From playing a washed-up rock star in 2010鈥檚 鈥淢acGruber鈥� to a gruff psychiatric hospital orderly in last year鈥檚 鈥淭errifier 3,鈥� pro wrestler Chris Jericho has built quite an eclectic acting resume.
Yet a realm he鈥檚 steered clear of on the big screen is the very one where he made his name: the squared circle.
鈥淚 don't really like doing wrestling-related movies because I wrestle, and I find that they're a little bit clich茅d most of the time," says the Winnipeg native on a virtual call from New York.
"And frankly, a lot of them aren't very good."
But when the script for slasher 鈥淒ark Match鈥� came Jericho鈥檚 way, it hit him like a steel chair shot. The fact that it was written by Lowell Dean, the Saskatchewan director behind 2014 cult horror-comedy 鈥淲olfCop鈥� 鈥� a personal favourite of his 鈥� only sweetened the deal.
Jericho was especially swayed by the villain Dean envisioned for him: the Prophet, a deranged cult leader with sinister plans for a travelling group of wrestlers.
鈥淚 was pleasantly surprised at how well-written the script was and how deep the character of the leader was,鈥� the AEW star recalls, adding he felt it was a role he could lose himself in.
鈥淲e worked really hard to make people forget that it's Chris Jericho鈥� It鈥檚 just this wacko cult leader murdering people in the ring.鈥�
鈥淒ark Match,鈥� hitting Canadian theatres Friday, follows a low-tier wrestling company in the 鈥�80s that jumps at a lucrative gig in a remote backwater town. Before long, the grapplers 鈥� including Ayisha Issa of CTV鈥檚 鈥淭ransplant鈥� and Steven Ogg of AMC鈥檚 鈥淭he Walking Dead鈥� 鈥� realize the local community is under the grip of Jericho鈥檚 crazed messiah, who鈥檚 planned the event as part of a deadly game.
Jericho also served as executive producer of the Edmonton-shot film to ensure the wrestling aspects felt authentic. The 54-year-old drew on his three decades in the business as a crafty, larger-than-life showman, from his many title reigns in WWE to his current run as a heel in AEW.
He says the indie circuit grind in 鈥淒ark Match鈥� took him back to the early days of his career, working for small-time wrestling promotions across the Prairies.
鈥淭he first few years, I was travelling in vans, up and down the roads of Saskatchewan and Alberta and Manitoba. I never stumbled on to a satanic cult, but there's quite a few shows that were just weird,鈥� he says.
鈥淵ou'd go to a town where it says, 鈥楶opulation: 250鈥� and there'd be 500 people. Where鈥檇 they come from? They came down from the mountains. Like, you don鈥檛 think there were some creepy people there?鈥�
Jericho is becoming a familiar face in the horror genre, taking on gruesome roles in Damien Leone鈥檚 hit 鈥淭errifier鈥� franchise and Kevin Smith鈥檚 2022 slasher comedy anthology 鈥淜illRoy Was Here.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 a scream king now,鈥� he laughs.
He considers himself a lifelong horror buff, having grown up on classics like 1941鈥檚 鈥淭he Wolf Man鈥� and 1954鈥檚 鈥淐reature from the Black Lagoon.鈥�
鈥淚 can remember being a kid and there were late-night horror movies on TV, like pre-VCR. My mom would let me watch the movies, but I had to sleep first,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 got up every time鈥�. You don鈥檛 have a chance to see 鈥楧racula A.D. 1972鈥� if you sleep in. You can't go rent it or stream it the next day. It's gone! So that's where my whole horror movie obsession started.鈥�
Though he tends to like darker fare, Jericho isn鈥檛 opposed to a little shmaltz. He starred in 2023 UPtv romantic drama 鈥淐ountry Hearts鈥� 鈥� and its sequel, 鈥淐ountry Hearts Christmas鈥� 鈥� as the concerned father of two sisters torn between chasing their dreams of music stardom and helping their family鈥檚 horse-breeding business.
鈥淭here's no role too weird or too sentimental for me to do,鈥� he says.
Jericho is keen to dive into more acting projects. But while some have speculated his wrestling career may be nearing its end, don't expect him to hang up the tights any time soon.
鈥淚'm not going to wrestle forever. I don't want to wrestle forever. But right now, I still enjoy it. I feel great. I can still contribute and still perform at a high level. So there's no reason to stop. But if the right (acting) opportunity came up, I would do it,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 love playing characters. I've been playing the character of Chris Jericho and all its different iterations for 34 years now. So any time I get a chance to do more, I'm going to do it because I really enjoy it. It鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been doing since I was a kid.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
