STEP AND REPEAT, 9:13 a.m.
Chris Jericho’s first morning in Miami is spent in front of a total of no less than 25 different cameras within less than an hour. Hosts and journalists from around the globe, from international networks like n-tv Germany, FX Korea and Eurosport, open up televised segments in mixed languages, then engage in casual English conversation with Jericho.
WrestleMania is the topic for the “step and repeat” setup at this media event but Jericho is sure to keep it entertaining, weaving in discussion about his roots in similar nations where wrestling is adored, where he is adulated. When addressing Japanese and German audiences, Jericho speaks about places he once called home and expresses his ties with such countries, not to mention his enthusiasm for his next return. “It’s all part of my legacy, part of my history,” The “Ayatollah of Rock ’n’ Rollah” proudly explains.

DRAGON BIRTHS LION, 9:34 a.m.
After wrapping up his last interview, the lead singer of Fozzy has his attention snared by a beacon ahead on the floor of WrestleMania Axxess. Jericho enters a Show of Shows exhibition where classic attire and other relics rest on display, telling tales of 27 previous iterations of WWE’s greatest annual spectacle.
A moth-to-flame metaphor is appropriate in this instance as Jericho is drawn to the hanging costume of a “Dragon,” specifically, Ricky Steamboat. Jericho examines the ornate reptilian garb worn by Steamboat, the WWE Hall of Famer who was the original inspiration for Y2J’s ring mastery. The mat classic at WrestleMania III between Steamboat and Randy Savage is often celebrated by many of WWE’s top performers and the first-ever Undisputed Champion admits that the feats of The Dragon (who Jericho himself had faced at The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania) encouraged him to break through.
“That’s the match that really inspired me to get into wrestling,” Jericho proclaims. “I saw that match and thought, ‘I want to try to do this somehow.’ WrestleMania X was also special to me because I was already in the business at the time and I saw my favorites [Owen Hart, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels] have amazing matches that night.”
He continues, “These guys weren’t all 6-foot-8, 350 pounds. I was no longer intimidated by the size factor.”
“People were always telling me I wasn’t big enough, I wasn’t tall enough, I wasn’t this, I wasn’t that. Then I realized that I was,” he adds, affirming that witnessing Steamboat’s successes fueled his persistence.”
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THE THREADS OF JERICHO, 9:36 a.m. (image #074)

Mere steps away from the scaly, green dragon gear, Chris Jericho takes a time machine ride initiated by his teal attire from his milestone WrestleMania joust with Shawn Michaels in 2003. Seeing his rhinestone encrusted gear from almost a decade ago, The “Ayatollah of Rock ’n’ Rollah” recollects his show-stealing performance and assesses his personal style evolution as he looks ahead to what he believes will be his next conquest at The Show of Shows.
“This is show business, man! I can’t just come out in jeans and a T-shirt,” he proclaims. “You have to constantly upgrade and update your costume like KISS – every album, they’d have a new costume. That was part of the fun.”
It may be a new jacket, sure. Or maybe Jericho will bring back his loose fitting top with his throwback Y2J silhouette, arms stretched out and all. Perhaps a hybrid that all loyal Jerichoholics (if they’re still out there) will soon attempt to reproduce on their own at home.
“For this WrestleMania, I spent a lot of money on my costume,” he brags. “People ask if they’ll be available on WWE Shop and I say, ‘you’d have to mortgage your house to own a jacket like mine!’”
“You can’t make one of these in your house with a glue gun and a Lite Brite.”

(HAIR)CUTTING EDGE, 9:59 a.m.
They’ve had a rocky relationship over the years, but this morning, all issues seem to be mended between Chris Jericho and 2012 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Edge when they have an unexpected encounter at the Miami Beach Convention Center. You think you know him … but his new haircut is really throwing you off. Same for Jericho, who erupts with “you look like Wheels from ‘Degrassi!’”
The fellow Canadians exchange pleasantries, ironically, in the shadow of a wall featuring images from their clash at WrestleMania XXVI. Of course, most of their conversation pertains to The Rated-R Superstar’s crewcut.
“It was starting to look like Macho Man,” Edge comments, explaining why he chopped off his signature rock star-like locks the night before.
The conversation progresses into other things, like the status of Edge’s induction speech and, for Jericho, a high-stakes battle for the WWE Championship. The last time Y2J competed in a title match on The Grandest Stage of Them All, he served defeat to the man he’s now chatting up. It’s fair to predict that no matter the outcome of his “best in the world” bout at WrestleMania XXVIII, Jericho will not share an exchange of this nature with The Straight Edge Superstar two years from now.