Let Us Once Again Praise the Great Chris Jericho!

[Suneeboy]

Heel or Face Jericho is one of the greatest of all time at what he does. He has proven time and time again that he can perform at a high level. Fill any spot on the card, and carry any feud he is in. He can also get a good match out of anybody (see Tommy Dreamer on draft night).

No one in the WWE right now can put on a show like Chris Jericho can in or out of the ring, and take a feud to the level that he takes it. When was the last time the IC title was this important? Jericho raises the value of anything he is involved in, and he will steal the show more times than not. He can wrestle multiple styles, he can do gimmick matches, he can talk on the mic, and I can't find any real flaws in his character and performance.

You'd be hard pressed to convince me this guy isn't the best right now. He doesn't get the loudest pop, or draw the most heat every night, but goddammit he is still the best there is right now.

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

He doesn't get the loudest pop, or draw the most heat every night, but goddammit he is still the best there is right now.

Um, those qualities that you stated chris jericho does not have are rather important qualities. The reaction of the crowd and the drawing power of a wrestler are what determines his status, so if hes not the best in those areas then hes not the best there is right now. Its pretty simple to understand. Just because you think hes a good "worker" doesn't mean shit if people aren't responding.
John Cena, Triple H, Edge, Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy are all more over than him and draw more.

 

[kurtisraw07]

It's easy for shit to draw flies. Jericho is great. The problem is that all the actual WWE/Sports Entertainment/Wrestling fans have stopped attending shows. They have done what Vince has forced them to do. They have stopped watching and stopped showing up at arenas. Hell , fans don't even show up in Chicago and New York anymore. Jericho doesn't appeal to ******s and fat ****es because he's above them. He's too sophisticated for them. Now don't get me wrong I am a huge Jeff Hardy fan and he definitely draws the current fanbase and the old one. Also, I'm not sure that Randy draws all that much. I will say that Jericho's current persona is perfect for today's WWE.

He's basically saying "fuck you" to all the hypocritical ******s and skanks that make up the current WWE product. "Fuck You for invading our product and running off the fans who know what a rear naked choke is."

 

[Mjolnir]

I agree, but disagree... Jericho is the best... hands down, just like he was in WCW. I think that he is a far better heel, especially when it comes to doing things differently than the other heels. He gets behind the creative aspects of his programs, and definately carries his opponents (most recently Punk and Mysterio). No doubt the #1 talent in the business in my opinion, and has been for years.

When it comes to "pops" and "heat" is where I disagree. Personally, I could still care less about Jeff Hardy (his shit promos, played out moveset, 13 year old fans, and once a year high spots) and his pop. Jericho draws just as much heat, and this is what counts as he is definately a better heel. He draws more heat than Edge (and this will help add to Edge's face turn), and all three of Legacy combined. The "******s and fat ****es" hate him even more, because they know he can read and doesn't need to sell them a t-shirt, lame ass arm sleeves, or a replica mask.

Jericho Rocks... next World Heavyweight Champion.

 

[RVDgurl]

Heel or Face Jericho is one of the greatest of all time at what he does. He has proven time and time again that he can perform at a high level. Fill any spot on the card, and carry any feud he is in. He can also get a good match out of anybody (see Tommy Dreamer on draft night).
No one in the WWE right now can put on a show like Chris Jericho can in or out of the ring, and take a feud to the level that he takes it. When was the last time the IC title was this important? Jericho raises the value of anything he is involved in, and he will steal the show more times than not. He can wrestle multiple styles, he can do gimmick matches, he can talk on the mic, and I can't find any real flaws in his character and performance.

I could not agree with this more. He is probably one of the top 5 heels in the entire wrestling business right now, not just the WWE. He has taken his character to a new level. He still can match anyone move for move in the ring, cuts a gold standard promo each and every time he speaks and makes his opponents look good whlie he's at it.

You'd be hard pressed to convince me this guy isn't the best right now. He doesn't get the loudest pop, or draw the most heat every night, but goddammit he is still the best there is right now.

Don't sell our boy short here- he draws a tremendous amount of heat. So much so that he simply has to stand in the ring just holding a microphone and people boo the hell out of him before he even says anything. He is superb at making people dislike him.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I could not agree with this more. He is probably one of the top 5 heels in the entire wrestling business right now, not just the WWE. He has taken his character to a new level. He still can match anyone move for move in the ring, cuts a gold standard promo each and every time he speaks and makes his opponents look good whlie he's at it.

Top 5 Heels in the wrestling business today? Absolutely. Unfortunately, given today's product, that isn't saying much ... thanks to how stale and incredibly boring today's characters are.

However, Jericho will never be in the top 10, top 20, or possibly even top 25 Greatest Heels of All Time list. He may have a shot at the 25 one, though.

He is a very good worker, who has a large Internet fanbase, that try to act like part of his PR team ... since they are essentially marks for the guy. That is really about it. He can not draw on his own as a Face, because he isn't strong enough, and therefore was relegated to a Heel character by default. He is someone who as a Face, did not have any impact whatsoever on ratings, buyrates, or attendance ... which is pretty telling. He is basically just there to support the Faces and have good matches with them.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He's overrated though, isn't he? Ten years into his WWE career and only in the past 9 months has he found a character he can really roll with. People prefer the comedy Jericho from WCW, shame he was never that intresting in WWE until last summer.

He's also a terrible face. If he wasn't then I'm sure he wouldn't have turned so soon after his return.

 

[kurtisraw07]

Jericho was great as a face from 99 to 01. He had the perfect sarcastic asshole character that annoyed the hell out of the heels. The fans ate it up. And I'm talking about the Attitude fans. Him pissing in Regals tea was also great stuff. The "Kids Initative" fans just don't really know who Jericho is. They came in during Cena and Jeff Hardy's run at the top and started marking for those two and guys like Punk and Mysterio.

Hell they only cheer Ric Flair because he's on Batista's side. Todays "fans" are incredibly short sighted and have no respect for the business. All they care about is buying Cena gear and Mysterio masks. Also, Jericho's new hair style didn't really do him any favors. However it works perfectly in his new sophisticated heel role.

 

[RVDgurl]

However, Jericho will never be in the top 10, top 20, or possibly even top 25 Greatest Heels of All Time list. He may have a shot at the 25 one, though.

I think I have to disagree with you there. I think Chris Jericho is definately in the Top 10 or 15 (without sitting down and writing out a list). I've been talking about this topic alot lately, but I will throw it out there again- Jericho bascially created the comedy heel during his tenure with WCW. Take a look at the program he worked with Goldberg. It was absolute genius. At the time, it was something new and completely fresh. It was so good, that the basic characteristics of the gimmick carried him straight through the following decade and was just as successful in the WWE. It wasn't until his recent return that this gimmick lost it's appeal. I would venture to say that's only because it's been reincarnated several times over by various wrestlers within the past 10 years. Anything tweaked and copied so many times is bound to get stale.

He is a very good worker, who has a large Internet fanbase, that try to act like part of his PR team ... since they are essentially marks for the guy. That is really about it. He can not draw on his own as a Face, because he isn't strong enough, and therefore was relegated to a Heel character by default. He is someone who as a Face, did not have any impact whatsoever on ratings, buyrates, or attendance ... which is pretty telling. He is basically just there to support the Faces and have good matches with them.

I'm not sure I can buy into anyone carrying a company on their own, which is how I'm interpreting this. I completely agree that Jericho is much better as a heel, but being a heel doesn't happen because you're not good enough to be a face. Ric Flair, Raven, Roddy Piper and thus far Randy Orton have built very successful careers on being heels. Being a heel doesn't make you a second rate worker.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

I agree too. He is the best at the moment. Not only does he carry feuds, he makes them great! He can wrestle better than nearly everyone on the roster and can speak on the mic perfectly and rarely makes a mistake.

I love Jericho as a heel but I really love him as a face when he's going against the evil heel. Put a face Jericho in a feud against today's Orton and that feud would be unbelievable. It would shit over HHH or Batista.

Jericho is and will always be one of the best in the world, if not THE best.

 

[BreakTheWalls]

Yeah, Jericho has been getting a lot of heat since this major heel turn/persona change. It's amazing that he went from being on the verge of a lifetime sentence to mid-card status (Not the worst thing in the world, but obviously nowhere near what he's capable of) to being a now five time world champion. I don't know if he's the best atm, but he's definitely one of the best of all time in my eyes. He's one of those guys that you watch, and you just feel like he's got one of the tightest grips on the ins and outs of the business.

 

[MrSands]

Hi new here, huge jericho fan... although, I'm a bit disappointed with how he is going right now, the acting and mic work is great, but... when was the last time he won something against someone who is not a jobber? Been a while...

 

[Nate DaMac]

Hi new here, huge jericho fan... although, I'm a bit disappointed with how he is going right now, the acting and mic work is great, but... when was the last time he won something against someone who is not a jobber? Been a while...

I think thats kind of the angle they are working. The conspiracy thing with Sweaty Teddy. I believe that he is easily the best performer in the ring today. His mic skills are unmatched. I didn't hate him as a face either, he used to make laugh. I just think he's the best in the game.

 

[Rated-R-ArmyGeneral]

Seriously, Jericho could be working a better angle on SmackDown. Sure Edge is Champ right now but he could be feuding with somebody better than Rey. Jericho was unstoppable last year with his title reign on Raw. The match between him & Edge a couple weeks back was great, haven't seen 2 guys from the Attitude Era get in the ring for WRESTLING in a long time like that<<<<I hope these other guys took some notes during that match.

 

[JGlass]

Heel or Face Jericho is one of the greatest of all time at what he does. He has proven time and time again that he can perform at a high level. Fill any spot on the card, and carry any feud he is in. He can also get a good match out of anybody (see Tommy Dreamer on draft night).

No one in the WWE right now can put on a show like Chris Jericho can in or out of the ring, and take a feud to the level that he takes it. When was the last time the IC title was this important? Jericho raises the value of anything he is involved in, and he will steal the show more times than not. He can wrestle multiple styles, he can do gimmick matches, he can talk on the mic, and I can't find any real flaws in his character and performance.

You'd be hard pressed to convince me this guy isn't the best right now. He doesn't get the loudest pop, or draw the most heat every night, but goddammit he is still the best there is right now.

True statement dude (mostly). I think Jericho should go down as one of the all time greatest wrestlers. He's probably my favorite wrestler when it comes to in ring work, especially when he keeps it kind of clean. His mic skills are also among the best in the business right now, if not the very best. He went from being an incredibly over, cocky, arrogant but cool and funny face to a completely hated narcissistic, self-righteous, legend bashing heel in a matter of months. And you're right about the IC title. I'm so happy it's going to be on the line again at Extreme Rules, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it put on the line again at The Bash, hopefully, with Jericho still competing for it.

I do disagree with the part about heel heat. In my opinion, Smackdown is indeed Edge's show, and he is a huge heel, but Jericho may be even more hated than Edge now. If I remember correctly, the other week when it was Edge vs Jericho, they were both fighting dirty and the crowd didn't particularly care for either of them, but there were more Edge-heads making themselves heard than Jerichoholics. If he doesn't get the biggest reaction from the crowd, he's damn well close.