Opinion: How the Chris Jericho saga continues to dominate wrestling

Chris Jericho has captivated audiences for many years wrestling in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the last twenty-eight years. He has won multiple World Heavyweight Championships, Intercontinental, Tag Team, European, Television, Cruiserweight, and Junior Heavyweight titles over the span of nine different wrestling organizations.

Multiple honours such as “Match of the Year” (2008) for his classic encounter with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels at “WWE No Mercy” (2008), along with “Feud of the Year” (2008) with HBK. Jericho was voted “Most Underrated Wrestler” (1999, 2000) and “Wrestler of the Year” (2008, 2009). He also achieved a Hall of Fame Induction by the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” for the class of 2010.

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Jericho has appeared in multiple films and television shows since the early 2000’s, along with a popular podcast appropriately titled: “Talk is Jericho”. He is also an award-winning author, penning four books covering his wrestling career through 2017, life lessons and road stories from his illustrious career. A musician and recording artist for his band: “Fozzy” since the early 2000’s. To say that Chris Jericho has done it all in the wrestling business would be an understatement.

Today, I am honoured to talk about Y2J’s post-WWE career, spanning from 2017 to the present day. While Jericho still makes the occasional appearance for WWE in terms of special live events and cameos, he has been busy outside the company competing in NJPW since November 5th, 2017.

“Kenny Omega. What a dynamic performer. What a fantastic tremendous performer. But he is not the best in the world. I am. So many claim to be the best. From Shawn Michaels, Edge, CM Punk. But they are all gone. I am still here. Because I am the best in the world. The greatest of all time. The alpha of this business. Cause I am challenging you Kenny. Jericho vs Kenny. Alpha vs Omega. To see who is really the best. I want to meet you… January 4th at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the Tokyo Dome. Let’s see who really is the best… b***h!” – Chris Jericho

Jericho’s challenge was accepted by Kenny Omega, immediately following the surprise vignette. New Japan Pro Wrestling confirmed the match-up and made it official the following day. Speculation followed with Jericho’s contract status. Dave Meltzer reported that Jericho’s contract had indeed expired and he was a free agent.

However, other outlets reported that Jericho was still under contract with the WWE but was given permission by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to wrestle this match against Kenny Omega. No matter the contract status, the wrestling world was hyped for this “Dream Match” that was about to occur. This would prove to be Jericho’s first wrestling match in NJPW in over 20 years.

Kenny Omega would be attacked by Chris Jericho weeks later on December 11th, 2017. After another promo vignette by him, Omega would be left a bloodied, beaten mess at the hands of Jericho.

They both would then get into another physical altercation weeks later before their scheduled match at the Wrestle Kingdom 12 Tokyo Dome Press Conference. Due to the barbaric nature of these attacks, NJPW officials would declare that Jericho vs Omega would now be a No Disqualification Match.

Following the encounter between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. NJPW held an event entitled: “New Year Dash!!! 2018”. Chris Jericho would attack Tetsuya Naito, then would provoke another heinous assault on Naito months later in May 2018. Like his attack on Kenny Omega months prior, Jericho would bust Tetsuya Naito wide open. Because of this, a match would be set for Dominion 6.9 for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

After his victory over Tetsuya Naito. Chris Jericho would become the first professional wrestler in history to have a WWE Intercontinental and IWGP Intercontinental Championship title reign. Not long after the match. Jericho pitched an idea to Vince [McMahon] for Summer Slam 2018 that would pit Jericho versus current WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins in a special IC vs IC inter-promotional match, with both titles on the line in what would have been an unprecedented matchup for the ages. Jericho would confirm that Vince turned the match offer down.

Chris Jericho would make his presence felt in a surprise appearance at “All-In”, a special independent wrestling event put together by Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks. The show featured talent from Ring of Honor, NJPW, Impact Wrestling and many other promotions that were not directly associated with the WWE.

At the conclusion of Kenny Omega vs Pentagon Jr. Chris Jericho would appear as a Pentagon Jr. “doppelganger”, attacking Omega and laying him out. Setting the stage for a future showdown at “Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager”, an event being held and put together by Chris Jericho, is set to take place on November 3rd, 2018. The event will feature multiple wrestlers, musicians, friends and artists as part of the “Chris Jericho Cruise” extravaganza.

The future for Chris Jericho continues to shine brighter than ever with no signs of slowing down and calling it a career anytime soon.

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