Fozzy’s Chris Jericho recently shared a hilarious story about Ozzy Osbourne’s rare moment of being the most reasonable man in the room. He recounted an incident from WWE Raw in an interview with Kerrang! Radio.
The story centers around a backstage segment where Jericho was paired with Osbourne during his guest general manager appearance on WWE Raw. Jericho explained how he was often chosen to work with celebrity guests to ensure entertaining segments.
“Ozzy came and hosted WWE Raw one year, and I’d seen him, like, at the time, there was a lot of, there was these Golden Gods awards that we had that Ozzy was at, or there’d be a roast of Sharon Osbourne, and Ozzy would be there,” Jericho said. “And I’d see him in different places. I was also very, I’m very tight with Zach. We did a bit backstage for the Raw thing where whenever we had these guest GMs, it was every week you have a guest general manager.”
Jericho continued describing how he was typically paired with celebrity guests to make segments work better.
“It’s like a stunt, like, this guy, this guy, this guy. So Ozzy, I would always get put in with whoever the general manager was, because I knew I would make the segment good, because a lot of these guys, like, you know, Reverend Al Sharpton sucked as an on-air guy, but put him with Jericho and they’ll make it good,” he explained. “And Vince always put me with him. So finally Ozzy’s there, and I was like, ‘Can I please just do something with Ozzy?'”
The most amusing part of the story involved the segment’s conclusion. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted Osbourne to use a particular insult.
“So I eventually go, yeah, you can do something with Ozzy. So it’s like, I’ll do this thing where I’m going to talk about Ozzy’s gone soft and I lost respect for him and, you know, all these different things that he used to be the ultimate sin, but now you can’t even set up straight away, whatever the hell I said,” Jericho said. “And at the end, Vince [McMahon, then-World Wrestling Entertainment chairman and CEO] wanted Ozzy just to call me a wanker.”
However, Osbourne surprised everyone by being the voice of reason regarding broadcast standards.
“And Ozzy’s like, ‘You can’t call him a wanker.’ And Vince is like, ‘Well, no one’s gonna know that.’ And he’s like, ‘But your show airs in England, and everyone knows what wanker means there,'” Jericho recalled. “Like, you can’t show that in England. They’ll edit it out. And Vince is like, ‘Oh wow, you’re right.’ When did you ever think Ozzy would be the voice of reason on when not to swear on TV, right?”
This memorable exchange took place during a significant period in WWE history. Celebrity guest hosts were a regular feature on Monday Night Raw during this time.
Wrestlepedia reported that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne served as guest hosts on November 2, 2009, at the DCU Center in Worcester. The guest host concept was part of WWE’s strategy to bring mainstream attention to their programming. Different celebrities took on the role of Raw brand General Manager each week.
The Osbourne episode was particularly memorable for its interactions with various WWE superstars. Loudwire noted that the show featured segments with The Miz, Big Show, DX, and notably Santino Marella, who even cosplayed as Ozzy during the broadcast. These interactions showcased the unique dynamic between the legendary metal icon and WWE’s roster.
Ozzy’s response to Vince McMahon’s request was even more colorful than Jericho initially described. “Wanker? I can’t call him a wanker, man. What do you mean? … Wanker is like tossing off, man. It’s like jacking off, man. You can’t say that on TV,” Ozzy reportedly told Vince, as documented by VICE.
This wasn’t Ozzy’s first foray into WWE programming. VICE revealed that his first appearance in a WWE ring dates back to WrestleMania 2, where he managed The British Bulldogs alongside Captain Lou Albano. This long history with WWE made his 2009 guest hosting appearance even more significant for both wrestling and music fans.
