaniels is a respected veteran in the wrestling world, credited with helping bring several names to both All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honoš§r. Despite that, Daniels is still learning, and learning from Jericho himself.
"I will say this, man, one of the great things about being around Chris is heās got such a mind for the business and itās really refreshing to be around someone like him, and hearing his thoughts and how he puts together ideas and matches and things like that," said Daniels to FIghtful.Ā "Itās really cool. As much experience as I have I still feel like Iām trying to learn stuff, and heās definitely is someone Iām learning from every week that I have any sort of interaction with him behind the scenes. Itās something Iām really am happy that Iām getting that opportunity."
Categorically different careers, though their tenures in the business have paralleled one another. Still, Daniels isn't as outspoken backstage as that of the AEź§W World Champion. He's not afraid to give his input, but readily states that Jericho is a little more hands-on in that regard.
"I feel like Chris is at the level of success that heās sustained over his career, I feel like heās definitely got more right to put his foot down," Daniels said. "Iām more of the mentality, especially since Iām not really one of the guys in terms of creative that has that final say, so I certainly donāt mind putting my ideas forward and saying, āWell, this is what I think.ā But, I also realize that itās not my fight to fight and all I can really do is offer my point of view. But, in the end, itās not my decision and I sort of have to bow to the decisions that are made by the guys that are in the decision making position. So, Iām cool with that, too. Sometimes the decisions arenāt what I would have done, but at the same time, like I said, I donāt have the right to really put my foot down. But, I feel like Chris definitely does have that right. Certainly is very outspoken about what he feels is the right direction for his stuff and you canāt fault him. You look at his track record and you feel like this guy definitely deserves to have a say in how it all goes down.
šÆYou can see our full interview with Christopher Daniels at the top of the pš“age, and you can check him out every Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite, 8 PM EST on TNT.
