Classic Chris Jericho Moments
by K. Thor Jensen

If you ask any wrestling fan in the last ten years what superstar has never really gotten their due, there's a pretty solid chance they'll answer Chris Jericho. The charismatic Canadian was trained in the Hart dungeon, so he has the chops to get it done on the mat, but his quick wit and incredible promos are what really make us fans. When he announced his retirement in 2005, we were shocked, aghast that a man of his talent would choose to step out of the ring at the peak of his powers. Now he's back and embroiled in an awesome feud with Shawn Michaels, so all is right with the world once more. From his early days traveling the world wrestling for whatever Podunk promotion would pay him, to his criminally underutilized period as a WCW midcarder, to his current days making the WWE more fun to watch, these are eleven moments that tell you all you need to know about the man known as Chris Jericho.

Enters the Hart Dungeon

Chris Jericho, born Christopher Irvine (son of hockey legend Ted Irvine) did what every young man wanting to get into the wrestling industry should do: he went to college first. After getting his degree in journalism, he began traveling with promoter Bob Holiday and began his wrestling training. At the age of nineteen, he enrolled at the toughest wrestling school in the world: the Hart Dungeon, in Calgary, Alberta. The sweaty mats in the basement of the Hart home produced some of the best grapplers in the business, and young Jericho would be no exception. Family patriarch Stu Hart was known for his no-nonsense approach to learning the fundamentals, and Chris would be stretched seven ways to Sunday before he was ready to make his in-ring debut.

Wins ECW TV Title

After graduating from the Hart dungeon, Jericho began gaining seasoning in promotions all over the world, from the Canadian indies to Mexico's Lucha Libre federations, and even a stop in Japan to compete for the hilariously named Wrestle And Romance group. It was on that last trip that he came to the attention of maverick promoter Paul Heyman, who recruited the dazzling young star to come work for him in his rule-breaking Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. In 1996, Jericho made his ECW debut and soon won the company's TV Title, defending it against indie greats like 2 Cold Scorpio and Rob Van Dam before dropping it to Shane Douglas at Heat Wave. But Jericho had bigger fish to fry, and he couldn't fry them in ECW's small pond. He needed a global stage to really work his magic.

Debuts in WCW

Jericho's debut in August of 1996 with World Championship Wrestling wasn't met with much fanfare. He was just one of the many talents that company president "ATM Eric" Bischoff was spending Ted Turner's money on just to make sure Vince McMahon didn't get them first. Packaged as a fiery white meat babyface dubbed "Lionheart" Chris Jericho, the young star was put into a match with fellow Hart Dungeon graduate Chris Benoit, and impressed the crowd with his athleticism and charisma. He went on to defeat Syxx for the WCW Cruiserweight Title, rapidly rising to the top of the division and feuding with other young stars such as Alex Wright. But something was missing: Jericho just wasn't working out as a good guy. Luckily, he had some ideas on how to change things for the better.

Turns Heel

When Jericho won his third Cruiserweight Title at Souled Out in 1997, he wasn't content to merely make current champion Rey Mysterio Jr. submit to the Liontamer. No, he wanted to make an impact, so after winning the match he brutalized Mysterio's knee with a toolbox. This marked the start of Jericho's heel run in WCW that would continue until he left the company. With his goody-goody "Lionheart" image far behind him, a newly revitalized Jericho would go on to become one of the promotion's most reliable and dynamic performers, cutting awesome promos and delivering bigtime in the ring. He would feud with Juventud Guerrera, taking his mask, as well as Prince Iaukea and the Disco Inferno, in most cases giving these enhancement talents the best matches of their careers. Going bad was very, very good for Jericho, and would come to define him as a wrestler.

Man of 1,004 Holds

Jericho had many awesome feuds with some of WCW's midcard talent, elevating pathetic schlubs like Marty Janetty and Lenny Lane up a level and also working with great Lucha Libre talent like Juventud Guerrera. But the one feud that really epitomizes his WCW days for us is his series of matches with Dean "The Iceman" Malenko. Malenko, a fellow ECW graduate, was known for his intense, complex mat style and almost total lack of charisma. What he lacked in personality, he made up for in skills, and their matches were mat classics. But what we really loved were Jericho's promos, which were as funny as the matches were intense. In one memorable one, he rebutted Malenko's title as the "Man of 1,000 Holds" by proclaiming himself the "Man of 1,004 Holds," and reading the names of each and every one off of a huge sheet of paper in the middle of the ring.

WWE Debut

After Jericho vanished from WCW TV, his legion of Jerichoholics wondered when their favorite superstar would grace the airwaves once more. They didn't have to wait long, as soon a mysterious countdown clock began appearing at various WWE events. Taking over the TitanTron at seemingly random intervals, the clock seemed to be ticking down towards a date in August of 1999. On August 9, the clock hit zero right in the middle of a promo by The Rock. The most electrifying man in sports entertainment was flabbergasted to find himself confronted by a debuting Jericho, who cut an unforgettable promo about the sorry state of the WWE. Even though he was running down the superstars and the fans, the audience still cheered the charismatic Canadian, and the era of Y2J had officially begun. Oddly enough, Jericho wouldn't be put into a feud with the Rock, but rather midcarder the Road Dogg.

Feuds with Triple H

Jericho floundered in his early days in the WWE, feuding with the Road Dogg and Chyna, among other non-starters, and was given a chance to show his true ability. All that changed in 2000, as Jericho, his star starting to rise among WWE fans, was put into a program with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. More importantly, he was put into a program with Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon, who was one of the most hated women in the company. Jericho's hilarious, brutal promos against an aghast Stephanie, notable both for his ludicrous invective ("Bottom-feeding trash bag ho" being one of the examples we can print here) and campaign of pranks and terrorism against Triple H incensed the Cerebral Assassin, and the two met in an unforgettable Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded that saw HHH barely eke out a victory.

Wins WCW Championship

When the Invasion began, Jericho unsurprisingly stayed on the side of the WWE. He'd been held down his entire career in WCW, so it made sense that he'd stick with the people that gave him the most opportunity. But that's not to say that things were completely rosy in McMahon-land. Personal issues with fellow holdout The Rock brought the two superstars to a brutal confrontation. After the Rock's ceaseless needling got under Jericho's skin, he challenged him to a match for his WCW title, which he won after hitting him with his new finisher, the Breakdown. Amazingly enough, the two put aside their differences the next day to nab the Tag Titles from the Dudley Boyz, but their issue wasn't settled yet, and the Rock would recover the belt in November. Jericho would reward his initiative by savagely beating him across the dome with a steel chair, cementing his heel status.

First Ever Undisputed Champion

After feuding over the WCW Championship with The Rock for the better part of a year, trading the big gold belt back and forth in several all-time classic matches, Jericho had had enough. At Vengeance, the last pay-per-view of 2001, he was out to make history. After a number of legal shenanigans over the ownership of the WWE with Vince McMahon, Ric Flair, and others all getting their hands dirty, a Title Unification Tournament was announced. In two matches, the ownership of the WWE Title and the WCW Championship would be decided, followed by one for all the marbles. Jericho defeated the Rock for the WCW belt, and then faced "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the WWE belt. After an insane amount of interference, including substitute refs, belt shots, and a McMahon - Flair fistfight, Jericho got the duke to become the first ever Undisputed Champion.

Loses You're Fired Match

In 2005, Jericho's WWE contract expired, and the buzz in all the dirt sheets was all about what he would choose to do - renew with WWE? Jump to TNA? Go to Mexico or Japan? Nobody knew, and the usually vocal superstar wasn't talking. Most figured he chose to sign another contract, which perplexed onlookers when, in the midst of his white-hot feud with superstar John Cena, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced the two would compete in a "Loser Gets Fired" match. Of course, nobody ever dreamed that Vince would cut loose his #1 cash cow in Cena, so it was a foregone conclusion that Jericho had to go. After losing a hard-fought contest, Jericho succumbed to the FU and was escorted from the arena by security, presumably gone from the WWE forever. Or was he?

Returns to WWE

Although Jericho had been very busy in his time away from the ring, touring with his band Fozzy, appearing on Best Week Ever and hosting his XM Satellite Radio show, the siren call of McMahon's money was too much to refuse. After a perplexing series of encoded videos started taking over WWE programming, fans scrambled to deceipher them, and their hard work was rewarded on November 19, 2007, when a returning Jericho announced his intentions to save the WWE from the forces tearing it down - most notably Randy Orton. He went on to feud with JBL and Umaga before turning heel once more and starting what may be the greatest feud of his career against Shawn Michaels. The chemistry between Jericho and the Heartbreak Kid is one of the best reasons to watch Raw right now, and with the Canadian champion at the top of his game, now is a very good time to be a Jerichoholic.


Thanks to: UGO.com