The Jericho Enigma

[Jazzy G]

He does decent character stuff. I loved the Man of 1004 holds and the list(s). He always felt like an upper mid card guy than a bona fide top guy, especially when Tripeeer came back and squashed him at Mania X8. In ring it always felt like his performance depended on who his opponent was. 

[gmoney]

19 hours ago, AshC said:

Headliner in WWE. Headliner in AEW.

Headliner in Japan. Headliner in Mexico.

Fantastic WCW run. Reinventions aplenty. 

Some all-timer angles and top matches.

Longevity as well. Got to be up there.

 

Never made in TNA though did he? That's the real test. 

[Daaaaaad!]

4 hours ago, gmoney said:

Never made in TNA though did he? That's the real test. 

Au contraire, mon frere:

Distinctly remember TNA plastering "CHRIS JERICHO TO APPEAR ON IMPACT! in a music video" on some press releases at the time.

[Pinc]

20 hours ago, pitseleh said:

Despite all my criticisms of him, I still have to give him credit for able to reinventing himself as many times as he has done. I'd say that is his strongest quality overall. 

Good post, but on this. I personally feel he’s overdone it with the reinventions to the point it detracts from his legacy. Its hard to even establish what the canonical Jericho character is after a while. And its no good for your suspension of disbelief if you’re frequently reminded that the fictional character you’re watching is actually an actor ‘reinventing’ his shtick.

In the same way too many face/heel turns can water a character down, I think Jericho shows the same can be true of gimmick changes. At least if done in the inorganic way that I would argue is Jericho’s trademark.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Pinc

[Guest]

Jerichos had about 6 characters over 25 years. He’s not done it year on year never mind week by week .

comical wcw

y2j

suits Jericho 

list of jericho

new Japan/ pain maker 

inner circle era 

 

if I’m missing any that’s one or two, not enough to water it down. Basically updates every World Cup 

[DavidB6937]

28 minutes ago, Pinc said:

Good post, but on this. I personally feel he’s overdone it with the reinventions to the point it detracts from his legacy. Its hard to even establish what the canonical Jericho character is after a while. And its no good for your suspension of disbelief if you’re frequently reminded that the fictional character you’re watching is actually an actor ‘reinventing’ his shtick.

In the same way too many face/heel turns can water a character down, I think Jericho shows the same can be true of gimmick changes. At least if done in the inorganic way that I would argue is Jericho’s trademark.

To flip the coin, you could argue that his legacy would be less without the reinventions. If he was still stuck in WWE doing the same old stuff now, would people really be talking about him in the same way as now after his successful NJPW work and helping AEW? Probably not.

In terms of it being 'inorganic' - for me, it's actually quite logical for someone to want to take a step back and reinvent themselves to prolong their career and find success elsewhere. It's just going back to the drawing board and finding what works. That makes perfect sense even from a fictional character perspective. They're all out there trying to be the best, and if it's not working then they often try something else.

I wouldn't say any of his 'gimmick' changes have been way out there to the point where they're unbelievable and don't make any sense. It's mostly just small tweaks here and there. He hasn't come out dressed as a talking horse or anything (as far as I'm aware).

[HarmonicGenerator]

1 hour ago, Pinc said:

Good post, but on this. I personally feel he’s overdone it with the reinventions to the point it detracts from his legacy. Its hard to even establish what the canonical Jericho character is after a while. And its no good for your suspension of disbelief if you’re frequently reminded that the fictional character you’re watching is actually an actor ‘reinventing’ his shtick.

Dolph Ziggler's been the same character for nearly 15 years now and I still don't think they've established what the canonical Ziggler character is. I'd rather someone changed things up every few years than everyone being in that same stasis.

[DavidB6937]

9 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Dolph Ziggler's been the same character for nearly 15 years now and I still don't think they've established what the canonical Ziggler character is. I'd rather someone changed things up every few years than everyone being in that same stasis.

Sure they have. Failed cheerleader who has a really really really big problem with Kofi Kingston.

[Supremo]

The greatest episode of Being the Elite would be footage of Jericho bringing this up with Punk after he arrived in the company. I love that Punk never bothered to delete it. Bret levels of don’t-give-a-fuckery.

 

[gmoney]

3 hours ago, Pinc said:

Good post, but on this. I personally feel he’s overdone it with the reinventions to the point it detracts from his legacy. Its hard to even establish what the canonical Jericho character is after a while. And its no good for your suspension of disbelief if you’re frequently reminded that the fictional character you’re watching is actually an actor ‘reinventing’ his shtick.

Why should anyone earning big money on the top of a promotion at his age give a shit about their "legacy"?

[Pinc]

38 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Why should anyone earning big money on the top of a promotion at his age give a shit about their "legacy"?

Not sure this applies to Jericho given he’s been wearing ‘GOAT’ on his gear for years and frequently talks about being among the last to come up through the territories on his podcast. He isn’t a Nash type taking the money. Legacy clearly matters to him for better or worse.

[gmoney]

1 minute ago, Pinc said:

Not sure this applies to Jericho given he’s been wearing ‘GOAT’ on his gear for years and frequently talks about being among the last to come up through the territories on his podcast. He isn’t a Nash type taking the money. Legacy clearly matters to him for better or worse.

It's a gimmick. 

[Wideload90]

Jericho is a chameleon. He can adapt his act to a company and/or particular performer - that's talent. 

Do I class him as a headliner? No. Upper mid-card with flourishes in the upper ranks at best. He's not a Hogan, Austin, Rock or Cena and there's times where he isn't even in the league of Bret, HBK and Angle. 

Is he a solid hand? Yes. Can you name 10 matches or moments that cement him as an all-time great? Probably not.

Miles better than Ziggler, nowhere near Austin level.

I anticipate grief from this...

 

[Mr_Danger]

One of the best midcarders of all time and a shit headliner. Clearly a bit of a bellend and has a shit band yet seeing the crowd sing him to the ring is simultaneously the best and worst thing about wrestling. Above all else though, despite his various shortcomings he’s managed to be entertaining more than he hasn’t. He is indeed an enigma.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Mr_Danger

[Roy]

Comfortably 2nd tier for me. Had one of the greatest debuts of all time in WWF before opening his mouth. Never bought him as a main eventer whilst there were other 'real' stars around like Austin, Rock, Hogan, etc.