Chris Jericho didn’t know exactly what he was walking into by being a part of the Minnesota Vikings’ schedule release video for this coming season.
The AEW star’s wife, Jessica, and son, Ash, are massive Vikings fans, and he and his family have developed a good enough relationship with the organization that the professional wrestling legend was asked to be a part of this year’s video, which was released on May 14.
Jericho, 55, has become a supporter of the team along with them.
Jericho, who will be part of the Stadium Stampede match at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday (8 p.m. HBO Max/Amazon Prime), thought he was just heading to Minnesota to do something as simple as a voice-over read and then got there and realized he was being asked to do a whole lot more.
NFL teams search for new and creative ways to announce their schedule each year.
Some are as simple as mixing paint like the Jets’ this season, while others, like the Ravens, parodied “Wedding Crashers.”
“I didn’t realize how big those videos were and how much work they put into it,” Jericho said. “I thought I would just be sitting there with a piece of paper going, ‘Hey, it’s Chris Jericho, here’s the Vikings versus Chargers.’ Not that at all.”
Instead, Jericho was cast as a waiter bringing Vikings kicker Will Reichard a 17-course meal representing all the teams Minnesota will play next season.
Reichard ends up ordering them all to a stunned Jericho, who makes witty comments in between footage of chefs preparing each meal.
Reichard ends up talking them all to go after a call from hungry teammate Justin Jefferson.
“I flew out there, did it and had a great time with Will Reichard there” Jericho said. “I helped them write the script and we came up with some fun stuff and I think it turned out really well. We got a lot of great reaction, a lot of surprise from some people. I like doing stuff like that.”
Jericho, who returned to AEW in April after a year away with the company, said he has been more active in pursing acting role now after a run in 2023-24 that saw him offered roles in two Terrifier horror films and two “Country Hearts” Hallmark movies and an AMC project, “Dark Match.”
It felt like it was time to start auditioning more.
It led to him landing a role in the CBS show “Tracker” and Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” where he shared the screen with Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman.
He will also be in the upcoming season of “Dexter: Resurrection.”
Jericho teased being a part of a “really big show on Amazon where I have a really good role” that has yet to be announced.
He said he can feel the momentum building for him as he did in wrestling, with Fozzy and his “Talk is Jericho” podcast.
“I can start to feel that happening with the acting side of things,” Jericho said. “I’m all for it. I have my AEW commitments, but I have some other time I can fill with these other creative endeavors and now’s the time to really kind of drive into that head first.”
