Undisputed_ How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps - Chris Jericho [52]
It was nice to see that, at least in Winnipeg, my Q rating was bigger than Burton and Brad.
CHAPTER 14
Banned on Broadway
Flashback Heart Attack to 1987
When Iron Maiden came through Winnipeg on their Somewhere On Tour, I found out they were staying on the seventeenth floor of the Westin Hotel. So I snuck into a freight service elevator, like a pimply-faced Jack Bauer, and knocked on random doors until I was rewarded by guitarist Adrian Smith answering one of them. He had a towel wrapped around his head like a turban, with another one wrapped around his waist.
I stood in shock, not believing that one of my rock and roll heroes was actually standing in front of me.
“Uhhhhh, excuse me, Adrian, can I have your autograph, please?”
“Not right now, mate, I just got out of the shower.”
He closed the door and I did a primitive version of the Nitro Dance, until the hotel detective (who wasn’t outta sight) discovered me and gave me a personal escort out the front door.
Hot Tub Time Machine Fast Forward to 2000
Iron Maiden had just released Brave New World, their first album in ten years, with the returning Adrian Smith and singer Bruce Dickinson, who had left the band a decade earlier.
My cousin Chad had the wise idea for the two of us, my other cousin Todd, and my friend Rybo, all of us huge Maiden fans, to take a road trip to see them on their Brave New World Tour in Milwaukee and Chicago. Maiden’s PR firm were big fans of the WWE, and with some finagling I was able to procure tickets and backstage passes. We watched the Chicago show from the crowd and briefly met the band backstage but were too intimidated to say much. I mean, this was Iron Fuckin’ Maiden, our childhood heroes!
For the next show in Milwaukee we decided to take full advantage of the passes. We wandered backstage and were enjoying Maiden’s fine catering when their head of security recognized us from the night before. He brought us back into their inner sanctum and introduced us to Adrian’s wife, Nathalie.
“You’re Chris Jericho? Wow, my son is a huge wrestling fan, and he would just die if he knew you were here. Would you mind giving him a call to say hi?”
I’m choking Adrian for leaving Iron Maiden in 1989, allowing Virtual XI to happen.
Are you kidding me???
Thirteen years earlier I had interupted Adrian midshower by knocking on his hotel room door, and now his wife was asking me to call his son? Talk about things going full circle!
Nathalie took me to the production office, dialed the phone, and handed it to me. A groggy child’s voice answered (it was pretty late in the UK), but I was eager to gain some serious metal points and I went into full babyface mode.
“What’s going on, little buddy? It’s Chris Jericho here …”
I talked to him for a few minutes, until Adrian himself wandered over to say hi and thanked me for talking to his son. He was so laid-back and friendly that we got along right away. It was surreal having a beer and discussing music, wrestling, and the finer points of Iron Maiden with one of my favorite guitar players of all time. He hooked us up to watch the show from the side of the stage and introduced us to the rest of the band, and I was reminded of the similarity between rock stars and wrestlers. We were both in the entertainment business and we made our living by being on the road. There was a mutual respect between us and I was no longer the sixteen-year old fanboy chasing autographs. I was now at the same level in my world as Maiden were in theirs and had gone from punter to peer.
A few months later, Adrian came to New York to do publicity for his solo project Psycho Motel. I had a show at MSG the same weekend, so Jess and I came in a day early so we could meet up with the Smiths and go see the Broadway play Jekyll and Hyde, starring Sebastian Bach.
Sebastian was great and did a tremendous job, and after the play we went to celebrate at a pub across the street that he and his cast members frequented. Gargano was also there, and we were such bad influences on each other that it wasn’t