WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had high praise for the current AEW World Champion Chris Jericho. Speaking on an episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, Austin praised Jericho as a smart individual, calling him a “wrestler’s wrestler” because of the way he studies and respects the history of the pro wrestling industry.

Austin and his guest, stunt performer and actor Paul Lazenby, discussed Jericho’s ability to reinvent himself throughout the years. They highlighted his ability to grow and evolve as the wrestling business did.

“He’s Jericho, man. He’s going to do everything you need to get over if you’re good enough to get over in the ring. Like, he knows what to do as a heel; he knows what to do as a face; he knows what to do to make people care about the match; and then, it’s up to you after that,” Lazenby said.

He continued, “It’s so diverse, and he seems to know when the right time to make a change is, and what the right change to make is. Like when he started with New Japan [Pro-Wrestling]. ‘Well, okay, I have to be a different Chris Jericho in Japan than I am in North America’ and that’s when the whole ‘Painmaker’ gimmick started up, and, of course, it turned out to be the right thing and it was something completely different. And now, it’s to the point where he [has] kind of got it as an alternate persona where Muta had two personas and you might get Jericho, but you might get ‘The Painmaker’ that night who wrestles a different way. Yeah, he’s just a dude who seems to see around corners and constantly finds new ways to put himself out there and new ways to reinvent himself.”

Austin agreed with Lazenby’s thoughts, adding that Jericho is “about as entertaining as it gets” right now. He explained how Jericho is pushing the envelope, and his unpredictability has fans eager to tune in each week. For him, this adds a dangerous edge to his character that Austin enjoys watching.