Rate The Gimmick: Chris Jericho - Y2J

[Ferbian]

It's time for another installment in the weekly Rate The Gimmick series. What the purpose of this series is that I find a gimmick, and you rate it from 1 to 10. 1 being awful and 10 being awesome. Pretty simple right?

This week we'll be looking into, well probably the gimmick I had the hardest time actually coming up with a idea for what the hell was this guy performing as. So I simply went with one of his moniker names.

Yeah, I miss those times as well. Where Jericho would be a rocking world champion.

Chris Jericho has been all around the world. However, this gimmick hardly even started in WWE. That's why I had such a troubling time of putting a name to it. Because it existed as simply Chris Jericho back in WCW as well. Chris cutting promos and just being somewhat of a raging lunatic cry-baby mixture. Hilarious guy that would get all worked up if things didn't go his way. So for now we'll just call him Y2J, or if you need a gimmick, crazy dude with microphone.

Chris has feuded with pretty much anybody. Well at least if you ask him. He has defeated everybody that is anything in the world of professional wrestling. Big guy to small guy, you name it. Evan Bourne to The Undertaker, he has fought them, and defeated the majority of them.

Chris Jericho has one of the most golden legacies in WWE history, or for that sake in professional wrestling. Having held over 30 championships around the world. Half of them in WWE, where he is the one with the most Intercontinental championships, the first undisputed world champion, and the longest reigning unified tag team champion. Chris Jericho has done it all in the terms of championships.

Chris is one of the few people (If you ask me) that can play both a face and a heel to a T. He has experience as Y2J in both areas, and managed to get incredibly over as both a heel and a face.

Chris is a Hall of Fame to be wrestler. Pretty much there is nothing more to say about Chris to truly let people know who this guy is. However I'm sure a lot of additional things can be said. But I'll leave that for you guys to do.

Rate the gimmick, 1 or a 10? Remember to give your opinions.

 

[Justin Satiable]

The gimmick itself? That's a hard thing to rate. If I'm rating Chris Jericho's character and on-screen personality. I'm gonna have to smack him with an 8. I preferred his work the last few years as a heel, but he definitely did entertain me as Y2J, and he was among my favourites, moreso than Austin, just cos I thought he was funny.

I'd never really thought about this character beyond the realms of kayfabe before. It's not a spectacular gimmick, but Chris Jericho has the talent to make anything fantastic, and I agree, he's a clear future hall-of-famer.

 

[The Crock]

9/10. Y2J was my favorite, along with Rocky and SCSA, at the time, and I loved tuning in JUST to see him. He was gold on the mic, hell still is today, and he came off as young, brash, and egotistical... but you couldn't help loving him. I remember him becoming Undisputed Champ, that was brilliantly done. He carried the belts well, and did a great job. Whatever he did with the Y2J gimmick was great. I can't say I can find a single fault in the gimmick... but I don't think it is a perfect 10/10. It wasn't all that great of a gimmick at times, but when it was clicking it was one of the best of all time.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Heel or face? He was hateably arrogant as a heel in 02/03 but nothing compared to his 'funny segments' on the mic as a face and this made him the only person who could close to touching the rock. You can see this if you watch his backstage segment with roddy piper at some point.

It was really good because you rooted for him because he liked to piss other people off but not only that when they fell for his trap and gave him a match he could always take them the whole way so it was quite genius really.

I forgot to rate sorry, I say 9 and I say what he was doing just before he left in parts like HBK feud, the odd segments like with michael cole and the 'EVERYBODY KNOWS YOU HAVE AN E-MAIL, JUST READ IT!!!', that was also a 9. That said only few gimmicks can be given a 10 such as the undertaker deadman, or stone cold rattlesnake both 10's. If you consider that as an average most gimmicks are probably 5/6 if that, it shows how good he MADE that gimmick

 

[The Dude]

9/10

Great performances as both a face and heel. Fantastic on the mic, and can adapt his wrestling style to get a quality match out of just about anyone. I've enjoyed every phase of Y2J's mainstream career in WCW and WWE.

The guy was WWE's first ever undisputed world champion, but I don't even consider that as one of Jericho's great career highlights.

He had one of the all time GREAT debuts in WWE back in 1999, and his return in 2007 ("Save Us Y2J") was a great moment as well.

I remember when a face Jericho beat Triple H in a world title match on Raw back in 2000, and the crowd just POPPED. (But then the decision was reversed)

GREAT feud with HBK in the last couple years. And the no-nonsense heel role he has played as of late just reeks of awesomeness.

And c'mon, Jericho is the Man of 1,004 Holds! ARMBAR!!!!!

 

[Invert]

Jericho is absolute gold no matter where he is.

At the end of his WCW run, he was a complete badass. Putting Saturn in a dress, unmasking Juvi, and proving to the world why he is the man of 1,004 holds.

He has been just as good in WWE. Between titles and mic work, not to mention putting people over, he is a complete package that not many wrestlers are anymore.

Jericho knows how to be important without a belt. Not many wrestlers can do that anymore.

Jericho is a 10/10 in my book.

 

[TheSDQQKidJoe]

I'm actually going to give Jericho a 9/10. Why? Cause he wasn't the same entertainer/wrestler as the Rock. But you have to give the devil his due. Jericho is a great technical wrestler which if he wasn't he would be at 8/10 in my book. His charisma both heel and face was excellent. His Mic presence was a little short of spectacular because i have seen some boring promos from Jericho. But all in all he is one of the best.
Heck, he might even be arguably considered as "the best in the world at what he does".

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

You Know I'm Going to Give This a High Rating Anyway, Seeing as He's My Favourite but There's a Big Reason for This to Get 9/10.

Jericho's Character Arguably was What Pushed Him to the Next Level
In WCW, Jericho was Regarded as One of the Best Lightweight wrestlers there having some excellent matches with others around the same weight. It was obvious from Jericho's Promo abilities as well as his in-ring ones that he was going to be great if used appropriately but he never really did get that one constant, excellent character. And So Jericho hopped over to WWF.

And So Began the Millennium Man. For Months the Millennium Clock Began Counting Down Until on the August 9th Raw, Chris Jericho Debuted:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]jBvsRKmZWH0[/YOUTUBE]

The hype amongst everything else set him up to be a star. He went a full year, building himself up, taking on the likes of Triple H and of course his on again off again feud with the Rock. Then in 2001, Jericho FINALLY, claimed his first major World Championship, Capturing the WCW Championship. The rest as they say is history.

 

[Calderownz]

It's hard to rate it anything less then a 9, to be honest. Think of it this way. He was a flunky on WCW despite his incredible talent. He was there for close to half a decade. In less than half that time, he went to WWE and won the undisputed title, most assuredly gaining a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. Without that gimmick, it's hard to be certain that much of that would have happened.

Obviously, he is the one that had to get it over. He is the one that had to entertain and deliver in the ring. But the gimmick helped. It was a great set up for that time as well. It worked perfectly.

 

[Morpheus101]

10/10

Y2J was simply brilliant, as is Jericho himself. I really cannot find any degree of fault here, hence the "perfect" rating I gave. Jericho himself is a damn legend. When Jericho retires for good, it will be a sad day in professional wrestling. Vince McMahon is smart enough to know this, hence the fact that he gives Jericho a bit more of a free reign than he would other superstars.

If wrestling were pop, Chris Jericho would be the Michael Jackson of wrestling.

 

[nightshifty]

Y2J gets a 10. any can do a fake rapper or a cocky novice. but Y2J is some unique and something only Chris Jericho could pull off. His skills and abilities are unparalleled. He is definitly the best at what he does and even though gets credit for what he does, doesn't get enough respect.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

I loved the Y2J gimmick. From his different/unique entrance to his hilarious promos, the guy showcased the 'larger than life' rock star to a T. It's what really placed him among the top mid-card to main event ranks against everyone during those time periods. He had great in-ring skills and could beat guys like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on more than one occasion. The gimmick is what got him over to solidify huge title victories. Yeah, sure, his World title reigns were on the weak side and it didn't make him a 'good' Champion, but he was already on his way of setting the record for most Intercontinental titles won. This gimmick also worked well with all of his catchphrases, and his crazy hairstyles made him stand out. A lot of his most memorable matches also branch from the Y2J persona if I recall correctly. I'd say Jericho's latest clean-shaven heel image is probably his most successful, but the Y2J is his most remarkable.

8.5/10

 

[Y2JChrisJericho]

10/10

Yes, no wrestler is a perfect 10 gimmick wise but Jericho got me into wrestling and because he isn't wrestling anymore I lost all interest, he's the main reason I watch the WWE at all. Telling by the username and all, I'm a HUGE Jericho mark. His in ring work is truly top notch, his mic work is the best in the business (no one at this time is better than Jericho on the mic), now with this thread if we are rating his Y2J gimmick and not his recent heel one than It would still receive a 10/10, in fact I love the Y2J gimmick more than his recent one. He cut the promos where you would hate him as a heel, yet he was funny and I love the funny heels who still receive hate and are still main eventers. He established himself by going toe to toe with the main eventers in the company promo wise (Ex: The Rock) and in the ring (Ex: Triple H, Steve Austin). I can't stress how verstile he is either, he can work the undercard and main event with his gimmick and I like that in a gimmick, it can work in many different areas and aspects. Just watch his DVD (Breaking the Code) and you'll see how truly entertaining his gimmick was/is. In fact, I don't know how anyone can give him less than an 8.

 

[radec]

11/10

chris can play any role to perfection, he knows his way around the crowd and can get any pop he wants. Great wrestler and future HOF.

 

[Miss Flawless]

Ahh, the Ayatollah of Rock-N-Rolla!

Y2J is a great gimmick. He was one of my favourites at the time of the AE, with SCSA and The Rock. I think this gimmick is really good. It fit him well. He was probably one of the best on the microphone (and still is). He was just underneath The Rock. His segments with The Rock and Stephanie McMahon ALWAYS made me laugh in hysterics.

But, I would rate this gimmick a 9/10. I wouldn't give it a solid 10, just because this gimmick did not hit me like SCSA's gimmick hit me. I can rate a gimmick by the way the gimmick feels to me...I'm special like that.

His gimmick is still very good. But if you asked me to compare SCSA and Chris Jericho's gimmicks, I would choose The Rattlesnake. Why? Just because it has so much more impact.

This could also be by preference. I could say hardcore Chris Jericho fans would rate his gimmick a solid 10/10.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'll give it a 7/10. From 1999-2003, he had great feuds and matches with HHH and Benoit and I really enjoyed him as a heel character. After he turned face, he was just floundering around. His feud with Christian wasn't great as it only got Trish over as a heel and Jericho didn't do nothing much else of note until he got "fired".

 

[LSN80]

I gave this a 9/10 firstly due to the fact that Jericho honed and perfected this gimmick working in a company that he grew to despise, WCW.

If you think about it, how many of us, in an awful work environment(Jericho describes it in his book), would actually work HARDER for a company that was giving little back to you? Thats what has always impressed me about Jericho, both as a performer, and a person: His ability to take sh*t and make it shine.

From his personal security guard Ralphus, to the Conspiracy theorist Jericho, to the man of 1004 holds, this gimmick was money. He pissed off those above him on the card because he was so brilliant, he made them look bad(Goldberg and Scott Hall were two he mentioned).

Fast forward, and he debuts on WWF television by interrupting the Rock! How many people could curry that kind of favor that they could BEGIN their career in a company against it's biggest star? Y2J did. A year later, he defeated The Rock and Austin, the undisputed two biggest stars in the company, to become the first Undisputed Champion. Noone else will ever be able to claim that on their resume, and he did it while using the Y2J gimmick.

Finally, and possibly the best thing about his gimmick, was that he developed it himself! With virtually no help from anyone else. Not WCW's creative team. Not Eric Bischoff. Jericho came up with the gimmick himself. And it was absolutely brilliant.