The best in the world at what he does

[Y2J]

It’s no secret who my favourite wrestler is but I think it’s time I elaborate on why I am such an avid Jerichoholic.

You see it all started in 1998. My babysitter was rather lazy and she would often let the TV do most of the work for her, one day I got my hands on the remote and switched the channel over to WCW where I saw some crazy man with long blonde hair ranting about the number of holds he had in his arsenal. Little did I know this would be the same crazy man with long blonde hair that would get me immersed into the world of professional wrestling.

WCW were never short on star power with the likes of Kevin Nash, Sting and Hulk Hogan usually headlining their shows. However all those big names weren’t what kept me tuning in every week. In fact I found that the most entertaining matches came from WCW’s undercard, more specifically the cruiserweights. These guys didn’t have laurels to rest on like alot of the other talent on the roster so they would go out there and put on a wrestling clinic on a weekly basis. It was just sort of expected from them. It was in this division that Chris Jericho solidified himself as the total package. Nobody could question him as a worker after his many classic encounters with Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, the quality of these matches still hold up today. Chris also started to become more of a character, showcasing his natural charisma and showmanship. There truly is only one word in the English language that can describe Chris on the mic, GOLD! Whether he was parading around Washington D.C claiming to be a conspiracy victim or taking over the duties of the ring announcer while mocking each contestant as they entered the ring, he was slowly but surely winning the crowd over.

He had his first high profile feud with then World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg. Chris called him out on several occasions despite knowing full well he wasn’t backstage. He took it one step further when he began sporting his own custom t-shirts which showed his supposed win/loss ratio against Goldberg (an idea that would be implemented many years later by The Miz in his program with John Cena). Unfortunately this rivalry didn’t end in a match but rather with Goldberg coming out and squashing Chris on the entrance ramp. A lacklustre ending to what was shaping up to be an awesome storyline. This basically marked the end of his tenure in WCW and it was now time for Chris Jericho to realise his lifelong ambition of working for the World Wrestling Federation!

To say Chris Jericho made a great first impression would be a huge understatement. Roughly a month before Chris made his first televised appearance for the WWF a clock began to periodically appear counting down to the millennium. The clock finally struck zero in the middle of The Rock’s promo and thus Y2J was born! Chris came out to a huge pop from the crowd and too everyone’s surprise he managed to verbally hold his own with The Great One.

The next few months would prove difficult for Y2J as it seemed he hadn’t quite found his niche within the company yet. Still determined to succeed in the WWF Chris made the best of whatever opportunity he was given no matter how bad it looked on paper, even partaking in a decent feud with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. After a series of matches that ended controversially Chris finally beat Chyna for the belt at the Royal Rumble which opened up new doors for Jericho as he got to mix it up with some of the best pro wrestling had to offer. His match with a relatively new to the game Kurt Angle would give WWF fans their first taste of what Chris Jericho could really do in the ring, they had near perfect chemistry together and I think it’s a shame that we didn’t get to see these two guys go at it more often.

With Chris’s ever growing popularity it was only a matter of time before we saw him in the main event scene. In fact he would get his first shot at the WWF Championship after goading HHH into putting his belt on the line in what was originally scheduled to be a non-title match. The stage was set for the ultimate upset. HHH was fuming at the comments made by Jericho earlier in the night about his wife, causing Hunter to be somewhat off his game. Both men gave their all and after an intense back and forth matchup Chris Jericho hit the lionsault and got the 1-2-3 becoming WWF Champion for the first time in his career! The crowd erupted into an ear-shattering frenzy while Stephanie and Triple H looked on in contempt. Unfortunately his time as champ was cut drastically short after HHH called out Earl Hebner forcing him to reverse the decision making Chris’s first ever title reign “unofficial”. It was a tragic moment for Y2J and his fans although it wouldn’t be the last time we’d see Chris in the world title picture.

Chris Jericho spent the next year making an even bigger name for himself, winning the Intercontinental Championship for a fourth time as well as aiding Team WWF in their struggle against the Alliance. However his biggest accomplishment to date would come at Vengeance where he competed in a tournament that was held in order to unify the WWF Championship with the World Championship. The other three participants in the tournament were Kurt Angle, Steve Austin and The Rock. Stone Cold defeated Angle in the first round advancing ahead to the finals to face the winner of the Rock-Y2J match. Both men put in a valiant effort but in the end it was the combination of a low blow and a Rock Bottom by Jericho that put Rocky down for the three count. With the preliminaries out of the way it was time for the main event. Chris barely got the chance to catch his breath as Steve Austin began heading down to the ring immediately after his match but with everything on the line Y2J wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Jericho pulled out all the stops and with a little help from Vince McMahon he pinned Stone Cold to become the first ever Undisputed Champion! Not only did he win the title as well as the bragging rights that came from beating Stone Cold and The Rock back to back on the same night but he also won the respect of some of the critics out there who doubted him as a credible main eventer.

Everybody has someone they look up to, someone they admire. For Chris Jericho growing up it was Shawn Michaels, in fact he self admits that when he first broke into the business he tried to channel his inner Heart Break Kid while performing. However as time went on Chris became his own man and he no longer needed to walk in Shawn Michael’s shadow. The two would do battle at Wrestlemania 19 in a dream match not only for the fans but for Chris as well. This wasn’t a mere grudge match, nor were there any titles on the line. This match meant something much more for both men. For Shawn this was going to be his first Wrestlemania since coming back from injury so he wanted to prove he was still The Showstopper he once was in the 90’s, for Chris it was about coming full circle and exceeding his own expectations by working with the very man he set out to be like all those years ago. Both men had their individual pressures but the one thing they had in common was their mutual goal to steal the show, and they did just that. Every spot was executed to perfection it was like watching poetry in motion. A five star match if there ever was one. Michaels won the match by countering one of Jericho’s moves into a roll-up however Y2J wasn’t going to leave without having the last word. Chris feigned sincerity as only he could and gave Shawn a hug acknowledging the war that they had just went through but all of this was just intended to lead Shawn into a false sense of security right before he kicked him between the legs leaving HBK squirming in pain as he left the ring.

By 2005 Chris Jericho had done pretty much all there was to do in WWE. He was burnt out after a stellar fifteen years in the business. In need of a break Chris told WWE officials that he wanted some time off, so they came up with an idea where Jericho would work a program with WWE Champion John Cena who was having a hard time getting over with the fans as many of them thought he was too inexperienced to hold the belt. Chris wrestled Cena on three separate occasions and in all three matches just coming up short of a victory. However on their third encounter Chris lost more than just the match, the stipulation was that if he failed to beat Cena for the title then he would be fired on the spot. After being dragged out of the arena kicking and screaming by security it was time for Chris Jericho to hang up the boots and start being Chris Irvine.

During his hiatus from wrestling Chris spent more time with his family as well as his rock band Fozzy going on international tours that his previous WWE schedule would’ve prevented him from doing. He even wrote a book which made the New York Times best sellers list!

Two years went by and Chris Jericho was finally ready to make his return to the ring. It wouldn’t be any ordinary return though. Vignettes began to play during Raw and Smackdown for months on end containing cryptic messages in the form of binary code. These videos went viral causing the entire IWC to go up in arms trying to figure out who or what they were prophesising, alot of people had their assumptions but nobody knew for sure. The code was finally cracked just as Randy Orton was getting the torch passed down to him from a runner carrying an Olympic-like flame which was supposed to symbolise the new era of RKO. Just as the runner entered the arena he was met with a stiff clothesline from none other than Y2J who was back and looking better than ever! Chris then came out to a huge ovation from the crowd and got underneath the skin of Orton throwing several insults at him setting up their feud. Jericho faced off with Orton at Armageddon for the WWE Championship and it looked like he was going to win but just as Orton was on the verge of tapping out JBL intervened and screwed Chris out of the title. This didn’t sit well with Jericho and they engaged in a heated rivalry. The matter became even more personal when JBL decided to address Chris Jericho’s kids telling them their daddy was a coward. They met at the Royal Rumble where Jericho lost via disqualification after hitting JBL with a steel chair. Chris continued to punish Bradshaw by strangling him with the cables at ringside. The loss didn’t faze him because Chris wasn’t out for victory, he was out for vengeance!

Since returning Chris Jericho realised he wasn’t getting anywhere with his good guy persona. He was sick of being the fan favourite at the expense of his career. This all changed when he called out Shawn Michaels on the The Highlight Reel accusing him of being a liar for faking his injury and pointing out the double standard with the fans as they would cheer Michaels for doing the very same thing they would boo Chris for. It was an injustice that Chris wasn’t going to tolerate so he nailed Shawn with a cheap shot and drove his head through the Jeritron 5000 destroying the monitor and HBK in the process. The next week on Raw Chris Jericho came out to explain his actions. He went on to say that the fans were to blame for pushing him over the edge and that he could no longer stand their hypocrisy. Not satisfied with merely stating that he was a changed man Chris shed himself of everything that made him Y2J, trading in his signature poses, flashy attire and charismatic personality for a suit as well as a more cold, calculated demeanour. Armed with his new narcissistic attitude Chris had more of a presence than he did before and people started viewing him as a more serious competitor. Jericho further cemented himself as the top heel on Raw by brutally assaulting Shawn’s eye to the point where he couldn’t continue the match. The injury was so severe that HBK’s doctor advised him to retire or risk permanent retina damage. It was a warning that Michaels planned on heeding until Chris interrupted his retirement speech and inadvertently punched his wife Rebecca in the face. This sparked a newfound rage within Shawn who managed to suppress his feelings until their unsanctioned match at Unforgiven where he tortured and maimed Jericho into near unconsciousness forcing the referee to declare Michaels the winner. However Chris Jericho’s night was far from over as he went on to replace CM Punk in the Championship Scramble match and pin Kane in the final seconds of the match to become World Heavyweight Champion for the first time since making his return!

Chris didn’t break into the mainstream prematurely like alot of today’s generation. He is part of a dying breed who took the time to go wrestle around the world perfecting his craft, his time spent in Canada, Mexico and Japan was crucial in making him the in ring performer that he is today. It would be easy for somebody with the pedigree of Jericho to play backstage politics and hold others down but that’s not the way Chris operates, he has shown time and time again that he’s willing to put his ego aside and do the job in order to help out the company. Even at the age of 40 he is still in my opinion WWE’s most beneficial asset. A future hall of famer and a legend in his own right Chris Jericho truly is the best in the world at what he does.

[VadeKruger]

Well done bro, a great read!!

[Y2J]

Thank you.

[Y2J]

I appreciate the kind words. I was originally going to enter this in the WA competition but I got sidetracked. At least I got more time to work on it though.

[Rabid619]

I like it!! Very nice work Y2J

[Y2J]

Thanks Rabid, my only regret is that I didn't get to cover more of his career. It was getting a bit clustered so I decided to just write about what were in my opinion his best moments.

[Earth Child]

great work. If you did enter this it would kick ass!

[BrettBirnberg]

I haven't been into such a good post like this one EVER. Jericho's timeline in wrestling was so well put and fit together that it couldn't have been picked and compiled better, Y2J. I love the fact that you point out how his feuds and story lines got him over as the top heel during the later time, and how you mention his time in WCW, most people don't know that about Jericho. I really loved the read, and want to see some in the future, keep up the good work.