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Chris Jericho is widely known as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history. With a 30-year career spanning the globe and different companies, Jericho has become an icon synonymous with the wrestling business.
He has been able to stay relevant through the innovation of different characters including the "Conspiracy Theorist" in WCW, "Honest Man" in WWE, or "Le Champion" in AEW. Jericho has created many legendary moments, been apart of memorable feuds, and has been known as one of the best with a mic in his hand, which you can see here.
Perhaps even more than those accomplishments, Chris Jericho has become known for the vast catalog of incredible matches he has competed in. His matches have spanned over Mexico, Japan, and his home country of Canada as well as the biggest wrestling promotions over the past 3 decades like ECW, WCW, AAA, NJPW, AEW, and of course WWE.
I remember my own introduction to Y2J on WCW as "Lionheart" Chris Jericho. He was always entertaining and quick in the ring. Chris Jericho was never taken seriously as a character in this white meat babyface role until he turned heel with his temper tantrums in 1998. Those outbursts turned into an arrogant and sometimes delusional character who infamously listed his 1,004 holds to show his superiority over "The Man of 1,000 Holds"- Dean Malenko.
The Dean Malenko vs Chris Jericho rivalry was not only one of the hottest feuds in the WCW Cruiserweight division, but one of the best in the entire company. Jericho used the momentum from his heel turn and rivalry with Malenko to challenge the WCW Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg on a weekly basis. This infamous angle that was never capitalized and led to Jericho leaving for the greener pasture of the WWF and the rest, as they say, is history.
Recently, Chris Jericho was asked about his match with the fastest rising star in AEW, Orange Cassidy, at AEW Fyter Fest, which was taped last week. Jericho called this match "one of the best of his entire career" which of course is high praise from the first-ever Undisputed WWE Champion.
In this article, we will take a look at the five best Chris Jericho matches of his career, in my opinion. This list is comprised of the best Jericho singles matches that had the best build-up, in-ring work, psychology, and the impact on his career.
#5 Chris Jericho vs The Rock (No Mercy 2001)
In the year 2001, the wrestling landscape was shifted dramatically with WWF's purchase of WCW effectively ending the Monday Night Wars. Following this, the WWF were scrambling to make new, fresh stars in their company to keep fans interested now that they did not have the allure of competition to motivate them.
Chris Jericho, at this time, was a widely popular mid-card babyface who had seen brief brushes with the main event in feuds with HHH and battles over the WWF Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin
On the other hand, there was The Rock, who had just been in the biggest main event in WWF history facing Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 17. Rock then left the company to film his first featured movie, playing the lead role as The Scorpion King, which made him the biggest star in professional wrestling.
After The Rock's return and subsequent claiming of the WCW Heavyweight Title from Booker T, it led to a highly anticipated feud between two of the biggest loud-mouth babyfaces in the WWF.
Chris Jericho was the young up-and-comer who never won the big one, while The Rock was the main event star who looked down upon the young star trying to take his spot. You add in Stephanie McMahon as the instigator here, a heel figure who had made both men's life hell in the WWF, and you have the recipe for an instant classic.
This No Mercy 2001 match was exciting, dramatic, and built nicely to a crescendo, where Y2J inadvertently uses a distraction from Stephanie as well as a steel chair to gain the victory. Jericho finally wins the big one- the same WCW Heavyweight Championship he never got a shot at while in that company. A satisfying victory for Chris Jericho and it was an excellent match that pushed him to be a perennial top of the card performer for years to come.
#4 Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio (The Bash 2009)
This is a feud in which both men pushed management to have in 2009. When it did happen, Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio had everything in the ring that the two men delivered in WCW's Cruiserweight division years earlier, but with a distinct and layered story on top of it all.
This rivalry led to many memorable moments such as Chris Jericho posing as a fan wearing a Mysterio mask in the crowd and attacking Rey on an episode of SmackDown and their grueling Extreme Rules 2009 match where Jericho pulls Rey's mask off to gain the victory and the Intercontinental Championship. This intense months-long battles culminated in a Mask vs Title Match at The Bash 2009.
Both men were in rare form, performing with timing that made sure every move and sequence looked amazing. The story of the match was similar to the feud, with Jericho getting under Rey's skin to gain control. We had Y2J once again attempt to remove Mysterio's mask, only for The Master of the 619 to be wearing a second mask and hitting the 619 to regain the IC Title.
This is an often forgotten gem of Jericho's great 2008-2010 run in WWE, which a lot of fans do not mention and is definitely worth going out of your way to watch again.
#3 Chris Jericho vs Triple H (Fully Loaded 2000)
This match was the first time Chris Jericho felt he finally performed at the top level in WWE. The rivalry between Jericho and HHH started via Jericho's interactions and insults directed to The Game's wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. There is a case in itself for Stephanie to be considered the greatest rival of Chris Jericho's career. That is how important those two were to each other's rise in the company.
Jericho famously gained a controversial WWE Title victory over The King of Kings in April of 2000 thanks to a fast count from referee Earl Hebner, which was later reversed. However, it was not until the summer that these two men's hostility reached a boiling point, leading to one hell of a Last Man Standing Match at Fully Loaded 2000.
The war that ensued was one of the earliest installments of this match stipulation and set a high bar in the company. It was hard-hitting and bloody, with both men wearing a crimson mask. The match would end as Triple H gave Jericho a back suplex from the guardrail through the announce table before getting to his feet at the count of 9 to win. Jericho has also gone on to say that this match was his first true breakout performance in the WWF.
#2 Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 12)
The match that would simply be known as 'Alpha vs Omega'. For years, Chris Jericho had claimed that he would never perform for any other promoter besides Vince McMahon of the WWE. However after Vince and Triple H refused to let Chris use NXT talent on the first-ever Jeri-Cruise in 2017, Chris's eyes began to wander to the wrestling world outside of WWE, which bought him to NJPW.
On November 5th, 2017, Chris Jericho made his re-debut in NJPW challenging then-IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega to a match at the Tokyo Dome for Wrestle Kingdom 12. After Omega accepted, Jericho followed that up with a sneak attack on Omega at the World Tag League Finals the following month, setting up a No DQ Match for the IWGP US Title at WK12.
Before AEW fans were complaining about his push in Tony Khan's promotion which he has addressed himself, Kenny Omega was not only widely considered the best wrestler in the world while in NJPW, but also a man who came from the same small city of Winnipeg as Jericho did.
These two Canadian went out in the semi main event and put on a Wrestling Observer rated five-star classic with intense back and forth action, which molded the athleticism and in ring ability of Omega as well as the rejuvenated heel work and intensity of Chris Jericho perfectly. The match told a beautiful story ending with Omega hitting his One Winged Angel on a steel chair for the win.
At the age of 47, Jericho put on a Match of the Year candidate when many thought his career was winding down towards the end. That is what you call a rebirth, which Chris Jericho is still the main star in AEW today.
#1 Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels (No Mercy 2008)
The very best match of the illustrious career of Chris Jericho comes from his greatest feud ever. The rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho is one of the most riveting tales in WWE history.
The two men battled in a "Teacher vs Student" battle at Wrestlemania 19. Then, years later, with Jericho now a bitter veteran, he took umbrage with HBK using his wily ways to get victories over Batista in 2008 (following Michaels retiring Ric Flair) and the fact the fans still adored him.
Jericho had learned from his past mistakes and decided to take a page from HBK's book, smashing his head in his Jeri-Tron 3000 which was eerily similar to Michaels smashing his Rockers partner Marty Jannetty's head in the Barber Shop glass years earlier.
After months of intense battles and moments, including Jericho punching Shawn's wife, Michaels challenged Chris Jericho to defend his World Heavyweight Championship in one of HBK's specialties, the Ladder Match. This was a different kind of ladder match though, unlike the car crash TLC style popularized in the 2000s.
Jericho & Michaels used the ladder as a physical tool to torture the other man. The intensity of each ladder shot was felt by the fans in attendance as well as those watching at home. In the end, Jericho was one step ahead of Michaels as they had a tug of a war over the World Heavyweight Championship on top of the ladder. Jericho used the title to nail Michaels and snatch it down to win the match and the feud.
This is the feud that solidified Jericho's legacy in the business, and this match ended it perfectly. Le Champion's match with Orange Cassidy has a mighty hill to climb to eclipse this as the very best in Jericho's career, but if we have learned anything, we can not deny Chris Jericho can achieve this.
What do you think you think is the best match of Chris Jericho's career? Share your thoughts - whether you agree with my list or have a completely different list - in the comments below.
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