Chris Jericho shines in 'Redemption Song'

For most folks, being a WWE superstar and headlining pro wrestling shows throughout the world would be a busy enough job.

For Chris Jericho, though, it’s just part of a multi-faceted career that takes him from sports entertainment to music to acting, and all points in between.

Jericho’s latest gig is hosting a new television show called “Redemption Song” that premiered Wednesday night on the Fuse music channel.

The reality series is billed as a singing competition between “beautiful, talented and troubled women.” Only some of these gals have been in jail.

“Redemption Song,” described by one reviewer as a cross between “Bad Girls Club” and “American Idol,” is “the ultimate entertainment do-over” that challenges 11 young women to battle for musical stardom while overcoming the demons that may have held them back. The contestants all come from varied backgrounds that encompass alcoholism, abandonment and/or abuse. The weekly challenge tests their vocal abilities, performance skills and charisma.

The girls are judged each week by a panel of music industry insiders including rapper Shwayze, R&B star Mya and N’Sync’s Chris Kirkpatrick. Week by week one girl is eliminated while the rest continue to be transformed into stylish superstars.

The last girl standing will win a major record deal with FUSE/Geffen records and will star in a music video to air on Fuse.

What attracted Jericho to the project is the redemption part — that these 11 young down-on-their luck women from the wrong side of the tracks actually have a chance to overcome their troubled past.

“It worked out great,” says the 37-year-old four-time world heavyweight wrestling champion. “And it was worth it because I really enjoyed the concept of the show which, at first, is a very abrasive and controversial type of show. You have 11 girls with checkered pasts who have made bad decisions and had problems with alcohol and whatever they were doing. They could really sing, and this was a chance for one of them to get a contract with Geffen. It gives them a chance to completely turn their lives around. And that’s what really attracted me.”

And unlike many reality shows, says Jericho, this one, for the most part, wasn’t scripted.

“You can tell that a lot of these reality shows are scripted. This one is not. It’s very organic because you stick these 11 girls in a house together for five weeks, add alcohol and bad attitude, and see what happens. You also have this huge prize at stake where basically they’re fighting to try and make something of themselves and become something bigger than what they are. It was a very natural type of thing.”

It remains to be seen, however, if bad habits, bad relationships and bad attitudes will translate into good ratings. Jericho likes to believe that the show’s bottom line was one worthy of pursuing.

“It wasn’t just a bunch of chicks making out with each other trying to get a date with Flavor Flav or Chris Jericho. It was more of chance for these girls to pull themselves out of this gutter that they pulled themselves into and make something of themselves. For a lot of them it’s their last chance to redeem themselves. And you can see how the storylines played out and which ones took it seriously and which ones didn’t. That’s what made it unique. That’s what you get on-screen. It really is a unique, interesting story. You start pulling for some of them because you want them to make it and change themselves.”

Jericho, a talented actor, television personality, radio host and rock star whose knack for comedy has landed him regular appearances on VH-1 and E! networks, was a natural fit for the show. With 18 years experience in show business — some of it in wrestling, some of it in music, some of it in TV — Jericho was someone the contestants could relate to.

Jericho has toured internationally to sold-out shows and even started his own record label, so he says he understood the hard work and dedication it would take for these women to capture their dream of a record deal.

“It doesn’t matter what it is that you want to go for. If you want to do something, you just have to put your entire heart and soul into it and be ready to make some sacrifices. And that’s something they could believe right away when I told them, because I’ve gone through that so many different times and so many different ways.”

Jericho’s work outside the wrestling box, he says, helped land him the job as host. The versatile entertainer has led a heavy metal band (Fozzy), hosted an XM satellite radio show (“The Rock of Jericho”) and authored a book (“A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex”) that made the New York Times’ best-seller list. He also made the crossover to film with his lead roles in several features, and appeared on stage before sold-out crowds and received standing ovations when he starred in the play “Opening Night” at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Jericho also starred in the comedy pilot, “Ebaum’s World,” for the USA Network, and was invited to appear as a regular guest performer with the comedy troupe The Groundlings in the all-improv show “Cookin’ with Gas.”

His ability to display talent and charm, which he honed in the wrestling business, has contributed to his success in a variety of endeavors.

“They kind of liked what I brought to the table and the personality that I’ve shown, and also the fact that I have some chops in the music business,” says Jericho. “It was just an interesting mix, and I’m glad they gave me the shot because it was a natural fit for me. I liked playing that part and playing that role. And being in WWE and being a wrestler for so long, it is a lot like show business boot camp because you learn a lot of everything. To be on camera and ad-lib when I had to and say the scripted lines when I had to, and to deal with the girls in whichever way they were dealing with me at the time ... a lot of times I had to intimidate them and cut promos on them if need be. All of that I had experienced before, and it was very natural for me since I had done it all before for years.”

The premise of the show — tough, hard-partying gals, embroiled in conflict and controversy, fighting it out for a prize — isn’t much different than a lot of the over-the-top storylines featured in pro wrestling.

“It was a lot like wrestling with all the subplots,” jokes Jericho.

The project was filmed three weeks in August and September in Los Angeles. Jericho worked his schedule where he could bounce back and forth from filmings to his WWE engagements.

Despite dropping the WWE heavyweight title to Batista at last weekend’s Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, Jericho says it’s just part of a long-range plan, and that his best days in the ring are yet to come. In fact, he says, it wasn’t in the plans for him to even win the title that soon when he captured the belt on Sept. 7 in Cleveland at the Unforgiven pay-per-view.

“I think Vince (McMahon) always has a big-picture plan. Most people that follow wrestling should know that there’s a big picture. That’s one thing about Vince. When he makes a decision and has a feeling, he goes with it. And most of the time he’s correct. I think the big picture will make sense, and we’ll see it the way he sees it.”

One of the things Jericho is proudest of since returning to the company last November has been his program with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.

“I enjoyed it huge,” says Jericho, who lost a tooth in a recent ladder match with Michaels. “It was one of the favorite things I’ve ever done. The fact that it started out as a short-term transitional thing and ended up being the highlight and cornerstone of the show for seven months is a testament to how we were able to play it. And when I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about me and Shawn and Vince and the fans and everybody. It was just a real team effort to put that program and that storyline together.”

The amazing interplay between the two was, by far, the most intriguing angle on WWE television in recent months. The program allowed Jericho to hit his stride again after taking a couple years off from the business.

“Shawn and I had a lot of input, which made it even more real,” he says. “Nobody knows our characters better than ourselves. When you get to this level, you’re almost looked upon to create. Nobody gives us a piece of paper and tells us this is what you’re going to say and this is what you’re going to do. We had a lot of ideas, and they were all kind of spun through the system and added to and subtracted from. It created this great storyline. I think people at times didn’t know if it was a storyline or it was real. They weren’t quite sure because there were so many layers to it. It was played so much differently than most other angles. And you could tell that. I think that’s why people really got into it. I was excited that we were given the ball all the way to the point I was given the title as a result. And that was never planned to be when we first started this. You just never know where the twists and turns are going to be.”

Jericho, who broke into the business at the age of 19, has played both sides of the fence. What’s important, he says, is that he’s able to constantly transform and reinvent his character.

“I really enjoy playing this heel I’m playing right now. There are a lot of different layers to it. I think it’s very rare to have a character that people legitimately don’t like and want to keep not liking. There’s always a tendency to play the cool heel. And when you look through the pantheon of great villains in cinema or whatever, from Darth Vader to Hannibal Lecter to Freddy Krueger to The Terminator, great heels usually become babyfaces anyway because they’re so interesting. They have so much more depth than the people that they’re onscreen with. It’s kind of the same thing for wrestling because heels are so interesting and you can color outside the lines that usually ends up turning you babyface”

Fortunately, says Jericho, he can ride the current role for a while longer.

“I’ve pretty good so far with not having that happen. But in another six months or so it might change unless I can think of something else and another way to get under people’s skin. It’s a lot easier to make people hate you than it is to make them really, really like you. And usually, to make them really, really like you, they have to hate you first. That’s the cool thing about wrestling. You can play a character like this and go through the spin cycle. As long as they’re interested in the character, it really doesn’t matter to me.”

Jericho, the son of former National Hockey League player Ted Irvine, also says he enjoys a great relationship with WWE boss McMahon.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with Vince,” says Jericho, who in 2001 became the first WWE undisputed heavyweight champion. “I think I was one of the only people who ever left on great terms and kept in contact with him the whole time I was gone. Vince is Vince. He is what he is. I know what he’s like, and I know how he is, and to me being a little bit older and wiser and coming back with a little different attitude has made it so much better.”

Jericho, whose globetrotting career has exposed him to numerous wrestling organizations and a variety of different styles, says he has no interest in working for any other wrestling company.

“I enjoy working for Vince. If I’m in the wrestling business, I’m working for Vince and nobody else. People ask me if I’m going to TNA or to Japan. Why would I? I work in the major leagues and there’s no reason to go anywhere else. I was really happy to come back when I came back, and Vince was really happy to have me. I feel like I could talk to him a little bit more now as a confidante and someone who, if I don’t like something, will be happy to tell him that. And he knows I’ll do whatever he wants me to do, with my own spin on it and, most of the time if he thinks you’ll really believe it, he’ll go along with it as well.”

While Jericho’s main focus currently is WWE, there are some other projects he’d like to pursue.

“I’m trying to write another book, but I really haven’t had time to go into it yet,” says Jericho, who was born in Manhasset, N.Y., but was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The material, he says, has been committed to paper and organized.

Jericho, also known as Y2J, Lion Heart, the King of Bling Bling and the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n Rolla, says he also would like to host another radio show down the line. His last show, “Rock of Jericho,” was a hit, but he was fired after two years because of comments he made about Oprah Winfrey.

“I got fired by XM radio because I was insulting Oprah. That damn Oprah got me axed from XM radio,” he jokes. “I’d like to do a radio show again someday. That was a lot of fun for me to do that.”

Family, which includes his wife of eight years and three young children, remains priority for Jericho.

“It’s just great to have a job in this economic climate and have a couple different options. But at the end of the day I spend as much time with my family as I possibly can. And when I’m home I don’t do anything. When I’m on the road I’m a machine. When I’m at home, I just hang out with my kids and spend time with them. That’s another way of how I’m kind of able to juggle the two.”

— Ric Flair says there’s no truth to widely circulated rumors that he will return to the ring for a farewell match in Japan.

“Absolutely not,” says Flair. “That’s just propaganda.”

The rumor mill had Flair, who officially retired after his match with Shawn Michaels last March at Wrestlemania, working a Tokyo Dome show in January. Possible opponents ranged from Masa Chono to Great Muta.

Flair, however, says he has no plans to tarnish his memorable going-out party at Wrestlemania.

More than 3,000 fans turned out for a recent Flair appearance at the grand opening of a furniture store in Roanoke, Va.

“They handed me a contract to do 10 more stores and become a spokesperson and do commercials for them as I walked out the door,” says Flair, whose scheduled two-hour autograph-signing session turned into five hours as he worked overtime and signed nearly 1,900 autographs.

Flair’s youngest son, Reid, will work his first match in Charlotte on Dec. 7 when he teams with brother David against The Nasty Boys. The Nature Boy will be in his sons’ corner. The show also will feature “Sweet” Stan Lane returning to the ring to team with former Midnight Express partner “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton for a match against George South and Goldust.

Flair, who turns 60 in February, began filming the pilot for his new reality series last week. The show, which will be produced by Pink Sneakers Productions, will focus on “two bachelors (Ric and son Reid) living together.” The company will pitch the series later this month, and shooting could begin as early as January. Flair has creative control over the project.

— WWE high-flyer Evan Bourne suffered torn ligaments in his ankle during a six-man tag-team match that aired last week on ECW’s TV show. Bourne is expected to be sidelined for up to four months.

— WWE will make it first (and only) 2008 visit to the Lowcountry with a Smackdown/ECW house show Dec. 7 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The event starts at 5 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 7.

Tentative lineup includes: Triple H vs. Vladimir Koslov in a Street Fight for the WWE title; Undertaker vs. Umaga in a challenge match; and Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry vs. Tony Atlas in an ECW title match. Others scheduled to appear include The Great Khali, Rey Mysterio, MVP, Carlito and Primo Colon, R-Truth, Fit Finlay, Hornswoggle, Michelle McCool, Natalya and Chavo Guerrero. Tickets are available at the Coliseum Advance Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets (including select Publix grocery stores), online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 554-6060.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or mooneyham@postandcourier.com. For wrestling updates during the week, call The Post and Courier Info Line at (843) 937-6000, ext. 3090.

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