Chris Jericho: Greatest Hits

Chris Jericho: Greatest Hits



Definitely one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, here are the greatest hits of the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla.




Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon 
From a show in Japan on the 7th July 1995. This isn't on the WWE Network at the moment, but I think it deserves to be here as one of Jericho's greatest matches. This is the match that got him to ECW and led him to the bigger companies of WCW and WWE. You can find this one on his DVD and it's totally worth the price for this match alone. An incredible back and forth match that had the typically quiet crowd going crazy. One of Y2J's best. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit
From Fall Brawl 1996 and this is Jericho's PPV debut in WCW. Kevin Sullivan (the WCW booker) apparently told Jericho to get in minimal offense, but Benoit and Jericho ignored him and instead went out there and put on a fantastic, stiff, back and forth match. Definitely up to the standard of their WWE matches and one of Jericho's best in WCW. Both guys looked good in the end. ****



Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon
From Bash at the Beach 1997 and the Cruiserweight Title is on the line. I don't think there was any way that they would surpass their match from Japan, but they still went out their with their awesome chemistry and put on a great, high flying match that was much better than the typical WCW cruiserweight match. The dumb crowd was silent for some reason and chanted for Syxx. A great hidden gem here with tons of high flying and nearfalls. Worth a watch for sure. ****



Chris Jericho vs Eddie Guerrero
From Fall Brawl 1997 and the Cruiserweight Title is on the line. It's a shame that these guys didn't have more matches together, especially in the WWE, because they were fun to watch, but out of the matches they did have this one is easily the best. An amazing technical contest that went back and forth throughout. The crowd was quiet for some reason but these guys didn't need a loud crowd to put on a spectacle. Jericho's best WCW match and one of Eddie's best too. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs Juventud Guerrera
From Superbrawl 1998. Jericho's Cruiserweight Title is on the line and Guerrera's mask is on the line too. For some reason WCW decided to unmask all their luchadores, including Mysterio and Psicosis. Idiots. Anyway Jericho was finally a heel here, where he would have one of the most entertaining runs of his career. A hell of a cruiserweight match here with some nice nearfalls and high flying action. Jericho looked like a complete dick at the end. ***3/4



Chris Jericho vs Dean Malenko
From Slamboree 1998. Cruiserweight Title is on the line. Earlier in the night there was a battle royal to decide who would face Jericho for the Title and a luchador called Ciclope won it. The crowd went insane when he unmasked and revealed it was Malenko all along. An awesome moment for sure. The match itself is pretty good, but it's the awesome end to the angle that everyone remembers. ***


And that's the end of the WCW days.



Chris Jericho vs X-Pac
From Unforgiven 1999. Here we have Jericho's PPV debut for the WWE. Ken Shamrock was originally meant to face Jericho here, but he was injured so X-Pac came in instead. For some reason Jericho seemed to dislike this match in his book, but I thought it was pretty damn good. It did have its slow moments and the DQ ending was dumb, but it was still a very good match while it lasted with some chemistry shown between the two. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Chyna
From Armageddon 1999 and the IC Title is on the line. Jericho hated working with Chyna, but she did give him his first proper feud in the WWE and this match that gave him his first of nine IC Title reigns. Chyna had a kayfabe broken thumb that Jericho focused on during the match. Jericho carried Chyna to a good match here and gave her one of her better matches. Good stuff and a nice moment for Jericho. ***1/4


The next three matches are from the Chris Benoit Greatest Hits post. Here's the link : http://prowrestlingtvreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/chris-benoit-greatest-hits.html


Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle vs Chris Jericho
From Wrestlemania XVI. The European and the IC Titles are on the line here, as both are held by Kurt Angle. First fall is for the IC belt, and the second fall is for the European. Angle and Jericho would go down in history as Benoit's greatest opponents, but this wasn't as great as you would think. However, this was still a damn good match, even if the crowd didn't care. Benoit wins his first Title in WWE as he hits the flying headbutt for the IC Title. Jericho won the European Title. ***1/2



Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho
From Backlash 2000 and the IC Title is on the line. The start of a long and awesome feud here. Jericho wasn't the European Champ here and I don't know when he lost it. This was a great match filled with awesome counter wrestling, and they cut a nice pace throughout. The DQ finish does spoil it a bit, but at least they'd have future matches together. It was still an awesome match though. ****



Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho : Submission Match
From Judgment Day 2000. I was really looking forward to this one, due to both guys being known for their submissions. You didn't get matches like this in the WWF at the time as it was during the Attitude Era which was more about hardcore matches. But these guys showed that this kind of wrestling can be a ton of fun, and put on a great contest. I especially like the Walls of Jericho submission on the ring ropes. Great stuff here. ***3/4


Chris Jericho vs Triple H : Last Man Standing
From Fully Loaded 2000. Jericho cost HHH a Title match and had been insulting Stephanie McMahon for weeks, so HHH was gonna get some payback. This is, without a doubt, Jericho's break out match and the one that made him a star. He may have came out as the loser, but that didn't matter as he'd put on an amazing performance against the Game. The story was incredible with Jericho giving everything he had to try and beat HHH, only to come up short at the end. The best Last Man Standing match ever and a career highlight for both athletes. Amazing stuff. ****3/4



Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho : 2/3 Falls
From Summerslam 2000. Aside from their awesome ladder match (which I'll get to soon), this seems to be their highest rated match. This is only the second time I've watched it and it was even better this time. You would never believe that these two were best friends because they looked like they had such hatred for one another. The arm psychology was very well done too. The match ended 2-1 to Benoit. Incredible stuff. ****1/2



Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho : Ladder Match
From Royal Rumble 2001 and the IC Title is on the line. Finally these two fearsome rivals reach their final encounter, and boy did they try to destroy each other. This isn't the high-flying ladder match that you would expect, as these guys just wanted to beat the other up. The most (in)famous moment of the match comes from a suicide dive from Benoit as he goes head first into a steel chair, and it looks absolutely brutal. It was a war, and a terrific one at that. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit vs X-Pac vs Eddie Guerrero
From No Way Out 2001 and the IC Title is on the line. Man that is a hell of a lot of talent in one match (yes even X-Pac). This one only lasted around twelve minutes but there was a ton of action packed into it. The Radicalz turning on each other was fun too, especially since we got to see Guerrero vs Benoit which is always a good thing. There were some stiff shots in there too. A chaotic match that was a ton of fun. ****



Chris Jericho vs Rhyno
From Summerslam 2001. Stephanie McMahon chose Rhyno to take on Jericho, because Y2J was pissing her off so much. This was after the huge gore through the stage that Jericho took on Smackdown. Jericho taking a huge gore on the outside looked awesome and pretty painful. Jericho managed to give Rhyno his best match on this night and made him look like a beast. A great little match. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Rob Van Dam
From Unforgiven 2001 and the Hardcore Title is on the line. These guys have had quite a few matches together and this might just be the best of them all. In fact it's probably the best match contested for the Hardcore Title. RVD was meant to be a heel but the fans were behind him here. The suplexes on the ladder looked brutal. Jericho's eye was busted badly here and I actually flinched when he went face first into the ladder. A brutal match that was a ton fun. A definite over-looked gem here that's worth watching. ****1/4



Chris Jericho vs The Rock
From No Mercy 2001 and the WCW World Title is on the line. This is the first time that these guys fought each other on PPV and thankfully not the last. I would call this their best match together but I haven't seen the Vengeance match yet so I can't really say anything, but this one seems like it would be really tough to top. A nice moment for Jericho as he wins his first World Title in one of his best matches. These guys cut an amazing pace and there was just non-stop, back and forth action from bell to bell. A fantastic match. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs The Rock
From Vengeance 2001 and this is the second semi-final in the tournament to crowd the Undisputed Champion. The WCW Title is on the line and Steve Austin won the WWE Title earlier. Rock seemed like the obvious winner to set up Austin/Rock, but Vince threw us a curveball with Jericho winning. It was gonna be hard for these guys to top their No Mercy match and this was almost as good. They had their usual awesome back and forth match with an exciting finishing sequence. ****1/4



Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Chris Jericho
From Vengeance 2001 and the Undisputed Title is on the lien. Both guys had already been in a match at this point so they must have been pretty exhausted. Because of that the match wasn't too great but it was still pretty solid. Booker T interfered to give Jericho the victory and the Undisputed Championship which he would still brag about years later and for good reason. Who else beat the Rock and Austin on the same night? **3/4



The Rock vs Chris Jericho
From Royal Rumble 2002 and the Undisputed Title is on the line.  These two have tremendous chemistry together, and this match definitely proves that point. They've had better matches before this one, but this was still awesome. The run-ins don't hurt the match, but they do make Jericho look a little weak. A brilliant back and forth match between two of the all time greats, and easily the match of the night. ****



Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho
This was a semi-final match in the 2002 King of the Ring. While this is a great match between the two, their best match was their Hardcore bout from Unforgiven 2001. This match is infamous for Jericho going on wrestling forums and yelling at the fans who didn't like the match. Can't complain to me Chris, I enjoyed it a lot. Just the kind of match you would expect from these two. Great stuff. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels
From Wrestlemania XIX. Even with their awesome feud in 2008, this is still my favourite match between these two guys, and I'd even go so far as to say that it is probably the most underrated match in Wrestlemania history. It's probably Jericho's best match ever and definitely one of Shawn's best, as it was this match that made him realise that he was still the showstopper. This stole the show on an already stacked card. An absolutely amazing contest with a great story and some of the best back and forth action you will ever see. One for the ages that deserves more recognition. *****. Jericho kicking HBK in the nuts and spitting on him afterwards is the icing on the cake.



Chris Jericho vs Christian 
From Wrestlemania XX. The storyline was that Christian was getting sick of Jericho's romance with Trish Stratus, and so decided to take him out on the Grandest Stage of them All. This was a great technical match and it's pretty underrated in my book. The big twist ending came when Trish cost Jericho the match and revealed that she was with Christian the whole time. Lucky bastard. Still it was a great match that deserves more recognition. ***3/4



Chris Jericho vs Christian & Trish Stratus
From Backlash 2004. First an underrated Mania match, and now this one is quite a forgotten little gem as well. Jericho used a running enzenguri as a finisher for (I think) the first time here. The crowd was into this match, and they became hot when Jericho and Trish were going one on one. This wasn't as good as the Mania match, but it was still a ton of fun with a good back and forth battle between the guys, and the Jericho/Trish sections. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Shelton Benjamin
From Backlash 2005 and the IC Title is on the line. You can usually bank on the IC title match being a great way to start the show off and on this occasion it was a fantastic opener. The crowd was absolutely dead to start off but these two guys managed to bring them round and make them loud. Some brilliant moves and nearfalls in this match with a great pinning combination to finish it off. I have no idea how Shelton never became a star. ****



Chris Jericho vs Lance Storm
From One Night Stand 2005. These guys had the honour of opening this awesome show. This might have been Storm's final match, and if it is it's nice that he was able to finish it with the guy he started off with. Some nice back and forth technical wrestling here. It's just a shame that it couldn't have been given more time because it would've been awesome. ***



Chris Jericho vs John Cena
From Summerslam 2005 and the WWE Title is on the line. This would end up being Jericho's final PPV match until Armageddon 07. This was also the first PPV in which Cena was booed by about half the audience, something that would continue almost ten years later. These guys had a nice match and Jericho made Cena look like a star. Great stuff. ***3/4



Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho
From Judgment Day 2008. The start of the best feud of 08, and one of WWE's best feuds of the decade. I think that Shawn was meant to be the heel here, but the fans just didn't want to boo him. Luckily that led to Jericho becoming a heel once again, and what a fantastic heel he was. And yes of course this was an awesome match, what else would you expect it to be? Just the usual brilliant, technical, back and forth contest from both guys and easily the Match of the Night. It's amazing that their feud and their matches would only get better as time went on. ****



Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho : Unsanctioned Match
From Unforgiven 2008. I think history has shown that HBK + Unsanctioned Match = awesome. In storyline terms, Jericho absolutely deserved this beating. He injured Shawn's eye, punched his wife and then showed no remorse for it. An ass kicking was definitely coming his way. The great thing about these two guys is that they make you believe in their feud. They make it seem so real. I could've done without Lance Cade's interference, but at least it made Jericho look like more of a bastard. A physical, psychological, all out war. Fantastic stuff that is must see. Great finish with Jericho unable to take anymore punishment, and Shawn still punching away at him. Just awesome. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels : Ladder
From No Mercy 2008 and the World Title is on the line. The best feud of 08 finally comes to a head in this amazing match. In this era of wrestling, ladder matches were all basically spotfests with little psychology, so this was a pleasant surprise as they managed to mix in big spots while also telling a brilliant story. You could feel the hatred with every single ladder shot and Jericho even lost a tooth in the melee. The best one on one ladder match since the days of HBK/Ramon. Might even be the match of the year. A phenomenal contest and a modern classic. ****3/4



Chris Jericho vs Ricky Steamboat
From Backlash 2009. The Dragon looked absolutely fantastic at Wrestlemania, and it seemed as if he hadn't aged a day. WWE took advantage of that and gave us a match we wanted to see: Y2J going against his childhood hero. Steamboat seemed to tire out quite easily here, but Jericho covered that well enough. A very good match here, as Steamboat showed that he had what it took to hang with one of the best in Y2J. ***1/4



Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio : No Holds Barred
From Extreme Rules 2009 and the IC Title is on the line. A fantastic match here, and amazingly they would only get better. The match would start Jericho's ninth and final reign of the IC Title. Amazing back and forth action and counter wrestling here. The story of Jericho going after Mysterio's mask was good as well, and I liked how they played that into the finish. Excellent stuff. ****1/4



Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio
From The Bash 2009. Jericho's IC Title is on the line and Mysterio's mask is on the line as well. Two minutes into the match and Rey goes head first into the barricade. Ouch. I can't believe that Rey kicked out of that huge springboard codebreaker. Amazing action with some awesome counter-wrestling. Easily match of the night, and if Taker/HBK hadn't happened, it would likely be match of the year as well. Mysterio's second mask was a great idea and a great end to the story of Jericho wanting Rey's mask. Fantastic match. ****1/2



JeriShow vs Batista & Rey Mysterio
From Hell in a Cell 2009 and the Tag Titles are on the line. I had to include a JeriShow match somewhere and this was the best one they had on PPV. Some great star power in this one.  Mysterio and Jericho gave us their usual great chemistry here. Even Big Show looked motivated and seeing him against Rey was a lot of fun. An exciting tag team match that was fun all the way through. Good stuff. ***1/2



Edge vs Chris Jericho
From Wrestlemania XXVI and the World Title is on the line. This match had been built-up for almost a year and started when Edge was injured. Jericho started saying insulting things, like thanking him for getting injured because he was just holding him back. Ouch. The crowd started quiet for this thanks to the boring Bret/Vince match, but because both guys are so good, they were able to get the crowd into it. A fun match even though it had an abrupt finish. ***3/4



Chris Jericho vs Evan Bourne
From Fatal 4 Way 2010. Bourne was getting quite a big push at this point, so it was a great idea to put him with a veteran like Jericho, even if the Bourne experiment didn't turn out so well. Split reaction from the crowd here as there were some Y2J chants. A great back and forth match in which Jericho gave Bourne the upset win and made him look great. ***3/4



CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
From Wrestlemania XXVIII and the WWE Title is on the line. This is a match I always seem to change my rating on, but I think I've finally reached my final verdict on it. I think this match is pretty damn underrated, but that's probably because it's on the same show as Cena/Rock and Taker/HHH. This is one of the best WWE Title matches in Wrestlemania history, and my favourite match between these two guys. The crowd didn't seem interested at first, but these guys managed to get the crowd on their feet and cheering. Awesome stuff. ****1/2



CM Punk vs Chris Jericho : Chicago Street Fight
From Extreme Rules 2012 and the WWE Title is on the line. This is another match that is pretty damn underrated, as most people seem to remember Sheamus/Bryan and Lesnar/Cena rather than this forgotten gem. Both guys wore street clothes which added to the drama. Jericho was great as a heel here, going from threatening Punk's sister to pouring beer on Punk. An awesome street fight filled with nice weapons spots, nearfalls, and both guys came out looking like a million bucks. ****1/2



Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler
From Summerslam 2012. Definitely the best choice for the opener of the show as they got the crowd fired up nicely. There wasn't a lot on this show, but these guys stole it anyway. The story was that Jericho couldn't win the big one and Ziggler wanted to prove it by beating him. Ziggler was proven wrong as Jericho got the victory in the end. Nice nearfalls and great chemistry with these two awesome athletes. ***1/2



Chris Jericho vs Daniel Bryan
From Raw February 11th 2013. It said this is a Chamber qualifying match, but both guys ended up in the Chamber match so I'm not sure how that really worked out. Jericho gave Bryan a big break in his NXT days by making him look good, so it's nice that they got to face each other again while they're at the same level. A hell of a TV match here as the crowd was hot for it and both guys were very motivated. Great stuff. ***1/2



CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
From Payback. I can't believe I've only watched this match once (As of this writing I've watched it about six times). It seems like the kind of match I would back and watch again and again (You did dummy). I hope this isn't the last time we see these guys square off because they seem to get better and better each time they fight. This was Punk's return after a couple months away, and what a way to return in his hometown of Chicago with a huge reaction. He was also sporting the Wolverine look he still has today. I loved the finish with Punk hitting two Go to Sleeps to win. Terrific match and easily one of the best matches of 2013. Excellent stuff. ****1/2



Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho 
From Raw July 15th 2013. Why doesn't the Best of Raw and Smackdown 2013 set have this awesome match? There was some doubt that RVD would be able to shake off some ring rust for his return, but I think the MITB match and this match showed that he had none at all. Both of these guys showed that they only grow better with time. This was one hell of a back and forth match. Easily one of the best TV matches of the year, and definitely one worth checking out. ****1/4