Who's better #3: "Macho Man" Randy Savage or Chris Jericho?

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Chris Jericho and "Macho Man" Randy Savage are two of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history.

They both have a different style in wrestling.

They were both great wrestlers, great on the mic and great as a heel and as a face.

Chris Jericho was a 9 time IC Champ (combined days: 318 days) while Randy Savage had the 3rd longest IC title reign in history (414 days).

Chris Jericho defeated The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at the same night to become the first ever Undisputed WWF/E champion while Randy Savage held the title for over a year (from WM4 to WM5).

Randy Savage was a bigger star in wrestling than Jericho but Jericho has accomplished more.


Overall, who do you think is better The Macho King Randy Savage or The King of the world Chris Jericho?

 

[the green b@stard]

Your first couple were almost too close to call, this one not so much. No disrespect to Jerico but savage had better feuds, name recognition and ring work. People often talk about being able to wrestle a broomstick, well Savage was able to do just that against a nearly crippled Andre and managed to put on descent matches.
Long story short Savage is in my top 5 of the last 30 years. I have a hard time getting Y2J into the top 10.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

In what world did Jericho accomplish more than Savage? Savage was the number 2 star behind Hulk Hogan for a number of years, Jericho defeated The Rock & Austin on the same night and defeated them again on two PPV events after and still barely scraped into the top 5 stars in WWE at the time.

There's no comparison between the two.

 

[CyberPunk]

I am not sure you can actually compare Randy Savage's career with Chris Jericho.

Randy Savage was in a very different league. He was clear no.2 (and at times no.1 in absence of Hogan) in 80s and 90s. He was not just a big muscled man but an amazing in ring performer. He was once touted as one of the most influential personalities by none other than Hogan himself. He headlined 3 Wrestlemanias and 4 of the first 5 Summerslams. WWE credited him as the "greatest champion of all time" as he was really that amazing inside the ring. If it was not for his differences with Vince, he would've already been inducted in the WWE HOF. His match with Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania III is still considered one of the greatest matches, if not the greatest itself.

Jericho on the other hand, while is an excellent talent and great inside the ring as well as microphone, has never really been the man. His only Mania ME was a dud (which I believe was due to reasons completely unrelated to him) and despite being a multiple time world champion, has never been the mainstay in the ME scene. I look at him as a guy who can easily slip in and out of ME. He can job one week and win the next week without losing any credibility (though with his last run, that's a bit questionable). Jericho can be relied upon as the most consistent performer and can put on great matches no matter where his match is on the card. His real job for last 3-4 years has been to put younger talents over. His only real claim to fame is being the first ever undisputed WWE world champion.

For me, it's Randy Savage, hands down.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

In what world did Jericho accomplish more than Savage? Savage was the number 2 star behind Hulk Hogan for a number of years, Jericho defeated The Rock & Austin on the same night and defeated them again on two PPV events after and still barely scraped into the top 5 stars in WWE at the time.

There's no comparison between the two.

This is what I mean by more accomplished:

Also, Jericho had many great matches, many great promos over the years.

Yeah he was never "the guy" but neither was Savage.

Jericho is still the best in the world.

 

[the green b@stard]

This is what I mean by more accomplished:

Also, Jericho had many great matches, many great promos over the years.

Yeah he was never "the guy" but neither was Savage.

Jericho is still the best in the world.

Ummmm two different eras. In y2j's time there were more titles and shorter reins... by that logic hardcore holly is more accomplished than jake roberts.

 

[Rocky84]

I like the concept of these threads and all but this matchup is a little bad. I wouldn't know where to start when showing how much better Mach is than Jericho. There's just too many...and if it needs to be explained, then I don't think a person who believes the opposite, is going to be capable of understanding pretty much anything. I'm seriously shocked that Jericho has 2 votes already.

 

[Pedigree1]

This is a good comparison very hard for me to pick between these two. But a slight edge has to go with Macho Man Randy Savage. True,Randy is not as accomplished as Y2J,but savage was the no2 guy in the company for a number of years. Had epic feuds,epic matches and promos. Not saying Jericho didn't but i grew up with Randy and his Ohhhh Yeahhhh!

Plus what sets him apart from Y2J,is his epic match with Steamboat at WM3. Still to this day,a top five mania match... I get Y2J was the first undisputed champion,but he was never that guy.. I get the valets were done when jericho came in,but the first lady of wrestling Miss Elizabeth,you cant top that!

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Jericho is still the best in the world.

Even currently whilst he's not active? That's impressive. You're delusional. Jericho wasn't even the best in the world when he had those great feuds with HBK & Mysterio.

Pulling out a lits of titles Jericho has hel is probably the wrong way to go about things. Most his reigns are worhless and he was better when he wasn't a champion.

 

[Slash-LN]

I give the nod to Randy based on name recognition.
If you were to ask a random person on the street who each guy is I bet you'd get more people who would know Randy over Jericho.

That's not a knock on Jericho though. Both guys were awesome in the ring and on the mic as the op stated.

For us wrestling fans both have left a great legacy but Randy has left a bigger legacy in pop culture.

This would be a cool fantasy match up though. Either guy could work heel or face although I'd put Jericho in the face role. The promos would be cool and if each guy was in their prime the matches would be great.

 

[The Perfect Max]

As much as it pains me to say it, I must agree with the OP. Dammit. My bias may be in tact here, but to me, Chris Jericho is the best in the world. Maybe not at everything he does, but most.

I think part of the reason I'm bias towards Y2J is because of Fozzy. I'm a huge Rock and metal fan, and they're on quite the roll at the moment. They've done some good stuff. I prefer to keep wrestling and music completely separate but this could be unintentionally why I gravitate towards Jericho. Then again, who can blame me? In the ring, he's brilliant. He's always evolved when he's returned, adding a new dimension to his in-ring work each time. His mic skills and presentation has also adapted, but he's managed to maintain what made people love him in the first place.

I get, however, why people think Randy Savage is far superior. He was the number two guy in the WWE behind Hogan, and other than the Ultimate Warrior, perhaps the only guy who could have passed him. His legacy was created through his charisma and in-ring ability. He was a guy you either loved or loved to hate, because he played the face and heel really well.

Again, bias in full swing here, I prefer Jericho. I prefer his move set, I prefer his mic skills, I prefer his presentation. Sure, in the main event, he's been overlooked, but when pushed down the card, he's head and shoulders above the rest of them. His consistency to put on great matches is awesome, and bear in mind, Jericho and Shawn Michaels took the spot of "best WrestleMania match" away from... Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat. I sound like a prick, no quoting that please , but it maybe says something. I can agree that Savage is most widely recognised and has the better legacy, but Jericho will remain my favourite.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

This is what I mean by more accomplished:

You know, I was really leaning towards Savage on this one, but now that I see that Jericho was a two-time Slammy award winner, and won the coveted "Bragging Rights Trophy", it's clear that Jericho "accomplished" so much more.

Savage was simply "more important" in his day then Jericho was in his. I don't care about how many different titles either one had.

 

[The Yes Guy]

I think people have chosen Randy over Jericho simply because of the nostalgia..

Randy had only a single sorta persona when he was a face and a heel.. He never had any variations..
Jericho on the other hand could play the constantly complaining heel, a serious sorta heel, a cool face, so on...

Even Jericho had way better mic skills than Randy.

Just because Randy was booked better to be the no. 2 guy, it doesn't make him better than Jericho..

 

[the green b@stard]

Seriously those of you that are voting jericho clearly haven't seem macho's early work. He was doing a modern style when everyone else was doing else was doing the punch, kick , headlock repeat ( see larry zybisco and jerry lawler). At a time when a suplex was a big spot savage was flying in and out of the ring. Truely decades before his time and his influence on style should not be over looked.
Check out any card from the pre wm days and im sure you'll find his match on it is the only watchable one on it by todays standards.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

When has Jericho ever been a cool face?

If people are voting for Savage because of nostalgia, then why are people voting for Jericho? What's he done lately. There's no wrestler around who's looked at more through rose tinted glasses.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

I think people have chosen Randy over Jericho simply because of the nostalgia..

Randy had only a single sorta persona when he was a face and a heel.. He never had any variations..
Jericho on the other hand could play the constantly complaining heel, a serious sorta heel, a cool face, so on...

Even Jericho had way better mic skills than Randy.

Just because Randy was booked better to be the no. 2 guy, it doesn't make him better than Jericho..

People are voting for Savage out of respect for the dead.

But in reality, we all know Jericho is levels ahead of Savage.

 

[the green b@stard]

Goat, Yes... not trying to be disrespectful, genuinely curious. Where would you put macho and y2j on your best of post wm era lists?
I would have savage behind scsa, rock, hogan, cena and in a virtual tie with flair. I have y2j behind all of them plus hbk, taker, hart. After that in my mind y2j is in a fairly large group that's almost too close to call that would include punk, hhh, sting among others.
Curious if you guys have y2j much higher than me or macho much lower or a combination of the two?

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Randy Savage is *hands-down* the greatest ever. WWE may ignore his existence and perpetuate the legacies of inferior talents like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but Savage is the only man who could do *everything*. He had the look, the charisma, the mic work, the fundamentals, the athleticism and the drawing power.

Nobody comes close, so you might as well crown him the best ever right now. I fear that WWE hyperbole has seeped into too many minds for that to happen, though...

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

He had the look, the charisma, the mic work, the fundamentals, the athleticism and the drawing power.

Doesn't Rock also have those?

The Rock is the greatest ever

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Goat, Yes... not trying to be disrespectful, genuinely curious. Where would you put macho and y2j on your best of post wm era lists?
I would have savage behind scsa, rock, hogan, cena and in a virtual tie with flair. I have y2j behind all of them plus hbk, taker, hart. After that in my mind y2j is in a fairly large group that's almost too close to call that would include punk, hhh, sting among others.
Curious if you guys have y2j much higher than me or macho much lower or a combination of the two?

Flair wouldn't make my top 10 greatest wwe superstars of all time.

His best days weren't in WWE.

Cena in the top 5? Why? Cena is possibly in my top 15 all-time and I'm being very generous.

Cena ahead of Jericho? Not a chance.

Jericho >>>> Cena

 

[the green b@stard]

Flair wouldn't make my top 10 greatest wwe superstars of all time.

His best days weren't in WWE.

Cena in the top 5? Why? Cena is possibly in my top 15 all-time and I'm being very generous.

Cena ahead of Jericho? Not a chance.

Jericho >>>> Cena

I included flair' nonwwe work as well as sting's obviously. .. without flair's other work I cant argue he's outside the top 10.

I thought you were probably giving jericho's championships more weight than I am but after your ranking of cena im not so sure. I'm no cena fan but his run at the top of the e will soon be entering the in a league of his own. Seriously I'm finding a hard time finding any criteria where y2j is ahead of both cena and savage.
I guess I simply agree to disagree on this one.

 

[RicSpade]

Here is the problem with this thread, Savage was more accomplished just in the fact he held the world title in two companies but if Bischoff had seen the potential in Jericho in WCW well who knows what could've been. My thing is that you didn't post was that Savage beat
Greg Valentine, Butch Reed, and Ted Dibiase in the same night to win his first WWF title, which at the time was unheard of and that included Dibiase getting a bye in the tournament being a fresh man, now with that being said. you can't go by accomplishments of Jericho was the 9 time this or the 3 time that, because this is an era where titles are changed on the fly, with the exception of the few now... Title weren't held for years at a time anymore so you can't compare apples and oranges.

I think if I have to choose I will choose Savage just from the way he conducted himself in interviews and in ring, it wasn't all script or bullet points then like it is now, but again everyone has their own opinion

 

[Loveless]

Savage and it's really not even close. Jericho was, is, and always will be a glorified mid-carder and arguing that his titles mean anything in comparison is to ignore how much they've been devalued.
Savage is the guy that had a year long title reign during Hulkamania. That should really tell you all you need to know.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Doesn't Rock also have those?

The Rock is the greatest ever

Fundamentals? I wouldn't have thought so. The Rock was a circus clown, not a wrestler. Don't get me wrong, he made for an awesome sports entertainer, but Savage annihilates him as a worker.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Fundamentals? I wouldn't have thought so. The Rock was a circus clown, not a wrestler. Don't get me wrong, he made for an awesome sports entertainer, but Savage annihilates him as a worker.

A circus clown? lol. The Rock was a great wrestler in his prime, also in terms of charisma, popularity, drawing ability, mic work, etc.

The Rock >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Randy Savage