5 Reasons why Chris Jericho just might be the GOAT

When people ask which wrestlers are the greatest of all time, there are usually a few names that come up. Some go for Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, or Bret Hart while others will say Hulk Hogan, John Cena, or the Rock.

But one name that is on equal footing with all of the names above, and also even above some of them is Chris Jericho. The Canadian has been a fixture in the wrestling business since the 1990s. He's been a part of promotions in Japan, Mexico, and the United States and he has held Championships everywhere. Jericho has been a part of ECW, WCW, WWE, NJPW, and now AEW.

While the ability to stay great in one place for a long time helped the likes of Michaels, Cena, and the Rock, others like Hogan and Flair were also successful in other promotions. Another GOAT, Tom Brady, has been successful for almost 20 years in one spot in the NFL.

Not only has the 'Ayatollah of Rock 'N Rolla' been relevant for almost 30 years but he has almost always headlined the promotions he's been a part of. There will always be arguments for and against someone being the GOAT, but Jericho deserves to be considered for these five reasons.

#5 The versatility in his career

Most of us know and love Chris Jericho due to his phenomenal character work and ability in the ring. He had no problem putting others over while in WWE and he was a locker room veteran that had respect from almost everyone.

Since he was so successful as a pro wrestler, Jericho tried his hand at music. For those who do not know, he heads the metal band Fozzy. A few of his tracks have been used as official songs for WWE PPVs and he's continued his music career to this day.

If that wasn't enough, Jericho also started the Jericho cruise or "Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea". The second voyage takes place this year and has involved several members of the Elite. He's truly a renaissance man and as is the case with almost everyone these days, has his own podcast, Talk is Jericho. He has done all of these things while also remaining extremely relevant in the wrestling business.

#4 Jericho's innovation

"The Man of 1,004 Holds" was one of the first signs of Jericho's greatness.

The picture above harkens back to when Jericho was feuding with Dean Malenko in WCW. Malenko was named "the Man of 1,000 Holds" due to his technical prowess. In an early showcase of his innovation, Jericho one-upped that claim from Malenko by actually making a list of those moves. In the middle of the ring, he rattled all 1,004 moves off during an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. He then called himself "the Man of 1,004 Holds".

That was in the early stages of his long career. Jericho would then be one of the first big names to leave WCW for the WWE when he debuted on RAW to "save" the fans from the Rock. If there was one person who was able to match verbal wits with the Great One, it was certainly Jericho.

He was able to parlay that into some early success in WWE. Jericho's big break came when he was crowned the first-ever Undisputed WWE Champion at Vengeance in 2001 by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin. At that point, it was a huge honor to go over Austin.

With each return to WWE from hiatus, his creative genius continued. One of his most innovative runs was his final one in WWE alongside Kevin Owens and the 'List'. It was one of the highlights of Owens' run as Universal Champion and it led to a feud between the two. It was also a great storyline of friendship and that friendship deteriorating. Friends turning on each other is a storyline that is always used in pro wrestling, but Jericho made his own so much better due to his creativity.

#3 Longevity

Jericho is currently 48 years old. He has been wrestling since the early 1990s when he was in his early 20s. Jericho first joined a prominent promotion in 1995 when he wrestled for Paul Heyman and ECW for a year. He must have attracted the attention of WCW officials because a year later, the Lionheart joined WCW and became the WCW Cruiserweight Champion and the WCW Television Champion at various points.

It was apparent how talented Jericho was, and after three years of feeling misused, Jericho went to NJPW for a year before signing with WWF in 1999. In that same year, he formed his band, Fozzy. Jericho would then go on to become an important part of WWE for over 15 years, winning titles left and right. Jericho was also involved in prominent storylines with several top stars: Triple H, Stone Cold, John Cena, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Shawn Michaels, and AJ Styles.

As we all now know, Jericho also returned to NJPW to win the Intercontinental Championship and have feuds with Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Kenny Omega. That success helped the Elite and Jericho combine their work into forming AEW alongside Tony Khan. To wrestle for almost 30 years and to do it well is something that isn't done a lot in today's game. Jericho has not only wrestled for that long, but he has done it well and at the top of every promotion in which he's performed.

#2 His numerous title wins

Jericho adds the AEW World title to this lengthy list of Championships he has won over the years.

Becoming the first-ever AEW World Champion was just the latest title Jericho added to his trophy case. While it did briefly leave his possession for a spell after winning it, it's now back with the Champ.

Prior to his most recent win, Jericho's career was already laden with Championships. And with that usually being a big marker as to an athlete's greatness, Jericho is able to boast an impressive resume with titles from numerous promotions.

In ECW, he won the Television Championship. As previously mentioned, he won the WCW Television and Cruiserweight Championships. Once he found a permanent home in WWE, his title resume became even more bloated.

Throughout his WWE run, Jericho has won the World Heavyweight Championship three times, the Undisputed Championship once, and the WWE Championship twice. He also picked up a reign as the European and Hardcore Champion. His big mark was made in the mid-card and tag divisions as he boasts nine Intercontinental title reigns and six Tag Team title runs.

Outside of the WWE, he's won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the AEW World title. That is 28 titles combined won in his career in those promotions. Flair has over 40 combined titles in his career while Cena has 25. If those two are among the names listed as GOATs, Jericho's name deserves to be mentioned along with them.

#1 The evolution and reinvention of his character

The List storyline showed how adaptable Jericho was.

Jericho has remained relevant and prosperous for almost 30 years due to his ability to both alter his character and make sure it is relevant to the current trends in society. When he was initially starting out, he used his mic work and charisma to become a star. His ring work also backed that up.

Once he moved to the WWE, he continued his fabulous mic work. He did, however, remain relatively the same in terms of how he portrayed a heel and how he portrayed a face. He was in his prime during the 2000s and early 2010s but had memorable battles with everyone in his path.

When he would go on brief hiatuses from the company, he would always return with a slight tweak. One time, he returned as a bigger star due to Fozzy garnering mainstream success in the metal world. During his last run in WWE, he maintained the arrogant artist aura, complete with his signature light-up jacket and scarves as parts of his wardrobe. It went along with his "List" run alongside Owens.

As a member of both NJPW and AEW, he's reinvented himself once again as the foreign-born invader to NJPW who doesn't respect NJPW or its wrestlers. His costumes during his feuds there were reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange but represented Jericho changing up his look for a different promotion. He's continued the "I'm better than everyone here" mindset in AEW and has constantly said that he's better than everyone, including the fans. He even said that he was "AEW" after beating Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing.

It's impressive for someone to reinvent themselves that many times and to do it well. Some stars have remained relatively the same for most of their careers. Jericho has decided not to do so and it has led him to success everywhere he has gone.

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