Chris Jericho - The Best E.e.e.eeeveerrrr!!??!!

[Spawn of Kane]

Ok, so i've just finished watching Breaking The Walls : Behind the walls of Chris Jericho , and it got me to thinking....Is Chris Jericho actually The best in the world at what he does??

From his absolutely outstanding mic skills, whether a cowardly heel or a Face, to his way above average in-ring skills, there is absolutely nothing you will find wrong with Y2J. And his list of achievements wont be bettered by many.

He was the FIRST ever Undisputed Champion, beating the Company's 2 biggest names in one night, and is a record 9 time holder of one of the most prestigeous titles in WWF/E history, The Intercontinental Championship. He is a 4-time wcw cruiserweight champion, and also held titles in his home country of Canada, Mexico and Japan.

He has won many accolades over the years, including Best Feud, Match of the Year, Best on Interviews, and wrestler of the year in back to back years.

And he has done this alongside Forming a successful Rock Band, Writing TWO new york times best sellers, and raising a Family...and without ever suffering a serious injury(something 99% of top stars cannot claim)


So here's my question.
Is Chris Jericho, The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla, The Highlight of The Night, The Man of 1004 Holds....Actually The best in the world at what he does???

 

[sam_the_man_2]

I do think that Jericho is the Best in the World at what he does. He has been the best on the stick for a long time, and even with Alberto and Rock who are very good, I still think Y2J is better. His in-ring abilities are definitely in the top 3 ever. He is very believable and (I'm pretty sure) he invented the whole heel in a suit schtick. He has feuded with the best of the best (HBK, Rock, SCSA, etc.) and the only thing left for him to do is lose to Taker at Mania. Which could, although not very likely, happen.

 

[Azane]

I could see him being said in the same breath with Hogan, Flair, Undertaker, Austin, Rock
He had an amazing Knack for going between Mid-card and Main event without looking weak, He was the complete package, Heel, Face, Mic, Mat, Mainstream Media, Hardcore, High Flyer, Tag Team, Cruiserweight, Heavyweight. I think hes had one of the most diverse move set over the last decade.
I missed him during his break a few years back. and its definitely a hole that WWE had trouble filling over the last 6 months.
I really would like to see him do 1 more run as a face leading into his retirement, hes had some of his best work with his heel persona lately, but I'll remember him for his high Charisma long haired Antics as Y2J.

I can't quite hold him to "Best ever" standard, because he lacked exposure outside Wrestling fans. If you didn't know a thing about wrestling, You knew Hogan, Rock, and Austin. Jericho doesn't make that list unfortunately. Jericho Definately was an amazing draw to any real wrestling fan, but the all-time greats created millions of Wrestling fans. Jericho I think can't touch the outside draw of those men.

 

[onewayleeway69]

He used to be awesome but his last run he was boring in the ring and his big words and cleverness on the mic just bored me even more. Plus he needs to get some long tights the y fronts make him look even fatter! Just sayin...

 

[dizzle1119]

He used to be awesome but his last run he was boring in the ring and his big words and cleverness on the mic just bored me even more. Plus he needs to get some long tights the y fronts make him look even fatter! Just sayin...

Jericho was the quintessential monotone heel during his most recent run with WWE. He played the role to the letter too. If he "bored" you, he was doing his job. Hypocrite this, hypocrite that, blah blah blah.

It worked on you, dude...

 

[Spying Lammer]

Chris Jericho is the best. Although he has taken a different route. He will be back as soon as dancing with the stars is over. He will come back and every one will trash his about how he lost on dancing with the stars and thats when he will start a feud.

 

[Jason Scene]

Chris Jericho is one of the best of all-time. Sadly due to the fact that he was never one of the "politic" types like say Triple H or even Shawn Michaels back in the 90's, he was never always on top, but he's one of the best of all-time.

His microphone skills matched that of The Rock's whether it be him in his narcissistic persona or the Y2J persona he was always one of the best. Always proved to be entertaining, proof of him being entertaining as the narcissict can be things like when he continued to try and get back on RAW after he was banned, which included him picketing outside an arena. He dressed up as Santa, and his promos were awesome.

One fan-made thing that made me laugh was this...

[YOUTUBE]KGgZuwHGxzk[/YOUTUBE]

And hell I even found this.

[YOUTUBE]HcSRpcXSQq8[/YOUTUBE]

As a professional wrestler in the ring, guarenteed to be one of the best. Jericho has speed, strength, he can go up top, great technical wrestler and all around he is one of the best, almost the Mr. Perfect of this generation. Watch him Japan, watch his ECW stuff, his WCW stuff and almost any of his WWE stuff and you'll see how great Chris Jericho is.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I'm one of the biggest Jericho fans on the forums, but even I know that he's not the "best" ever. And he's really not in the discussion until the later rounds.

I think of Jericho the way I think of actors like Will Ferrell, Benicio del Toro, and Kevin Spacey. Quite possibly the best supporting actors in the world, but put them in the lead role and there may be a shortfall. Even though they may even be better actors than guys like Tom Cruise, they won't do box office numbers the way Cruise would.

Will Ferrell did amazing work as an over the top supporting character in movies like Old School and Wedding Crashers. He even made some decent moves in the main event like he did with Anchorman. But put him in the top spot consistently, and you get "Elf" and "Ricky Bobby." Certain fans think they're works of art, but critics and movie goers largely pan them.

If Jericho's focus is to make the product deeper and work to enhance the performance and appearance of the lead guys like Cena and HHH, then he's done a fantastic job. His undisputed championship run (blame it on booking all you want) proved that he's not your #1 choice to be the #1 guy. He's consistent, hard working, and turns in a great performance every time (like del Toro) but his name on the marquee won't pack the stands by the millions.

 

[Dave]

Chris Jericho is immensely talented and really has been a great luxury for the wrestling business. He has been loyal to the WWE and in return has been allowed to leave the company on many occasions to travel with his band or take time off. I personally put it down to his attitude towards work and his personality. Without either of those traits, there is no way that this discussion would even be happening in this thread.

I recently read Lionheart for the first time and was taken aback by just how far Jericho had come to be a part of the wrestling business. From wrestling in a local bar to the bright lights of the WWE, he has come far. He is the only wrestler I know of that has wrestled in Germany, Japan and Mexico to purely make himself a better wrestler. Perhaps that is more to do with my ignorance than anything else though. That being said, Jericho didn't want to go to the WWE and just be another number. No, he went all around the world getting to know different styles of wrestling and honing his game. I don't know of any other superstar these days that would do that, especially when he could have joined the WWE at an earlier stage.

His work ethic is amazing and he has so many spinning plates that he has to be commended for managing to be a rock star and a wrestler, as well as being a best-selling author. It is actually incredible. The main reason he has been so successful is because he wanted to be. He had the drive and determination to get him to the top of the business and that is where he ended up. He didn't think it was going to be easy and busted his ass to make sure that when people talk about the best wrestlers of our generation, that his name is amongst the first to be tossed into the hat.

Whether he is the best ever is not actually that much of a long-shot really. People talk about Austin and Hogan being the best to ever walk the planet but neither of those guys actually have the ability of Chris Jericho. Jericho is better in the ring than both of them and you could argue that Jericho has just as much, if not more charisma than both of them. To be honest, he should be known as one of the best wrestlers to enter a ring and I think that is what is happening now. People realise how much of a talent he is and are beginning to miss what they had.

I think he is close to the standard of being one of the best ever and I don't think he gets enough credit for that.

 

[GideonGodsend]

chris jericho is easily the best, in ring wise, mic skills wise, charisma wise, but himself and other people over wise, he seems like the perfect person. some of his bumps look kind of awkward sometimes but who cares

 

[dude_d_dude]

I'm gonna have to agree with some earlier points and say that while he isn't THE BEST ever he certainly is nothing to sneeze at. Y2J is one of my fav wrestlers ever, but like IC25 said to claim he's the "best" ever is a bit of a stretch.

Y2J can make a lot of his opponents look like gold and have great matches with a fair amount of people, combine that with his truckload of accolades, a ridiculously large moveset and overall technical mastery/proficiency and you get a guy who is consistently ranked among the top of the WWE

 

[Y2JChrisJericho]

Well, obvious bias coming from me...but...

I think behind a guy like Flair and HBK, than I would put Chris. Flair's mic skills are better, and in his prime he was by far the best in ring wrestler. He's the greatest wrestler of all time, or if anything, behind Shawn Michaeals.

Now, I put Jericho as number 3.

He has the look, and at any given point in his career he was one of the best on the mic and if he was in the WWE Today, he'll still be the best in the business when it comes to cutting promos.

Secondly, his wrestling skills are almost untouched in today's product. He can match up with anyone and make them look good, this was an affect the greats like HBK had. He is just so versatile in the ring, and he was never, EVEEERRR stale in his whole career in my opinion.

Thirdly, he was someone who was never, EEVEEER injured or had a MAJOR injury. Was always there to be relied on and is just so damn creative. He puts guys over as well, and anything I can think of he does well.

I put him over guys like Austin and The Rock, I put him over guys like Piper and Hogan. He's the sole reason why I got back into the WWE when he made his return in 2007, not even Michael's had that affect on me.

I'm just totally biased though, but I think he'll go down as one of the more underrated wrestlers EVEEERR.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I don't have Jericho in my top ten wrestlers ever so I don't think he's the best at what he does. I respect the guy for how long he's been wrestling and how he started his career which you don't see anymore. I see Jericho as a great midcard wrestler but just doesn't have it when it comes to the main event. He was a never great champion but he could go back and forth between the main event and midcard and never lose any credibility. I'll give him that.

 

[Y2Impact]

If anything, Jericho not being in the main event all of the time is an attribute rather than a flaw, in that he has diversity and that's something that tons of others can't say, with guys like Triple H, Hulk Hogan, John Cena & SCSA notwithstanding. In a somewhat recent interview (last October, I believe), he stated something along the lines of, "I could work the opening match every night and still be a star," and that's something I completely agree with. Whether it's in the beginning, middle or top of the card, Jericho is always excelling at his job. I think it's a bit rash to say that he's the "greatest ever," but I think he's definitely in the top 10. His wrestling ability easily exceeds 95% of the current roster, and to say that he doesn't have charisma is ridiculous; He plays the role of a heel and face incredibly well, whether it be as Y2J or in the righteous, suit-wearing, slow-talking gimmick... He matched The Rock on the mic, and that's something Cena can't even come close to saying.

 

[xsKiitz]

Jericho was one of the few that could hang at Rock and Austin's level safely and one of the only that was on-par with Rock's mic skills.

I can't actually think of a flaw for this guy.

And I just want to know what Cena is better than Jericho at. The face of the company, over a supreme wrestler and entertainer like Chris Jericho. What could John Cena possibly do better than him?
And don't you dare say work a crowd, coz Y2J can do that better than him being a face AND a heel.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Chris Jericho is not the best ever and not by a long shot. I respect the time that Chris Jericho has given to the business and I admire his selflessness but sometimes hard work cannot make up for natural talent.

Chris Jericho is a career upper midcarder, a very good heel and an average face at best. His ultimate destiny has been to lose to the top guy, whether heel or face. Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena are the guys who can be considered for the title of being the best ever. They are the ones who have had an unreal connection with the crowd and not Chris Jericho, who has had an unreal connection with the smarks.

He has been pushed to the main event status numerous times but whether it be politicking, bad luck or just a case of not being talented enough, he has never quite made it on the big stage. And that is why he is not and can never be the best ever.

 

[LFC till i die]

He defo isnt the best ever but is one of the best ever. This guy is great as a heel or face. Gets good crowd reation. Has amazing in ring abilities. Awesome on the mic and has no problem putting guys over. But when he does put guys over he still doesnt look weak, he makes himself and his opponent look good. IMO he is everything you would want as a wrestler but i feel WWE dont value him as much as they should do.

 

[ABMorales787]

Jesus Christ! You people are gonna suck his c**k dry! Yes, Chris is good. Great even. Best? Why? Because he's had success in every company he went to? You know, just because a guy travels to a bunch of companies and stays on the same card level, doesn't make him the greatest. It makes him consistent. Which is what he was. Consistent. Kurt Angle. Also consistent. AJ Styles. Also. John Cena. He is too. The Undertaker. Sting. These guys are considered greats because they adapt to the environment that surrounds them.

Chris is a dependable guy. But he's not the best. That's always very, very debatable. That's what we have a damn tournament in this forum for.

 

[XgringolocoX]

There is no ONE G.O.A.T. It's just not happening. I look at all that shit like this: Jericho deserves to be talked about amoung the best ever. Race, Flair, Arn, Thez, Hogan, Sting, Hart, Perfect, Jericho, Austin, HBK, Rock, Taker...etc IMO there's just not one guy that you can say was with out a doubt, unquestionably the greatest.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I honestly thought I was the only person who felt this way but I'm quickly learning that I am not alone. Chris Jericho is probably one of the most valuable assets a wrestling company could have in the history of professional wrestling.

All of you have already said most of the reasons why I think this: His mic skills, mat skills, leaping ability, just every aspect of wrestling you could grade him on is at least an A on the report card.

One thing that no one has spoken of, is his durability. We all know about Austin's neck and knees, Shawn Michael's back, Triple H's quadriceps, Everything on Undertaker's and Foley's bodies, Kurt Angle's neck and back, Edge's neck, Rey's knees, Orton's shoulders, but Jericho has not had one major injury in his 20 year career. If I'm a wrestling promoter that type of durability is GOLDEN in an industry full of injuries and setbacks

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

Jericho is one of the best all around performers in the buisness, my only problem with him is, and this might just be me but you can always see him calling spots in the ring, to me that is his only down fall, he never hid it well.

 

[Mr.MainEvent]

To me Jericho is one of the most underrated greats. I wouldn't go as far as best ever but he is truly great. He's a great worker and great on the mic.

He's a guy who can feud with virutally anyone, as a face or a heel, main event or mid card and make that feud one of, if not the most interesting feuds on the card (Although I prefer him as a Heel in main event feuds - but it still works with him as a face). If he's a face he has a good connection with the crowd, especially earlier in his WWE career. And as a heel he always makes himself the guy you love to hate. He never fails to make his opponent look good, to look hugely credible. You can throw him in any sort of title picture and he instantly adds credibility to it. Be it World Heavyweight Championship vs Edge/Batista/Cena. Intercontinental vs Rey Mysterio, Tag Team with Big Show etc.

Its a rare gift he has but to me, any feud Jericho is in, at and level of the card, is always, always one of the most interesting.

 

[MaxSteel]

I've been thinking about this actually, quite before this thread was started. The conclusion I came to is that he's not comparable to other greats, and actually, most of the all-time greats aren't compareable to each other.

See, there is no "best wrestler ever". There are a few all-time greats, each of who excelled in a few fields in wrestling, therefore he was considered great.

Rick Flair had HUGE charisma, very good mic skills, and an undeniable wrestling ability. Compare him to Kurt Angle, who had a BIT lower mic skills, a decent main-event charisma, could work a crowd as well as Ric (he truly was great at that) and had much better wrestling skills than Ric. In fact, he's considered the best wrestler in history, together with You-Know-Who. Can you than say he was better than Flair, because he was a better wrestler? Or was Flair better than him, since he was a better entertainer? That's a question only you can decide, and only for yourself.

Back to the original point of the thread, the special thing about Jericho is that he excells at any fliend of wrestling. Mic skills, wrestling, charisma, crowd manipulation, playing a role, being innovative... you name it. He even has some attributes that nearly no other wrestler ever had - For example, making any opponent look good as well as looking good himself, or working mid-card and still looking strong.
You can call him (sorry Bret) "The excellence of execution", since he really executes every single thing with perfection.
In my personal opinion, he's surely one of the greatest professional wrestlers to have ever lived.
PS He's my fav one.


By the way, during the last years he wasn't saying "I'm the best ever", he was saying "I am the best in the world in what I do, today". And that reflected the truth in many aspects.

 

[Richard]

There is no one professional wrestler who is THE best ever.

"The best ever" is a very subjective term and it really comes down to preference. I say this because if you go to India, chances are a lot of fans there will tell you how The Great Khali is the best ever because he is a former World Heavyweight Champion and I read somewhere his stuff gets edited so he doesn't look bad in that market.

But to me, Chris Jericho is the best ever and that's just my opinion.

He has a natural condifence and charisma that I think and see a lot of superstars are missing (Some do have it, like Cena etc). They don't exude confidence which is needed to get the fans to truely believe in you and your character. Jericho done that and got people to cheer and believe in him when he was a face and boo him relentlessly when he was a heel.

He was always able to cut awesome promos and he has had many memorable moments on the mic. He's had some awesome feuds with Michaels by himself, DX, Cena, Rock, Austin, Triple H, Edge.

His in ring abilities weren't too shaby either and although he wasn't able to flip around in 2010 like he used to be able to 10 years prior, he still brought it and still implemented a faster style into his match and still used the lionsault on occasion too. He could pull out awesome matches with anyone (Tatsu on Superstars).

Maybe not to you, but to me he is the best ever.