The Contentious Ten 05.17.10: Chris Jericho Matches

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BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!

Honorable Mentions:

Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko (Uncensored 1998): Malenko and Jericho’s feud in WCW was probably the highpoint for both guys: if anyone ever tells you Dean wasn’t over, show them the video of him taking off his Ciclope mask before facing Jericho for the Cruiserweight Championship. That’s a HUGE pop. This was probably the best match they had against each other, but really, any match with these two is good.

Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (Royal Rumble 2002): Jericho and The Rock had tremendous chemistry in the ring (and on the stick) and produced a very good series of matches in late 2001. This was the last major match, and it is very good. Jericho’s finish of smashing Rock into the exposed turnbuckle and rolling up Rock with the tights and his feet on the ropes is such great over the top heel cheatery.

Chris Jericho vs. John Cena (Summer Slam 2005): This was a match I enjoyed a lot more when it happened, as I was really rooting for Jericho to beat Cena at the time. The crowd really elevated an already good match to something great. One of Cena’s best and an underrated gem from 2005.

Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit vs. Triple H & Stone Cold Steve Austin (Raw ): I know someone is going to say this belonged in the top ten, because the general consensus is that it’s a classic. I actually don’t think it’s better than ****1/4 or so, but the bigger reason this is left in the honorable mentions of Jericho’s list is that Y2J barely plays a role in the match. 80% of the match is Austin and Triple H working over Benoit. Hard to have one of your best performances when you only have three minutes to work.

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Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Damsize=6>
King of the Ring Semi-Final Match, King of the Ring 2002size=4>

2002 was a bit of a rough year for Chris Jericho. After being booked as a champion that nobody took seriously and getting thoroughly buried by Triple H as he made his triumphant return to the WWE after his first knee injury, Jericho spent the rest of the year in mid-card purgatory. This, alone with a terrific cage match with Edge on Smackdown!, was one of his bright spots. There isn’t much of a story here except that Jericho was one of the blue brands best workers and Van Dam was on of RAW’s best workers (and probably the most popular wrestler on the brand once Stone Cold left) and they paired them off in the KOTR tournament to open the show. This is a very good match with a ton of great spots and a touch of storytelling. Jericho was also a terrific heel during this period.

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Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrerasize=6>
Cruiserweight Championship vs. Mask, Superbrawl VIIIsize=4>

I always kind of go back and forth with Juventud. On one hand, he was a pretty awesome high-flyer and was fun to watch. On the other hand, he was never as crisp as Rey Mysterio was and lacked that certain “it” factor that makes you want to cheer for him. Anyway, this is a good Juvi match, and a lot of it has to do with Jericho. Chris gives a tremendous heel performance here, and wrestles at a high level as well. Definitely a high point of Jericho’s WCW tenure, and there’s not many of those.

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Chris Jericho vs. Eddy Guerrerosize=6>
Cruiserweight Championship Match, Fall Brawl ’97size=4>

Because everything is better in German! Watching this match now, I can’t help but smile at how much Jericho has grown as a performer since this match. Jericho plays the peppy babyface in here against Eddie, and while he’s giving us a good match, he’s an incredible bland babyface performer. Jericho was always better as a cocky, obnoxious heel, and about three years later he would find a way to transfer those traits into his babyface persona and really be a guy you want to see win. As for this match, it’s a different take on WCW Cruiserweight matches because you have two guys who know how to slow it down and wrestle. This is also one of Eddie’s great matches because it is during his awesome sleazy heel of the cruisers phase. These guys were actually better as partners though; check out their matches against Benoit and Malenko (or even the Faces of Fear) sometime.

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Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaelssize=6>
World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match, No Mercy 2008size=4>

Oh yes, the ladder match that everyone loves but me. While this isn’t a patch on the Unforgiven street fight where Shawn gave one of the best acting performances in wrestling history, it is a good match. More importantly, it’s probably Jericho’s highest profile match, and the blowoff to the best angle of the last five years. Jericho has a thing for having ladder matches that are more than simple spotfests, and he did a good job in his role here. If there had been a little less wrestling, fewer stupid spots and more hatred, this could have been an all-time classic. As it is, it’s a memorable, important match in Jericho’s career. It’s also validation that Chris deserves to be a main event player.

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Lion Heart vs. Wild Pegasussize=6>
Super J Cup 1995 Quarter-Final Matchsize=4>

Before their rivalry in WWE, before they were tag team champions, before Jericho had his first PPV match with Benoit in WCW in 1996, there was the Super J Cup 1995. Chris Benoit, then known as Wild Pegasus, had won the inaugural Super J Cup in 1994 (the finals with the Great Sasuke one of the all time great matches) and was a huge star in Japan. Jericho was an up and coming foreign presence in WAR, but this match was already a dream match, both for Jericho and for fans. Benoit was one of the men that Jericho based his career off of, and the idea of the “Two Canadian Chrises” wrestling each other had high expectations. The match did not disappoint; they stole the show and while Jericho lost, it was the biggest match of his career to that point.

THE BONUS LIST!color=blue>size=6>

Top Ten Chris Jericho Holds size=4>
10. Armdrag
9. Armbar
8. The Moss-Covered Three-Handled Family Credunzle
7. Arm Bar
6. The Saskatchewan Spinning Nervehold
5. Armbar!
4. The Shooting Star Staple Superplex
3. ARMBAR!
2. The Lion Tamer
1. ARM BAR!!!

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Chris Jericho vs. Triple Hsize=6>
Last Man Standing Match, Fully Loaded 2000size=4>

Jericho has always done his best work as a heel, whether as the obnoxious punk from WCW, the arrogant rock star circa 2002-2003, or the “honest man” he’s played since turning heel in 2008. Because of that, it’s sometimes easy to forget that he is one of the best valiant babyfaces to ever lace a pair of boots. Watching this match where he keeps fighting against the bigger, stronger, more sadistic Triple H in one of the most brutal matches conceivable serves as a great reminder. Triple H in 2000 was one of the must-watch wrestlers, because he was putting on classics with everyone that were very different from each other. Jericho and Hunter were feuding over Jericho’s insults toward Stephanie (who also adds a lot to this match with her facial expressions) and this match had palpable hatred. The finish is sickening as Hunter hits a backdrop suplex on Jericho and dropping his head on the concrete, taking the sick bump through a table to deliver a more dangerous blow. This was one of the first indications that Jericho was able to hang with the main event players, even if he didn’t win on this night.

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Chris Jericho vs. The Rocksize=6>
WCW Championship Match, No Mercy 2001size=4>

“You’ll never win the big one.” These were the words uttered by the Rock ad nauseum leading into this match. Jericho and The Rock were extremely popular, charismatic fan favorites with humongous egos, but that’s where their similarities ended. Rock was a third generation superstar, 6’4″, handsome, a tremendous entertainer who was handpicked for greatness. He had a few bumps along the road, but he was born to main event. Jericho was a 5’10”, goofy-looking kid with no family ties, who had to struggle and claw his way through the politics of a company that wouldn’t push him even though he was one of the hottest heels in the company. He was never handed anything. It was the coach’s pet versus the spunky talented kid, and only one could be the star quarterback.

On one hand, you wanted Jericho to win, but on the other hand, you didn’t want The Rock to lose. Jericho gave a career performance here, and Rock wasn’t far behind, and the match was a tremendous babyface vs. babyface match. When Y2J countered The People’s Elbow with the Walls of Jericho, we were this close from Jericho becoming a breakout babyface performer in the vein of Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels. Instead, we got a bit of a screwy finish and Jericho ended up with a tainted victory for his first World Championship. It was the perfect title change that almost was.

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Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaelssize=6>
Wrestlemania XIXsize=4>

Chris Jericho got to wrestle Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania. He got to do what he loves. With the guy who inspired him to do what he does. At the biggest stage possible for what he does. Wow. You know, in an age where World Titles are little more than props, maybe that’s the accomplishment Jericho should be most proud of. This is just a flat out fun match to watch. The wrestling is great, and Jericho really tells a cool story by stealing Shawn Michaels’ moves and adding his own twists to them. I still say he should have won the match, but the hug and low blow afterward is one of the all-time great heel moments and a great counterpoint

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Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysteriosize=6>
Intercontinental Championship vs. Mask, The Bash 2009size=4>

Even after several great matches against each other in the spring and early summer of 2009, I wasn’t expecting this tremendous match out of these two. The match cut a great pace that never devolved into a spotfest, and both guys were just on. All of their spots hit cleanly, including some amazing ones like a Codebreaker counter to a slingshot crossbody and a super powerbomb counter to a rana. They played off of previous spots in their matches, the mask came into play, and by the end the crowd was popping like crazy. These two threatened to bring the Intercontinental Title back to prominence before it became a prop for Drew McIntyre, but we still have this classic that ranks among the best for both men. When some people are pushing this as the Match of the Year in the same year as Taker vs. Michaels at Wrestlemania 25, you know you’ve got one Hell of a good match.

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Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoitsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, Royal Rumble 2001size=4>

I’ve never made it a secret that this is my favorite one-on-one ladder match in history. Jericho and Benoit had several great matches throughout 2000, and this was the final blow-off match. The ladder wasn’t used in place of a good match, it was used as a tool to an already good match. The competitive fire, the great technical wrestling, and the personal animosity was there. Benoit tried to incapacitate Jericho with a long Crippler Crossface and Jericho responded with a sickening chair shot to the skull when Benoit tried a tope through the ropes. When the ladder was in play, there was very little in the way of contrived spots; they would use spots to set up other spots in a very natural way. We got the debut of the Walls of Jericho on the top of the ladder, a sick seesaw spot, and Benoit diving off the top of a ladder only to miss a diving headbutt. Jericho would win the Intercontinental Championship and come out the victor against perhaps his greatest rival, after the match of his life. For those reasons, this match tops my list of the greatest Chris Jericho matches.

*****

The one thing I’ve learned from doing this is that Jericho may be the greatest wrestler who never got a chance to be the greatest wrestler. He can wrestle, he can fly, he’s a great babyface and a better heel, he’s one of the most gifted talkers in the business, and he has proven over and over again that he can connect with the audience by sheer force of will, regardless of whether the office backs him or not. But he was never given the chance to run with the ball. In WCW, he was stuck in the caste system as a cruiserweight. When he became a World Champion, he was booked as an arrogant coward who talked the talk but couldn’t walk the walk, always winning due to outside circumstances. Edge hasn’t won a world title cleanly because it’s his gimmick. Jericho hasn’t won a world title cleanly because the office has no confidence in him. It’s a shame.

On that note, next week I’ll do the Top Ten Most Underused Wrestlers in the business today.