Chris Jericho is celebrating thirty years in the wrestling business and it will be capped off tonight with a special episode of AEW Dynamite. “Le Champion” first became a well-known name domestically as “Lionheart” Chris Jericho in WCW but career started a few years earlier and his travels took him around the world. After training in Canada and making his debut in Ponoka, Alberta against Lance Storm, Jericho soon started gaining traction in Mexico’s CMLL, Japan’s WAR and Smoky Mountain Wrestling in the United States.
Jericho moved on to ECW where he won the company’s Television Championship, and his work there soon drew the attention of WCW, where he broke out on an even bigger level. It was here that he became a Conspiracy Victim and a Role Model, and made life for WCW’s Cruiserweight division (and Goldberg) a living hell. Some of Jericho’s best work to this point came in feuds with Juventud Guerrera, Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, the latter of which provided some all-time great moments and an early indication of how talented he was.
His three-year run with WCW saw him win the Cruiserweight Championship four times (as well as a single reign as WCW World Television Championship) but he soon signed with WWF and became the ‘Millenium Man.’ Jericho’s WWF debut is still regarded as one of the best debuts in all of wrestling history, but after that, he was left without a real direction until his feud with Chyna. Jericho’s first true feud resulted in his first Intercontinental Championship reign (the first of nine, still a record today) and he later won the WWF European Championship and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship… well, almost. (More on that later…)
Jericho would go on to win more titles and have more great feuds, but it wasn’t until his second program with Shawn Michaels that we got his best heelwork to date, but perhaps his best feud of all time as well. Jericho and Michaels had worked together before, including a fantastic match at WrestleMania XIX, but their 2008 feud truly hit a new level. Jericho took things up a notch but smashing Michaels’ head into the (ridiculously expensive) Jeritron 6000, and took on a darker and more calculated persona inspired by Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men and wrestler Nick Bockwinkel.
The next few years of Jericho’s career would see him appear more sporadically as he focused more on his music career, but he still delivered great battles with the likes of CM Punk, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. Jericho’s alliance with Owens set the table for his final WWE feud, and it also gave us “The List of Jericho.” After his feud with Owens concluded, Jericho made a few more sporadic appearances, including his final one at 2018’s WWE Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
Despite his WWE career winding down, Jericho was still a major player in the wrestling business, proving he still had drawing power and a lot left in the tank. His feud with Kenny Omega in New Japan Pro-Wrestling marked the first of three consecutive high-profile Wrestle Kingdom matches, as he also took aim at Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi in the following years.
Shortly before Wrestle Kingdom 14, Jericho took what some would argue was a big gamble, signing an exclusive deal with the new All Elite Wrestling promotion. Jericho’s decision has already paid off, winning the company’s top title and becoming the inaugural AEW World Champion. Jericho has individual accolades in spades, but he’s also been a major reason why AEW has been able to stay on top of the ratings battle on Wednesday nights against NXT.
From ‘A Little Bit Of The Bubbly’ to ‘Demo God’ to ‘Jeri-GOAT’, Chris Jericho is still providing fun and memorable moments as he enters the fourth decade of his career. With so many moments and matches to pull from, these are the 30 best moments and matches of Chris Jericho’s legendary career.
Monday Night Jericho
Moments
Chris Jericho calls out Goldberg
Jericho mocks Goldberg’s entrance ahead of their “match” at Fall Brawl 1998
Conspiracy victim – Chris Jericho goes to Washington to fight conspiracy in WCW
Man Of 1,004 Holds
- The original List, Jericho’s list was a nod to Dean Malenko’s “Man Of 1,000 Holds” moniker. Inspired by an old interview from Floyd Creatchman and Leo Burke, Jericho claimed he knew 1,004 wrestling holds, trumping Malenko by four. Featuring moves like the “Saskatchewan spinning nerve hold” and the “shooting star staple super press”, Jericho’s promo is still remembered as one of the highlights of his career—ARMBAR!!!
Matches
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Jericho vs. Dean Malenko (WCW Uncensored 1998)
Mask vs. Title
Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera (WCW SuperBrawl VIII)
Break Down The Walls
Moments
Jericho’s WWE debut
- The millennium clock hit zero and Chris Jericho made his WWF debut with a four-minute rant about how he was there to save the company. The Rock didn’t take too kindly to being interrupted and gave Jericho a verbal lashing, with both men playing their part in creating one of the most memorable debuts in wrestling history.
- Chris Jericho won the WWF Championship… until he didn’t. The April 17, 2000 episode of RAW saw plenty of shenanigans, as Triple H shoved referee Earl Hebner, which led to Jericho hitting a spin kick and a Lionsault before getting a three count for the win. The crowd went nuts, but HHH forced Hebner to reverse the decision and strike it from the records. A screwy finish for sure, but it proved fans were ready for Jericho as the top dog.
Creates Money In The Bank
- Money In The Bank has become one of WWE’s premier matches and it’s mainly thanks to Chris Jericho. Giving some behind-the-scenes details about the concept on his podcast, Jericho shared how he initially pitched a six-way ladder match to former writer Brian Gewirtz, with the winner getting a contract for a title match. Gewirtz added the stipulation that it could be used any time within a year (and Vince McMahon wanted it in a briefcase) but there’s no doubt that Jericho’s pitch gave WWE an innovative match idea that’s still successful today.
Jericho smashes Shawn Michaels’ face into the Jeritron 6000
Jericho becomes the first-ever Undisputed WWF Champion, beating The Rock and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in the same night at WWF Vengeance 2001.
Jericho wins his record-ninth Intercontinental Championship
The List
- What started as a simple gimmick soon turned into a phenomenon. Jericho was once again a conspiracy victim but this time he was taking notes and adding names to the list of people that had wronged him. “The List of Jericho” was incredibly popular and provided some hilarious moments.
Knockout Performances
The next three moments deserve their own section and we’ll start with the most recent.
Festival Of Friendship
- Jericho’s mouth has gotten him in trouble a number of times but this one ultimately ended a friendship—a Festival Of Friendship. The alliance between Jericho and Kevin Owens had soured, especially after Jericho accepted a Universal Championship match for Owens. In order to make up for it, Jericho hosted a “lavish” ceremony complete with performers and gifts, but dropped the charade and poured his heart out to Owens and said they were brothers and he always had his back. Owens clearly had enough, as he gave Jericho a parting gift—a new List and an epic beatdown after Jericho asked, “How come my name’s on this?”
Mickey Rourke knocks him out
- Jericho was originally supposed to face Rourke at WrestleMania 25 but the match was pulled after Rourke was forced to pull out of the event. Instead, Jericho defeated three WWE legends (Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat) and attacked Ric Flair, but Rourke was still at the show of shows and got the last laugh. Jericho demanded an apology, but Rourke dropped him with a stiff left-handed punch for his troubles.
- Tyson made headlines for his WrestleMania XIV appearance and the story here was that Shawn Michaels was looking for retribution for getting knocked out at the event. Tyson came back to RAW and joined Jericho in tag team action against Michaels and Triple H, but the whole thing was a ruse as Tyson took his shirt off to reveal a D-X shirt underneath. Despite their differences, Tyson was D-X through and through, and he capped the night off by taking Jericho down with a knockout punch.
Matches
Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XIX)
Two-Fall Triple Threat (Intercontinental Championship and European Championship)
Jericho vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 2000)
Ladder Match (Intercontinental Championship)
Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2001)
Jericho vs. Lance Storm (ECW One Night Stand 2005)
Ladder Match (World Heavyweight Championship)
Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (No Mercy 2008)
World Heavyweight Championship
Jericho vs. Edge (WrestleMania 26)
Cold Like December Snow…
Matches
No Disqualification (IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship)
Jericho vs. Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 12)
No Disqualification (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)
Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito (Wrestle Kingdom 13)
Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Wrestle Kingdom 14)
AEW Is Jericho
Moments
Jericho stabs Jon Moxley in the eye
Jericho and Mike Tyson brawl
- A continuation of their WWE scuffle, Tyson was on hand to present the title to the winner of the TNT Championship tournament. Of course, Jericho couldn’t let things slide from their last encounter and he called Tyson out on Dynamite and this one ended in a much bigger brawl. We’ll have to wait and see if they ever have a match together but for now, the brawl will remain as one of the biggest highlights in Dynamite’s first year.
A Little Bit Of The Bubbly…
- Jericho’s post-show rant after he won the AEW World Championship at All Out featured him dropping this gem while ripping on the subpar catering options for his celebration. Just like “The List” did earlier, “A Little Bit Of The Bubbly” caught fire and was featured on merchandise and song parodies, eventually leading to Nocking Point producing a real-deal line of Bubbly for purchase.
Matches
AEW Championship
Jericho vs. “Hangman” Adam Page (AEW All Out 2019)
Stadium Stampede
Inner Circle vs. The Elite & Matt Hardy (AEW Double Or Nothing 2020)
