The injury to Hiromu Takahashi from G1 Special in San Francisco on Sat., July 7 has fans and pros talking about wrestling styles, particularly being critical of or defending their perception of how matches are worked in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

One man uniquely qualified to comment is current IWGP Intercontinental Champion and WWE legend Chris Jericho. In speaking with Mark Henry and Dave LaGreca on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio this morning (July 9), Y2J talked about his own learning curve regarding how to work not only safer, but smarter. He now hopes to spread that message on the New Japan roster:

“It’s up to the individual guys. I actually had a conversation with somebody - with [Will] Ospreay, and people were saying, ‘oh he’s gonna be the next Dynamite Kid’.

And I’m like, ‘Dude, you don’t want to be the next Dynamite Kid, and this is what they’re saying about you. So these dangerous moves that you do that don’t matter - stop it! You know, you need to be working when you’re 47 like I am.’

Now, I did my share of crazy bumps and took my share of bad bumps, but as you get older, it’s the proverbial thing - I remember Nick Bockwinkel told me like in 1992 at a TV taping in Winnipeg when he was there as a color commentator, ‘you do too much’.

And I remember thinking like, ‘what an asshole thing to think?’ But I’m like sure, he’s just jealous cause he can’t do these moves. That’s what you think when you’re a young guy. It’s Nick Bockwinkel! And now as I’m older, Nick Bockwinkel is one of the greatest. I’ve modeled characters after him. He’s right.

So, there’s nothing wrong with strong style. I like beating the shit out of somebody and getting the crap kicked out of me as much as... the match I had with Naito I was hurting for days after, in a good way. Nothing was broken, no neck injuries - I had cuts all over, my back was sore. You know the feeling, Mark, when you’ve had a great match, you know, you get out of bed and you’re like, ‘oh that hurt’. That’s what wrestling should be. It should be stiff. It should be strong style, but not dangerous. And that’s what I want to try and tell some of these guys in New Japan that have this great style, I mean, these guys are having this amazing match, but don’t be dangerous! We’re still human beings, we’re not action figures that you can just dump on your head and just get up and go ‘okay, what’s next guys?’

You have to be careful of that and cognizant of it, and I think some of the guys are starting to understand it more. If they get more guys in there to work with people like myself, they will learn. Because I won’t do those bumps, because it doesn’t matter. It’s not gonna make me any more money if I do it or not. And that’s what this business is about - making money and putting the proverbial asses in the seats.”