Chris Jericho's professional wrestling career will continue on, but it won't be with WWE this time around.

It was announced several weeks ago that Jericho would be going to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to take on Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. The move came as a bit of a shock to some, as Jericho has been loyal to WWE for the past 20 years as one of the company's top stars of all time.

For the past several weeks Jericho and Omega had been feuding with one another on Twitter, trading insults, making many professional wrestling fans believe that their beef was legitimate. When the match was announced, however, all became rather clear.

Jericho was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross' podcast to discuss his upcoming bout with Omega. Ross asked if WWE's Vince McMahon knew about "Y2J's" decision to go over to NJPW, and here's what he had to say (quotes via Rajah.com):

"Yeah, I mean, not to get into specifics, but you know how smart I have been throughout my career and you know the relationship I have with Vince that I would never jeopardize that or give him any nasty surprises," said Jericho.

"So I'll just leave it at that.

"Like you said, I think in the back of his mind, no matter how much wrestling fans sometimes like to lionize Vince, or whatever the word is, kind of think that he's this big evil, manipulative guy, I think he appreciates the fact that when the business is healthy.

"I think that he knows that it's better for his business as well, so for Chris Jericho to go to New Japan, I mean, everybody knows that I'm a WWE guy.

"That's just the way it is. I have been for 17 years, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime dream match, per se, with a lot of money at stake.

"And, for me to not pursue that I thought would have been a crime. And I think Vince felt the same way. As I said, the timing of this is perfect."

"He was cool with me doing this match and he's cool with you doing New Japan shows because I think deep down inside, Vince loves wrestling and he loves WWE wrestling, but he knows, guess what, it doesn't matter what you do, J.R., or what I do, we're WWE guys," Jericho added.

"It's what we are. The more they can see us outside of that, the more it promotes his brand."

What are your thoughts on Jericho's comments regarding Vince McMahon's feelings about his stint with NJPW? Do you think that McMahon is actually holding bad blood for what Jericho is doing with Omega in Japan? Or does he want Jericho to do what's best for his career after all the contributions he has made to WWE? Have YOUR say in the comments section below, and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!

Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout

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