Chris Jericho Squashes The Cultural Gap With New Doc “Vietslam” (Exclusive)

Professional wrestling is more than just big spots and fantastical characters; it’s a story of struggle, defeat, and triumph. It’s a bridge that can turn enemies into friends, and strangers into comrades locked in arms behind their favorite heroes.

The story of Vietnam Pro Wrestling is an inspiring one, and in the documentary Vietslam: Squashing The Cultural Gap, VPW’s rise is chronicled from inception through its prevailing in connecting a culture to the new world of pro wrestling. The documentary’s producer, AEW star Chris Jericho, spoke to TheSportster about the documentary and what it means when he says “wrestling is for everyone.“

Chris Jericho Was Drawn To The Inspiring Story Of VPW

An almost 40-year veteran in the industry, Chris Jericho has succeeded in spite of serious struggle and adversity. One of the very few performers who have worked and held gold in WCW, ECW, WWE, NJPW, and AEW, his accolades make him one of the most decorated of his generation.

Jericho says that the story of VPW, and its main star, Rocky Huynh, initially piqued his interest during a miniseries presentation on his podcast, Talk is Jericho. He said he spoke to the promoters, who shared their stories of struggle and tribulation with him, and he immediately thought that this story would make for a great documentary not just for wrestling, but to help the West see Vietnam differently.

“You can envision what China looks like or what the Northwest Territories looks like or what Africa looks like, but Vietnam is still in our minds, still kind of stuck in Platoon and Full Metal Jacket and that sort of thing,” Jericho says. “We think it’s still a bunch of jungles and Paint It Black and, you know, Fortunate Son and all that sort of stuff, so I thought, what an interesting way to connect our two cultures of the East and West, essentially, with pro wrestling of all things. That kind of was the genesis to wanting to make this documentary and then actually going out and doing it.”

Jericho says in their first call, VPW’s promoter, Carey Wass, explained how big a fan Huynh was of him. While expanding culturally in some ways, Vietnam remains a Communist country, but wrestling was still accessible to the people of the country. Jericho says the learning experience of his influence humbled him, and that the crowd’s reaction to his arrival wasn’t just about him being there.

”That’s when I realized it wasn’t just because I was there. It was like the culmination of this dream that they had to start a pro wrestling company, and that’s doubled down by one of their heroes showing up to see them do their work. I think it was the realization that they had done it. When I met Rocky the first time, I was just as in awe and had mutual respect for him as he did for me because he created all of it against all odds.”

Chris Jericho Says The Attitude Era Remains Important In The Legacy Of Pro Wrestling and For VPW

Rocky Huynh, the main star of both VPW and the documentary Vietslam, recalls watching his first wrestling event, 2003’s Survivor Series, and immediately being hooked. The turn of the century presentation of WWE was a volatile one, with WCW and ECW folding within months of each other and folding into WWE, overloading its roster with some of the biggest Superstars of all time.

Chris Jericho mentions that the current product, the Attitude Era, and the 1986 Expansion are the most important in the history of wrestling. When asked what makes the era when the Attitude Era was winding down and the Ruthless Aggression Era began so special, Jericho says what separates then from now was the number of main event names on the card.

“When I got to the WWE, there were legit, I’d say, 12 legit top-drawing main event stars. Not just guys who worked in the main event, top draws. Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Mankind, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and that’s just off the top of— Kane. There’s 9 right there off the top of my head without even really thinking too much about it, and there’s probably 3 or 4 others that I could throw in there. There’s Big Show. There’s 10 right there.”

Jericho reiterates that there’s a plethora of great talent in wrestling today, but the main event draws that were built from that time were super popular because of the ways wrestling had built them at the time, which is something that we don’t have now.

“You have a lot more eyeballs on it maybe because of platforms and streaming, but if you [just] look at the main event names then they can’t be touched, so that’s probably why that era is so critically acclaimed and so positively remembered, because of just the name value of those stars that were all there at the same time.”

Chris Jericho Says Vietslam Reinforces That Wrestling Really Is For Everyone

Vietslam, the inspiring story of Vietnam Pro Wrestling’s unlikely rise, is a triumph for both the will to live your dreams at all costs and the power of pro wrestling and its connecting of cultures and people. Chris Jericho is proud of the story they told in the documentary, and he says the story is not just bridging the culture gap, they’re slamming it.

“Of all the things in the world that mainstream entertainment would pick, I doubt pro wrestling would be high up there,” he says. “We’re not even like soccer or the worldwide sports like that.”

Jericho emphasizes that Rocky’s dream was almost an impossible one because there wasn’t any of the mechanics or physical items needed to begin, including a wrestling ring. The lack of opportunity and options reminded him of his own journey, and that he was so fully inspired by Rocky’s story and wanted the world to hear it.

“Rocky’s determination kind of reminded me of my determination to make it in the business. What’s the common denominator? Love for the business, passion for wrestling, and so that really does show that, no matter what country you’re from, what religion, race, creed, color, whatever, this pro wrestling thing unites all of us.”

Vietslam: Squashing The Cultural Gap is available now on Amazon Prime.