Chris Jericho, real name Christopher Keith Irvine, was born in Manhasset, Long Island, New York and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Jericho is a devout Christian–not unique among professional wrestlers, surprisingly.[1] For Jericho, he's of the born-again variety.[2] As a man dealing in violence, he's been asked if there's a conflict between his faith and his career. He said:
It's possible for the Lord to call anyone in any field to do his work. I was a Christian long before I was a wrestler and the Lord has put me in this position, so I guess it's cool with Him![3]
Jericho's religion is also his fallback option for when wrestling is no longer feasible. He fancies himself a bit of an evangelist, and hopes to spread the good word someday:
I feel that the Lord is letting me do what I love to do right now, but in about ten years He's going to send me to minister. I don't know, maybe in Argentina or Nepal or something.[4]
In a way, he'd be the perfect missionary. He certainly wouldn't have the problems of antagonistic locals and angry opposition that many missionaries face.
A freethinker
Politically, it's hard to know where Jericho stands–or he might just be among the few who evaluates individual issues outside of party frameworks. Clearly, he's no fan of Obama–and his objections relate to economic, wealth redistribution aspects of policy associated with the Democratic Party. Jericho once joked:
As of right now I have better abs [than Obama] but pretty soon he's gonna take 65% of my abs away from me and give 'em to somebody else.[5]
And about halfway through Obama's first term, Jericho expressed general, vague dissatisfaction, tweeting:
Ok guys. Are we ready to admit we made a mistake in voting in the current administration? Gets worse by the day…[6]
Plus, when the 2012 presidential campaigns were in full swing, Jericho was tweeting funny photos he called "Sexy Romney" photos, where he would pose in a Mitt Romney mask.[7]
However, there is one issue where he seems to agree with liberals and Democrats–guns. After the Sandy Hook tragedy, Jericho unloaded some frustration by tweeting:
Just heard about the school shooting. I want to puke. Time for Americas love affair w guns to end. Maybe it's best if the Mayans are right[8]
Naturally, this resulted in a backlash, to which Jericho reinforced his position:
Pathetic that some of u are more pissed off about my anti gun tweet than by the fact that 20 children were gunned down today. I'm devastated[9]
It would be interesting to know if Jericho came around on Obama once the president initiated inquiries into new gun restrictions, but I couldn't find any evidence of that. Ultimately, I think Jericho is a free thinker when it comes to politics, and would rather eschew party affiliation and evaluate issues individually.
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