Chris Jericho Goes Into Detail About WWE's "No-Contact" List
Which WWE legend couldn't give Chris Jericho his finisher due to the strict "no-contact" rule?
Chris Jericho shed some light on WWE's "no-contact" list during Christian Cage's recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho.
Around summer time last year, Christian was famously involved in an unsanctioned match with Randy Orton during the latter star's feud with Cage's best bud Edge. However, it was clear to fans that during said encounter Captain Charisma was being wrapped in cotton wool, likely for his own safety.
On the pod, Christian opened up about this moment in time, noting that being placed on WWE's "non-contact" list made him question, "Am I that fragile?"
“When I went back to do the unsanctioned match with Randy this past summer, it was one of those things. You’re on the non-contact list. So we need to be careful of this. You need to be careful of that. You can’t have this kind of contact, yada yada yada, and I was like, really? Am I that fragile? I feel great. Why is this such a an issue?”
This match would go on to provide the foundation for the former World Heavyweight Champion's unexpected return to in-ring action this year, but his mentioning of the "non-contact" list seemed to provoke Jericho into explaining his own experiences with the rule.
Le Champion revealed that there is a "no contact" list for both Raw and SmackDown which is made up of performers and other names who must not be touched when on TV, noting the likes of Sgt. Slaughter being present on such a document. This train of thought also led to the former Undisputed World Champion revealing an instance where WWE legend Mick Foley wasn't able to perform his finisher on Jericho because of said rule:
“It’s funny to talk about being on the no-contact list, and people that don’t know is there’s kind of a list of everybody who’s on the roster. And there’s the RAW guys, here’s SmackDown, here’s injured (and) here’s no contact. And no contact is like Sgt. Slaughter. I remember Mick Foley was on there. One time we were at a house show in Rochester. He was the ref, and I wanted him to give me the Socko. And they said, he’s on the no-contact. He can’t even give me a Socko? No, it’s very strict.”
It's not hard to see why WWE are so cautious when it comes to the safety of stars who aren't medically cleared to compete. So expect the "no-contact" list to be strictly implemented for years to come when dealing with names who most definitely shouldn't be taking bumps or getting physical.