When Chris Jericho states he is the ‘best in the world at what he does’, it’s extremely hard to argue with him. With Jericho you get the complete package, he has the microphone skills, in ring ability, personality, charisma and the overall entertainment value. So why do some people STILL doubt the self proclaimed ‘Greatest of All Time’?
Back in January, on the first Raw of the year, Chris Jericho made another return to the company interrupting tag team champions The New Day. This was met by very mixed fan reactions, with many criticising Jericho for his ‘dumbed down’ and ‘goofy’ comedy routine, with him starting a ‘rooty tooty booty’ chant direction at them. Now I for one couldn’t understand the level of negativity this promo received, because in case people didn’t notice, Jericho has carved a career out of these sort of antics.
Most famously, his promo in 2001 alongside The Rock on Stephanie McMahon and Rhyno where he iconically claimed her entrance music should be ‘Let The Boobies Hit The Floor’. This isn’t anything groundbreaking, it’s just a play on words, but Jericho’s delivery of it, like his other promos, made the whole segment.
Over the next few weeks Jericho was highly downplayed by fans for his ‘bad comedy’, which is bizarre when you consider many of the other iconic catchphrases, including that of The Rock, who made his name asking people to ‘smell what he’s cooking’.
Despite this, ‘Y2J’ was anything but deterred from his usual routines, and after an impressive 50 minute showing in the 2016 Royal Rumble match, it was time to begin his next project, AJ Styles.
After some impressive back and forth matches with the two trading victories, they formed a tag team, which was dubbed, ‘Y2AJ’. Whilst fans could predict the turn on Styles coming from the beginning, the build up and programme between the two provided much entertainment during the short stint. Styles, whilst being a veteran of professional wrestling himself, was still a newcomer with WWE, and Chris Jericho was the perfect person to put him over to the fans unfamiliar with his work.
After the eventual ‘heel turn’ following a defeat at the hands of The New Day, Jericho began setting up a match with AJ at Wrestlemania, in which he’d be victorious.
In the short space of a few months, Jericho had returned, been criticised, won the fans over, put over AJ Styles, formed a tag team, turned heel, and capped it off with a Wrestlemania win.
What a lot of the time people seem to forget is that Jericho is one of the absolute best at putting other superstars over. This year as well as AJ Styles, he’s worked programmes with Enzo Amore & Big Cass, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn and now finds himself working closely with Kevin Owens in a ‘best friends’ angle.
Jericho’s comedy timing is immaculate, and when you really think about it, his current catchphrases are SO simple, yet the way he presents them are what makes them so successful and a big hit with fans, despite officially being a heel.
He refers to people as ‘stupid idiots’, which started in around April time when he began a war of words with acting General Manager, Shane McMahon, which is as simple an insult as you can get, but with him, it works.
The simplicity of just growing a mustache and wearing a scarf is brilliant, and has transformed his character within a matter of weeks, where most need a complete gimmick change requiring months of work.
What I find incredible, is the fact that possibly the most ‘over’ catchphrase involves the most basic of items, a clipboard with a list. That’s right, the most popular saying in WWE right now is when Chris Jericho threatens to add people to his list, how mind blowingly simple is that?! Yet to reiterate, Jericho’s delivery makes the brilliance of it.
Finn Balor being crowned the new Universal Champion at Summerslam was WWE’s way of planning for the future, but in a freak accident during the match with Seth Rollins, he would sustain an injury keeping him out for months. This meant he was to relinquish the title the next night, crowning a new champion, in Kevin Owens (with an assist from Triple H). Unfortunately for WWE, under the current Universal Champion, the ratings have plummeted and the main event scene has been dull, but luckily, Chris Jericho is on hand to save the day.
Whilst Owens is nothing more than average on the microphone, his alliance with Jericho is a saviour for him, because what he lacks in charisma, Jericho possesses a thousand times over, overshadowing him on a weekly basis.
When Kevin Owens’ music plays, people know that instead of being put through another insufferable attempt at Owens cutting a promo, they’ll be entertained by Jericho, with his unique personality and excellent talking ability sure to captivate.
It’d be easy to rubbish Jericho’s 2016 accomplishments, having not held a title since 2009 when he was a tag team champion with Big Show, but the work he’s produced has far surpassed holding a WWE title. Jericho is helping the company plan for the future, which is evident by some of the names he’s worked with over the last few years, including losing to Fandango cleanly at Wrestlemania, a match/angle in which Jericho admitted WWE ‘dropped the ball’ with going forward.
‘Y2J’ has always been a giver to the business, and his credentials show he’s willing to work whatever match, with whoever, as long as it’s entertaining, which when he’s involved, it usually guarantees.
If you go back to any wrestling articles and publications from January of 2016, I’d be willing to bet that they embarrassingly dismissed the return of Jericho as ‘cheesy’ and lacking originality, whereas fast forward to the present day and he remains one of the most popular superstars in professional wrestling despite doing pretty much the same kind of shtick as he’s renown for.
At 45 years of age, Chris Jericho has showcased his ability to not only ‘hang’ with some of the younger talents labelled the future of the business, but often surpass them with his work both inside and outside of the ring.
Only a fool with discredit Jericho for being a ‘part time superstar’, because in my view, someone that can juggle numerous talents and commitments outside of wrestling and then return in the best form of his career deserves the utmost respect.
Jericho has provided the entertainment value in an otherwise quite dull few weeks of Raw, and his presence (as well as his jacket) lights up any show or event he’s featured on.
What has been YOUR favourite Chris Jericho moment this year?
Is he having the best run of recent years?
Leave a comment below
or
Tweet me @kieranthekiz
Recent Comments