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The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla, The best in the world at what he does, The 61-minute man, The Alpha, Y2J and The Living legend are just a few of many nicknames that Chris Jericho has had in his illustrious 28+ year career. These names are only apt, as Jericho is widely considered a living legend in the world of pro wrestling.
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He's made his name in WCW, in WWE and in 2018, started getting involved in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well, along with partnerships with Impact Wrestling and Ring Of Honor. Y2J has truly done it all, but even past his 40s, he doesn't seem to want to slow down at all. This along with his music career and successful podcast only add to the level of respect that he commands.
What Jericho is well known for is being one of the best promo-cutters in all of all of wrestling. It's hard to dispute, given just how much he's accomplished and how much he's changed his character and persona over the years to stay relevant. From his goofy days in WCW to his most intense peak at WWE, here are the five best promos in the storied career of Chris Jericho.
#5 Chris Jericho gets personal with CM Punk
It was 2012 and CM Punk vs Chris Jericho was set to be the co-main event of WrestleMania 28, with the two top stars competing for the WWE Championship. Chris Jericho unleashed one of the finest promos of his career when he slyly ripped open Punk's dark past: his father's alcoholic behaviour.
CM Punk had been involved in intense angles before, but this was perhaps the first time it got so personal. Jericho being as manipulative as he took several jabs at Punk and his family and made the WWE title bout at WrestleMania as personal as possible.
Punk would be victorious at WrestleMania and the feud would even continue another month, with the angle getting even more personal. When all was said and done, Punk overcame his demons, one of them being Chris Jericho himself.
#4 A man of 1,004 holds
Back in his WCW days in 1998, Chris Jericho was involved in a feud with Dean Malenko, who was known as "The man of a 1000 holds". To counter this, Jericho took out a very long list after defeating Marty Jannetty. He would then recite the "1,004 holds", most of which were made up or were the armbar. Nonetheless, he went on and on and it was absolutely hilarious. It looks like that may have been the original concept that would lead to "The List Of Jericho"
(Promo starts from 4:21)
#3 Backstage segment with The Rock
The Rock and Chris Jericho were set to battle it out in a number one contenders match to face WWF Champion Kurt Angle at the time. Prior to their match, things got heated when the two took shots at each other, even imitating one another's catchphrase, much to the amusement of the audience.
The two legends reeked of charisma and the crowd ate it all up. Perhaps the most underrated moment of this segment is a young Michael Cole in the background trying his best to contain his laughter. Even if he did burst out, who could've blamed him?!
#2 Chris Jericho turns heel
Chris Jericho was in an interesting place in his career, and many consider 2008 to be arguably the finest year of career. The segment in question was the Highlight Reel with Shawn Michaels.
Chris Jericho, still a babyface, called out Shawn Michaels for his questionable antics against Batista, faking an injury at Backlash to beat him. Jericho called Michaels out in the segment and even questioned the crowd for booing him for being honest while cheering Michaels for being sly.
Jericho's tone quickly changed from disrespect to derogatory as he insulted Michaels and attacked him, cementing his heel turn and skyrocketing him to become "Superstar of the year" 2008. The heel persona that Jericho would undertake would be a career rejuvenation and his feud with Shawn Michaels eventually turned into a World Championship feud, with many fans considering HBK-Y2J to be the rivalry of 2008, bar none.
#1 RAW is Jericho
Chris Jericho made his earth-shattering debut in WWE with much build-up. The reaction the former WCW star received was nothing short of memorable, nor was his moment confronting The Guy in WWE then, The Rock.
Many fans consider this to be one of the greatest debuts in the history of pro-wrestling. Every line that Jericho said holds relevance to date. When talking about promos that age well, this is up there. The fact that he was instantly thrust up with the top star of the company said a lot.
Despite the fact that he didn't stand tall in the segment, he cut an incredible promo, which stands as the best of his career. To pick 5 is a difficult task when he's had over two decades of incredible promos. Y2J truly is one of the greatest of all time.
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