Debriefer: Wrestling Rocker Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is like that really fun uncle who whirlwinds into town and stirs up mischief and mayhem -- he breaks the rules, man, and loves breaking them. The WWE wrestler turned actor turned rock musician has put out a book as well. Knowing firsthand what it's like to live life in and out of elastic synthetic fiber, Chris Jericho is currently on tour for his book, A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex. He took a moment to discuss his favorite locales when out of the ring.

We're going to imprison you in the city of your choice for the rest of your natural life. You can do anything you want there, but you must stay in that city forever. Where would you choose?
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Why would you live in this city forever and not somewhere else?
Because of what Calgary is: the surrounding area ... you can ski in the Rocky Mountains, you can go fishing; there are tons of beautiful girls and there's tons of great food.

In what part of the city would you reside? As close to the ski hill as possible so that I can do some swank snowboarding moves.

Where and what would you eat? I would eat at the Keg, which is a Canadian steakhouse famous for the baseball steak, which is about as thick as a baseball.

What would you do for fun?
I would practice my lasso technique and organize a mass pogo-stick race straight down the main street of Calgary.

Where would you go for a night on the town?
I would go to Cowboys and Outlaws, because they're great country bars in Calgary, even though I'm the exact opposite of country, but all the hottest girls are country cowgirls, so I'd go there to ogle them.

What kinds of shops are worth going to?
All the shops that carry my book, available in fine bookstores.

And on the flip side: What city would you never, ever visit again, if you had a choice?
I would never visit Matamoros, Mexico, because that's the town where there were guys taking showers from water in toilet tanks.

What are your top six (or more) favorite places or spaces in Calgary?
The ski hill, the beautiful farmland pastures, babbling brooks, Spatula City, Arthur's 24-hour Adult Bookstore, the Copa.

Your autobiography is a fun take on your life in wrestling, but it's obvious you were a fan even before you were famous. Have you been able to meet or work with the wrestlers you admired most?
Yes, I have. It was cool to work with some of those guys like Hulk Hogan -- to be a peer of his and start leading him through matches.

What are some of your favorite places you've performed while wearing spandex?
I literally have been around the world in spandex, from the Budokan in Tokyo to Madison Square Garden; from Arena, Mexico, to amateur night in Sheboygan.

You've obviously made a name for yourself within the wrestling world, but you're also a huge fan of music, hosting "The Rock of Jericho" on XM and touring with your band Fozzy; how do you compare performing as a wrestler with performing as a musician?
They are both hard-hitting forms of entertainment and both hinge on the crowd getting involved, and it's very important to be the party host and make sure people get their money's worth. Rock 'n' roll is a little bit easier because you're not getting dropped on your head -- you're just banging your head.

Debriefer is a weekly interview of random individuals about their favorite cities. If you'd like to be interviewed for Debriefer, let us know.


Thanks to: Grid Skipper.com.