Attitude Era Jericho? or 2008-2010 Jericho?

[I am Mr. Excitement]

In the Attitude Era Jericho was that cocky young Jericho that always just pissed Wreestlers off. His main fued to me in the Attitude era was with Triple H leading up to Wrestlemania 18. And he obviously won the Undisputed Championship in the Attitude Era which was his best moment in that era for him (imo)

Then u have the Jericho in 2008-2010, Turned heel in 08 and had great fueds in with HBK(the main fued that points out to me) etc..In 2009-2010 he won the tag titles with Big Show. Ended up winning at Elimination chamber and Ended up facing edge at WM 26.
To me this Jericho was laid back, low slow talking, vicious, brilliant HEEL. At this point in time he was one of the biggest Veterans in WWE (and still is).

Which Jericho was ur favorite? Thoughts, Discuss

 

[M3420]

Attitude Era Jericho for sure, but purely a matter of personal opinion. When Jericho hit WWE for the first time, I was still in high school and a huge, huge wrestling fan. Not that I'm still not an avid fan and all that, but I think it's safe to say my interest was higher back then as the attitude era and my age at the time seemed to be a perfect match. As the years have passed, I have gotten older and the product has gotten 'younger.' Truth be told I'm fine with that, as I feel that the 6-12ish bracket is very important and always will be. Anyways, I don't mean to get too far off track with that little demographical sidenote, but the Jericho that I grew up with had crazy long hair with a wild ponytail, flashy shirts, and was in his prime in the ring. While I may get slammed for this, I still think his IC title feud with Chyna was nothing short of spectacular, which speaks volumes about Y2J being able to elevate his opposition and also the fact that when he was paired with a bona fide superstar i.e. HBK, the quality level of the matches were outrageous!! Another side note would also demand that I talk about how I wish there were more matches between RVD and both Y2J and HBK, but I digress. Y2J circa 99-04 shifted effortlessly back and forth between heel and face, and I've always liked him slightly better as a face. Which brings me to 2008-2010 Jericho. While he still had a great look, and was top caliber in the ring, I really didn't care for the suit and tie and the pharisees, hypocrites, and sycophants rant every single flippin week!! While it did make him draw legit heat from the crowd, it just seemed like I was rolling my eyes after a while. I would also wonder what creative's original intentions were with him since he very much debuted as a face, and it was crickets from my standpoint. As far as 2012 Jericho goes, time will tell, but it just seems like he's recycling a lot of the 08-10 material minus the suit and tie.

I also miss the long pants instead of the trunks as goofy as that may sound, but I do pay attention to small details and I think the trunks only belong on the really huge guys whereas the smaller guys should stick to the long pants!

 

[GrandSword]

I think the WWE made a big mistake having Shawn Michaels defeat Jericho at WM 19. Jericho could have become one of the biggest stars in the company and of all time if he was booked to win...

Rock was leaving and Austin retired from in-ring... making a spot open for one of the best talents in the biz. Unfortuately he continued to job, be booked in tag teams and took a back seat even though was the first Undisputed Champ...

If he was allowed to win and therefore allowed to become a a big a star as he coudl be, there probably would not have been that leave of absence in between his two eras...

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla!! Y2J!! Of course is the best version of Jericho ever! His debut in the WWF is my single most favorite debut of any wrestler ever, it was just amazing! I loved everything Jericho did in the Attitude Era.

 

[DeathClutch]

Two extremely different characters and as much I loved his cocky self-assured persona as I see a bit of myself in that I totally preferred his stern, stone faced, sesquipedalian persona.
His whole persona in 2008-2012 is contradiction, he's using his old theme song, he changed his look rather than sport the trouser type outfit he went for the more swimming trucks look, he started to adorn suits, talk slowly and methodical, and his in ring work seemed to take a more sadistic turn.

Jericho is one of them guys who the younger talent show blue print their career on, work your way up from the bottle and make the best of every feud/situation and allow yourself to be heard, connect with the fans and when he turns heel the fans loath him for it, which is a rare thing in the wrestling business nowadays.

 

[HBsam31]

This is just my opinion as Jericho is one of my all time favorites, and always has been. I followed Jericho in WCW, and I was excited when I heard he was going to debut in the WWE. I was just out of highschool at the time of his debut, and I love the cocky annoying Jericho from WCW. His debut was awesome, but after that I always thought his character was a bit toned down compared to how he acted in his WCW days. They even changed the name of the liontamer to the walls of jericho. I know changes are made when a guy jumps ship and he wasn't lion heart chris jericho anymore but come on that was a great name for a finisher. By the way I don't love everything WCW. I have always been a WWE fan first, but in this case I wish they wouldn't have changed those little things. I was a big fan of his attitude era run, but a part of me always thought something was missing. I prefer the 2008-2010 version of Jericho. I laughed everytime he called us parasitic tapeworms, and the feud with HBK was gold. I personally enjoyed his feud with the legends to. The way jericho delivered his promo on raw made me even more excited for the punk feud.

 

[thebarber]

Attitude era Jericho was a mid carder.

2008 onward Jericho was Main Event and friggin excellent.

The newer Jericho is far and away more entertaining, but Jericho WCW was his best incarnation. His feuds with Malenko and Greenberg and Saturn were hilarious, his promos were fantastic, and all without the push from creative. Jericho should have been a big time player alot earlier than what he was

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I am a massive fan of Attitude Era Chris Jericho, he was absolutely brilliant.

From the epic debut with the countdown and interrupting The Rock, to his Undisputed Title win, the great matches with the likes of Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle and the HILARIOUS rivalry with Stephanie McMahon, almost everything Jericho did during this period was entertaining.

He looked cooler, with the long hair and long tights, was in better shape and could obviously move alot faster in the ring being younger. The "Ayatollah of Rock'n'Rolla" was definitely one of my favourite wrestlers of that period, and I think should have remained at the top of the card for a lot longer than he did, instead of dropping back to IC title level on a regular basis.

I enjoyed Jericho's heel run from 2008-10, as the guy is so talented he can make anything work but the Attitude Era Jericho is definitely my favourite.

 

[snakebite313]

I am a Jerichoholic through and through and I agree with the comment that Jericho should have a big-time player far earlier. His change in personas from attitude era and 2008 was prolly simply down to him growing older (IMO).During the attitude era, Jericho was younger, so he was flamboyant, spontaneous, flashy and will always attract attention from his antics. Then he left for a few years, came back as a face, realised it didnt work out and created suit-and-tie Jericho. He was older, more matured and had more experience than most guys in the locker room. I guess he realised attitude era jericho wouldnt not go over as much at his age, which is why i feel suit-and-tie Jericho was perfect for him at that point of his career. His matches were slower, but was more technical, and he used his mic skills to attract attention rather than his antics. So to answer your question: I just cant decide cos I also grew up along with Jericho. One thing I can say for certain is that I definitely prefer HEEL Jericho over BABY-FACE Jericho. In my opinion, he does his best work as a heel and he looks more natural as a heel. He also became Undisputed champion, WWE champion and World Heavyweight Champion when he was a heel. To summarize, Chis Jericho is simply FROOT

 

[rokuma]

Attitude Era Jericho was the best. From the vicious Walls of Jericho (the legit one, not a Boston Crab) to his hilarious promos about Stephanie, not to mention the quality of his in-ring work...it's no comparison. Jericho is still great, but he was spectacular then. Now, he's quality in the ring and on the mic, but he was sensational back then.

I think the WWE made a big mistake having Shawn Michaels defeat Jericho at WM 19. Jericho could have become one of the biggest stars in the company and of all time if he was booked to win...

I disagree with this. First off, this put Jericho over as a legit performer and proved that HBK "still had it." Second, at the time there was still some worry that HBK might not be around long. What if this was his LAST Wrestlemania match? Plus, he was still coming back and a win was almost guaranteed. Also, Jericho had really gotten the better of him leading up to the WM match including destroying him at the Rumble.

 

[Nick Black]

It's always difficult to choose...

Y2J had promise as a character, but not too much depth. But when the Heel Jericho returned, you really got a taste of how talented he really was. Just his snarky attitude and how full he was of himself really got me into him. He was and is the perfect heel. It takes him no effort to draw heat and if he turned face tomorrow, he'd have the whole WWE Universe with him. The man is a talent and he always will be.

The nostalgia of seeing Jericho back immediately made him a face, but as I look at it now, he is meant to be a heel because he is so damn good at it.

So 2008-2010/2012-present Jericho is my favorite, though I did love Good Ol' Y2J also.

 

[mrfantastic111]

Do you parasites even understand what you are saying right now?

Listen to me you filthy tapeworms, my favourite version of Jericho was the 2nd coming of Y2J. The early-attitude Jericho will always be favoured by a vast majority, simply because he wasn't just talented and had an awesome persona, he represents the nostalgia many of the attitude era fans feel. Jericho was one of the guys that made wrestling 'cool' during the 90's-00's. However, that aside; the reason that Jericho 08-10 was my favourite was because personally to me he reached me more as a cool character then he ever did back in the attitude era. He was was like an evil wrestling version of Barney Stinson, but instead of picking up chicks and acting like a jerk, he beat down other competitors and insulted people. He kind of reminded me of HHH's 02-05 persona with the suits and acting well-off, except Jericho carried a mature attitude inside and outside the ring which reflected how his character had evolved and grown up. The way he talked quietly into the mic was so intriguing, because he talked so softly but everyone would quiet down so they could hear the intensity of his character.

I do like his current character though, just because it seems as if the essence of both characters are apart of his new one. He's aggressive as he's always been, quiet and egotistical like 08-10 Jericho, but his ring-attire is closer to the Jericho we all knew as younger attitude era fans.

Alot of returning attitude era stars are combining their new and old personas together these days. Kane has combined the essence of both of his characters, Jericho has done likewise, and I have a funny feeling that Undertaker may do the same thing at Mania', perhaps like he did in 2000 wearing the deadman attire but riding out on the bike.

 

[IHW]

I had to pick the 2nd coming because i wasn't watching at the time of the first ear of Y2J.
I have watched just about every clip of Jericho possible from that period, but i just didn't catch the feel i caught watching him in 08-10.

The vote is 17 up right now. This shows that Jericho is truly great at any role he plays!
#Bestinthewordatwhathedoes

 

[midgensa]

First ... just to pick some nits ... Jericho was not in the Attitude Era all that much. He had two Attitude Era WrestleManias (one a classic with the triple threat match with Benoit and Angle at WM 2000). But his best Y2J work came post attitude era when he won the Undisputed Title and when he had his epic match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 19.

That being said ... Y2J or The Best in the World is tough to pick between. I think most people are going to lean toward Y2J and his epic debut in 1999 and his fun attacks on Stephanie.

I personally like the turn on Shawn Michaels and the transformation into the suit wearing Jericho. It was one of the best post-attitude era feuds and really took Jericho to new heights. He went on to be a multiple time World Champion and become the top guy in the company to feud with (good feuds with Batista and Edge and a GREAT feud with Rey Mysterio).

While Y2J was fun ... and we all loved watching him perform ... The Suit was an amazing transformation that really took Jericho to the heights he should be. That is why he has come back as a heel. It is where he is at his best.

 

[themazdaguy]

In all honesty I would have to say wCw Jericho was my all time favorite. He had free reign to do as he pleased. (Mostly because noone thought much of him and didn't care what he did.) He was always trying new things and I still think that his feud with Dean Malenko was one of the best he was involved in. His promo work during that time was simply amazing. He was toned down considerably when he went to the WWE. Jericho's in ring work has only gotten better in age but wCw Jericho will always be my favorite.

This thread kind of reminds me of Taladega Nights and the favorite Jesus thing...

Dear wCw Jericho with your funky hair and strange and different beards each and every week...Your name calling and your 1004 holds...Your Ralphus and your mockery of the wCw rule book...

 

[SPR*VLN]

Attitude Era probably because I was a kid at the time, and when your a kid everything seemed to be 1000x better. I like todays Jericho, but the Attitude Era Jericho was the just better. He had better competition back then like Ladder Matches with Beniot, fued with HHH, and for goodness sake he beat The Rock and Austin in the same night!