I could go on for a while about why this is RVD's match to lose, but instead I'll just deal with the poor mislead souls that think Jericho has a snowball's chance in hell.
Taking the first rule listed in the a Pure wrestling contest, take into consideration the intelligence Jericho has shown, whether it be a heel or a face in a wrestling ring. An example is as recent as Wrestlemania, knowing that Punk was under the rule that by getting himself disqualified Jericho berated him with insults about his father and sister in-order to infuriate Punk, and it almost worked. Coming into this, Jericho would attempt to exhaust the rope breaks as best he could, his submission prowess is an advantage as there are only so few ways a wrestler can escape, the norm is crawling to the bottom rope. Another factor is, Chris would work the lower back area, that is a given. He'd have weakened Van Dam to such an extent he'd have no other alternative but to break with the ropes.
Chris Jericho has also displayed that he's a coward for a good portion of his career, so he'd probably exhaust all three of his rope breaks trying to escape from Rob Van Dam's kicks.
And Jericho could work the back... if he had any type of move that would lend itself to working the lower back in this type of match. The reality is Jericho has always struggled against RVD and this match stipulation isn't going to do him any favors.
Second rule, although Chris is more accustomed to closed fist punches to the forehead, he also uses a diverse range of chops and has previously used open handed slaps. Van Dam's offense is based mostly around kicks, elbows and athletic advantage, so this really is square down the middle. I could see a heel Jericho delivering a couple closed fist punches but he can afford the warning and rope break. Van Dam would give Jericho very little reason to reach for the ropes unless in a desperation situation, considering Van Dam's lack of submission ability.
Square down the middle? HA! Nice try, but the striking advantage lies solidly on Rob Van Dam's side. RVD's kicks have been known to bloody opponents. Jericho's punches have been known to look like shit. And Jericho can't afford to lose those rope breaks, as those are the only things that are going to get him away from one of those flurries of kicks that RVD is accustomed to delivering.
Final rule is irrelevant in some cases. Both men aren't known for getting counted out. Jericho would be more accustomed to taking the cheap victory than Van Dam but only on rare occasions, this weeks RAW could be taken into equation but that was against a bigger man. Van Dam is about the same height and weight, so again, doesn't hold much signifigance.
I think the point of the third rule is that nobody will be counted out, so this really is a push. I'm glad you're not trying to sell this as some weird Jericho advantage, it shows you're not a
total ignoramus.
And finally, basing it off their meetings in the past, something I found interesting is that they've actually got a pretty even amount of wins against the other each. Online World of Wrestling shows the last time they met, they wrestled twice on one episode of RAW, Jericho picked up the win, Stone Cold ordered a rematch in a Steel Cage and Van Dam took the second meeting on the night.
Pretty even? No, Rob Van Dam holds a ridiculous advantage, and I have no idea where you're getting the tag team stats from, because from what I could tell Rob Van Dam has the advantage there too, albeit a slight one. Regardless, RVD has Jericho's number in singles matches. I'm not going to delve into specifics because Sam and jmt have already done that, and I'm not looking to be tedious here, but the fact is you're lying.
Chris Jericho is better than Rob Van Dam in every single way besides high-flying, top rope moves and hardcore.
RVD has more devastating strikes, he's more flexible, he's more agile, he's more evasive, he's probably stronger... what advantage does Jericho have over RVD again?
Since only one out of those two apply here, and since Jericho is a submission master,
How do you figure?
the Pure rules allows Jericho to catch RVD in multiple submission holds until rope breaks no longer count. Jericho would out-wrestle RVD up until that point, wearing him out, and then slap on the Walls of Jericho/Lion Tamer where RVD would have nowhere to go.
Jericho couldn't out wrestle RVD if RVD came to the ring high off his ass, which isn't far from the realm of possibility. If Jericho shot for a takedown, he'd get kneed in the face. If he tries to work him over up top, he gets kicked in the face. Either way, he winds up getting bloodied no matter what he tries to do.
Besides seeing the match go that way, Jericho is a more established star than RVD, has won more championships against deadlier opponents, and had wins over more high-rated opponents than RVD. I can't see RVD winning a match against Jericho unless the odds were in his favor by gaining a stipulation that plays to his strengths, which isn't the case here.
Good thing this is a wrestling match, and not a pissing contest.
If anything, this match favors Jericho. RVD will likely throw more kicks (since closed fists are illegal) and Jericho has probably turned more kicks into his finisher than any wrestler in history.
And RVD has turned more caught kicks into enveguris and mule kicks than any wrestler this side of the boarder.
Once again, RVD will be caught in the Walls of Jericho and will be forced to tap out, eventually.
Except I reckon Rob Van Dam is flexible enough that he can escape the Walls or Liontamer fairly easily, at least compared to most wrestlers.
And let's not forget how easily the Walls are avoided: we see Jericho's opponents regularly use their leg strength to toss Jericho away before he can flip them over, and RVD has some of the strongest legs in the industry.
RVD is dead in the water here.
Ha! Hardly. Jericho won't have a leg to stand on here, especially after Rob Van Dam kicks his leg out from underneath his leg.
