IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard and below are some interview highlights. It’s worth noting that in the interview Jericho reveals that aside from his six-man tag team main event match on his upcoming cruise, he currently has no other matches scheduled for this year.

On booking the main event of his cruise:

“Our official name of the team is, ‘The Bucks of Jericho… or is it Y2Jackson,’” said Jericho. “I needed a main event and I’d been talking with the Bucks about doing something with them, and Nick Jackson was the one who said, ‘Why don’t the three of us team up and face Kenny, Marty, and Cody?’”

On his character in WWE vs his character in Japan:

“The New Japan Jericho is not WWE’s Jericho,” said Jericho. “This, once again, distances those two characters from each other, which is exactly the way I want it.

“I’m always about reinventing myself, evolving and changing. That helps you stay current, helps build your brand, and gives you longevity.”

On his return to Japan and NJPW:

“We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays, and we did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can’t do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Brody character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe.”