Chris Jericho produces Vietnam Pro Wrestling documentary “Vietslam”

Chris Jericho has faced many challenges during his professional wrestling career and in some situations the odds were against him and succeeded time and time again.

The All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star recently highlighted a new group of challengers in a documentary he produced called “Vietslam.” The film showcases the rise of Vietnam Pro Wrestling (VPW) and how professional wrestling fans in the Asian country were able to start their own businesses in order to unify a population hungry for the sport.

“Vietslam” is the story of how the country’s professional wrestling fans managed to convince the Vietnamese government to allow the sport to be broadcast in the country, starting from almost nothing to build a rabid audience that really only watched WWE or AEW on television.

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“On ‘Talk is Jericho,’ I got a random email request from a professional wrestling group in Vietnam,” Jericho told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “And I had done a few episodes about wrestling in different parts of the world, like China and the Inuit in the northern parts, northern Canada, so I thought it would be interesting to talk to the guys and when I talked to them, it was a Vietnamese guy called Rocky and a Canadian called Carrie who had moved to Vietnam, and they had sort of, against all odds, started a wrestling business. There was no wrestling in Vietnam. There wasn’t even a wrestling ring in Vietnam. Vietnam and the government didn’t even know what wrestling was because they had to get the permits because obviously it’s a very strict government there.

“But they went and followed their dreams and followed their hearts and followed their passion and started a wrestling company in Vietnam that ended up having some success. And I thought how interesting it is, not only from a humanity standpoint, to see these guys following this crazy dream, but also the fact that professional wrestling bridges the cultures of the West and the East. We all love wrestling here. We know what it is. Most of the country, Japan, England, Ireland and Scotland, etc., etc., etc., but Vietnam, what is Vietnam in 2026, you know, because I think we always equate it with the movies that we see about the war from your “Platoon” and “Full Metal Jacket” and that kind of thing. So, I thought, how interesting is it that professional wrestling is sort of the common denominator between our cultures.

Jericho said the formation of Vietnam Pro Wrestling and the hard work coupled with the amount of work it took to build a ring highlighted the unifying aspect of the sport – something that is largely overlooked if someone only knows about professional wrestling from seeing clips and talking points debated on social media.

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Chris Jericho is shown during the taping of AEW Dynamite Beach Break at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Although professional wrestling tends to be tribal online, going offline a little could do justice for a lot of people. “Vietslam” showed how people’s goodwill can bring people together, capitalizing on the core of an idea and turning it into something everyone can connect with.

“But I find, Ryan, when you get off social media, you realize that most of the fans aren’t like that. They’re just a loud minority that wants to be tribalistic and wants to be negative about everything and you can’t really go on about that,” Jericho said. “So, I mean, yeah, again, I’m sure there are people in Vietnam who hate VPW and say, ‘It has nothing to do with American wrestling, it sucks,’ and it’s like they have no idea how much hard work these guys put in to even put on a show. And that’s the same for everyone. Anyone who’s ever been in the ring, it’s very difficult to get in the ring and wrestling It really did. The other night, again, it doesn’t matter what the cut is, but 102 degrees outside, I mean, anyone who complains about anything about wrestling, go do that and see how stupid you are, right?

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“So, it doesn’t bother me. I just think what it really showed me and you know, it’s a wrestling story, but it’s so much more than that. It’s really about the human desire to do great things and the fire that we all have within us to make things happen and take on the government, man. I mean, it’s not the United States where you and I can just, hey, let’s put on a show tomorrow night. We rent an arena, we rent it It’s not like that there. It’s a very strict socialist government, almost communist in many ways, and you’re not allowed to do whatever you want.”

Jericho explained that those involved in Vietnam Pro Wrestling had to convince the Vietnamese government that professional wrestling was more like a dance routine than a combat sport like MMA.

“So they had to convince the government that what they were doing was a spectacle, like a dance number,” he explained. “So if we can go to a dance studio where they’re doing dance routines to put on a show, we should be able to have our own show because we’re just doing a show. And they’re like, ‘Oh, OK. So you’re not really going to, you know, you’re not really going to hurt yourself.’ It’s like, ‘Well, no, it’s a show.’ And once the government understood that, they allowed them to do it.

“But I mean, it’s just normal people fighting the Vietnamese government to get a permit to put on a wrestling show. It’s a pretty complex and deep thing that took a long time to come to fruition. So all of those things were one of the reasons or all contributed to the reasons why I wanted to make this documentary because I thought it was a great story to tell on so many different aspects.”

Jericho added that having some influence in the professional wrestling scene in the Asian country meant a lot to him and that he was able to surprise some of the wrestlers and fans involved in promoting a show.

Chris Jericho attends the premiere of “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” during the SXSW Conference and Festivals at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2026. (Travis P. Ball Conference & Festivals/SXSW via Getty Images)

“Yes, it means a lot. When you hear World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, and you’ve been working there for so long, it really goes around the world,” he told PK Press Club Digital. “And now with AEW as well, we’re in 100 countries as well. So you can just see that people are watching and especially now, I mean, they can watch you on YouTube, they can watch you on Netflix or on this platform or that platform. It’s not as hard to see. You don’t have to wait until Sunday night at 8 p.m. on your local channel to watch, but you can do that too. So, it was really, it was really humbling, I guess. you would want to do it. and surreal, when I went to Vietnam and I surprised Rocky and the rest of the wrestlers that were there, they went crazy. It would be like, I don’t know, if Mick Jagger walked through the door now, you would say, they couldn’t believe it because their dream had come true.

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“And there were a lot of big Chris Jericho fans too, but also the dream of professional wrestling. Like, we now have enough name to know where one of our heroes is standing here, standing in front of us and watching us wrestle. more about how universal it was. Professional wrestling is not about country. It’s about a feeling and camaraderie that we have as wrestling fans. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, you mentioned earlier the style, it doesn’t matter what country you’re in, professional wrestling is professional wrestling and you can do it in an area in Africa, like we saw in the United States, but it comes down to the same thing: loving the craft and having that passion.

“Vietslam” will be released Tuesday on Prime Video, Fandango, Hoopla and Local Now and August 6 on Tubi.