What will the Legacy of Chris Jericho be?

[FunKay the Inevitable]

First off, sorry if it's been done before. At this moment in time Chris Jericho is a former Six Time World Champion (Two Time WCW Champion, One Time Undisputed Champion, Three Time World Heavyweight Champion), Nine Time Intercontenental Champion (a record nine times), a Five Time Tag Team Champion (With Chris Benoit, The Rock, Christian and Edge/Show (counting the unified titles as two seperate belts)) amongst other titles in various promotions as well as WWF/E. He's one of the best promo men of the last decade (if not further back) and made a distinct impact no matter where he went. He has one of the best debuts in WWF/E history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBvsRKmZWH0
But my question is, what is his legacy? It was long thought that Jericho was never truly destined to completely break through (despite being the WWF/E's first Undisputed Champion) until he returned in 2007. It was then that Jericho seemed to truly up his game. In 2008 he became a huge part of the WWE and that continued through 09' and 10'. Jericho actually won the Best Wrestler of the Year award from the Wrestling Observer two years running. The WWE in fact has so much faith in this man that they gave him the unified tag team championships so that he could appear on all three (at the time) shows. Now jericho is widely excepted as a top quality wrestler who puts on some fine performances both in and out the ring. But he's never quite reached that headline quality name has he? If someone outside the world of wrestling was asked who The Undertaker was then they would be able to tell you he's a wrestler. Chris Jericho? Don't bet your money on it. In my honest opinion I believe Jericho's legacy is this, he's a top quality performer who fans accept as a main eventer but his natural home is just below that spot. He's a draw but not the biggest draw. Never is, never was. He'll be fondly remmebred and has his Hall of Fame place booked but will never be the brightest star in the pack. These are just my thoughts, what are yours? What do you think Chris Jericho's legacy is?

 

[Rated Straight Edge]

Well, Chris is truly a symbol of his generation. His debut was great. His return was great. He is overall a wrestling great. One of the greatest. Ever. But as you said, he truly has not quite reached that benchmark yet wherein his name becomes synonym with the sport. He is no Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold, et cetera. But he still has time and if the WWE plays him well, they have an ace in the hole with which they can build many a storyline in the future. Certainly his current role isn't a fan favorite but it does draw the reaction necessary out of the crowd from a heel. Jericho has much left in him to give and being de facto savior, he may yet have something in store that will make him reach that benchmark and become a synonym with the sport. His legacy will perhaps not be as great as some have been and were, but it will be something big nonetheless. He is someone the WWE can always go to for something more, to push and move things along. We have not yet seen the half of it from Chris, but we should bee seen enough of him in the future. After all, he did bring us the new millennium.

 

[asslber]

Chris doesn't really need a world title or anything to prove that he's one of the top stars in the Dub right now and in the past.

He has always been one of my favorites. He definitely deserves a spot in the HoF.

Look at Shawn Michaels. When was the last time he wore a World Championship around his waist? Hell, when was the last time he wore a singles championship around his waist? People just knew he was one of the best wrestlers in the business, and same goes for Chris Jericho.

You could also say the same thing for Edge. Those 3 don't need a world title to prove who they are. People just know who they are.

Though, I would like to see Chris Jericho drafted back to RAW, and feud against John Cena for the WWE Championship.

I don't know if anyone remembers this, but rememner John Cena was the one who caused Jericho to leave the WWE a few years back. When Jericho came back, I thought for sure they would re-do that feud, but they haven't yet. That would probably be the one thing I would want to see the most.

Maybe in a revenge type match later down the road, have a Chris Jericho .vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship and the loser must leave the brand. The winner: Chris Jericho.

That would see John Cena go to Smackdown in a loss. Chris Jericho would get a huge heel heat for the one to cause Cena to go to Smackdown. Cena could go to Smackdown and have some pretty damn good feuds on Smackdown with Jack Swagger, CM Punk, Edge, and Undertaker. Saying that all those don't get drafted at the draft.

 

[moore_fan]

Hmm. I think he will be one of the most memorable heel in wrestling history. Because he is so cocky, constantly telling the audience "I am the best at what I do" and etc. He will known as the wrestler with one of the best MicSkill ever. And he got the high light reel in his resume too.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Chris Jericho's legacy in the WWE will certainly be a very solid one. A guy who can play a face or a heel equally well. A guy who has excelled in the WWE despite the fact that he is not, by WWE's standards, that big physically. A guy who didn't need steroids to try to get physically big to get over to hide any shortcomings in terms of his in-ring or mic skills. Or to recover from injuries. A guy who has a stellar record in terms of not injuring his fellow wrestlers. A guy who is equally effective in a tag team or as a solo wrestler.

A guy who doesn't need a title around his waist to stay relevant, but who is more than capable of carrying the strap with pride and legitimacy. A guy who is (arguably) the most successful guy who jumped from WCW to WWF before its demise. A guy who can stay in the main event despite the alleged back stage antics of HHH and others.

A guy who didn't need to jump ship to a rival organization just because things weren't going his way, but could have and would have been welcomed with open arms. A guy who left the WWE on his terms, made a very successful return years later, and is as good now as ever, if not better. A guy who can make almost anyone who shares the ring with him look good.

Chris Jericho. His legacy will be that of a true legend and future Hall of Famer.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

One of the best heels in the history of the business.

Right up there with Dibiase Sr. and he has the gold to launch him above Ted. He'll also be remembered as a guy that could get over with any gimmick simply because he's brilliant with the mic and interacting with the fans.

Not to mention he's one of the best wrestlers during the attitude era which was loaded with great mid-card talent. He might be underrated in legacy but if your a true fan of the sport you will rank him very high.

 

[Vanderhook]

Actually, quite a few people who don't watch pro wrestling much know who Jericho is. He's not quite as big as a name as Rock or Hogan, but Jericho is definitely a well known character.

He'll go down as one of the all time greats. He's a hall of famer, no doubt.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

Jericho most definitely will be a name everyone remembers. If not for his wrestling, then for his SUPERB ability to work a crowd, and the mic. You gotta love looking at you tube and seeing his older clips of people hating him so much during the old days of 'biker' undertaker when some random dude just jumped out and bitch slapped him right before he and Austin went at it, and the lights go out and ROLLIN by limp bizkit starts. Then you see the newer clips of him in the last year of him going up to people in the front row and getting people so riled up they get thrown out of the show.

You can't deny the power this man has whether he's a heel or face, his mic skills, and his ability to read people is on point. Then when he's on the announce table, he says what everyone wishes people would say. This man reads what the marks are flipping out for, and can tap into the the skeptics as well and makes sure that everyone gets entertained with something.

 

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

Yeah, He's a definite Hall of Famer. 9 Intercontinental Title Belts, 6 Time world Champion, 1st ever Undisputed Champion. That's a great career. Put that along with one of the best mic workers in the WWE. The WWE trusted him to be on every single show with the tag belts, and it worked. Even without the belts, he was on all the shows. Sure he wont be remembered as good as HBK, Undertaker, and others, but he will leave a great legacy behind that all of us will remember.

 

[WWE Manster03]

I think I can safely say that he is this generations version of HBK. I know that HBK is only a few years older then Jericho, but HBK is still looked at as being from the old school and Jericho is more of the new school. he doesn't need gold around his waist at all to seem important, unlike some people in pro wrestling. And he is unselfish enough to put someone over anytime, anywhere, by any means necessary because it will be the right thing for the company. He could honestly lose for 2 months straight and wouldn't lose a drop of credibility. Beating Jericho means something. Aside from HHH, Undertaker, Kane, Mysterio if you want to find someone that can put someone over by losing to them while not losing anything for themselves, then Jericho is the only other one in my eyes that fits that. His legacy should be phenominal, and I can't wait to see the tribute show that WWE gives him because you know they will. He is part of the reason that they are still doing as well as they are.

 

[wbuqed]

I think everyone has pretty much hit the necessary points about Jericho: one of the greatest heels of all time, One of the best mic wrestlers of this generation, and I believe all of his title runs (as numerous as they were) were well deserved. The one thing I think about when it comes to Jericho's legacy is where it would be if he didn't have the side interest in music. Not to say fozzy is a bad band, but if Jericho didn't have the side business with them, would he be pushing 10 time world championship status? This is something I was gonna address in a thread about how many years he'd have left, but I guess you can tie this in to his legacy. One thing about Jericho that people have not acknowledged as much was Jericho's ability to maintain a good health record. Everyone knows about HHH, batista, cena and edge being forced to take the time off due to physical misfortune, Chris however has come out basically unscathed. So thats what I think Jericho's legacy is- Great Charisma, great versatility, great health, but unable to reach full potential due to interests outside wrestling.