The first Undisputed Champion in WWE history to beat The Rock (for the WCW World Championship) and Stone Cold Steve Austin (for the WWF Championship, in the unification match) on the same night, Chris Jericho is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all team.
Son of Canadians, but born in Manhasset, New York, although he grew up in the city of Winnipeg, Canada, Christopher Keith Irvine made his in-ring debut on October 2, 1990, at the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling, when he was just 19. years old.
After passing through Japanese and Mexican promoters, Jericho had a short stint with ECW in 1996, the year he would sign for WCW. In August 1999, he made his debut at the then called WWF, the company in which he would act until his departure in the summer of 2005, having returned between 2007 and 2010, between 2012 and 2013 and between 2014 and 2018. some hiatus to dedicate himself to his heavy metal band , Fozzy.
In the McMahon family’s promoter, he was also a record holder of intercontinental title conquests (nine) and was also world champion six times, with the United States Championship (twice), the European Championship (one), the Hardcore Championship (one), the WWF/World Tag Team Championship (five) and the WWE Tag Team Championship (two).
So it’s worth checking out our list of the ten best Chris Jericho matches in WWE, in chronological order.
Judgment Day 2000
Submission match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Chris Jericho
The rivalry between the two began on the way to WrestleMania 2000, when Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho challenged Kurt Angle for the two titles he held, the intercontinental and the European, in a two falls match. Benoit defeated Jericho for the intercontinental title and Jericho returned the favour to win the European belt. Jericho lost the European Championship to Eddie Guerrero the following night on Raw is War after Chyna betrayed him and sided with Guerrero.
At Backlash, Benoit beat Chris Jericho by disqualification after Y2J used his belt to fend off the Intercontinental Champion’s Diving Headbutt, which allowed Rabid Wolverine to retain the title. The two met again on the May 4th episode of Smackdown! , with Jericho becoming champion after hitting Benoit with the belt without the referee seeing it, before finishing the offensive with a Lionsault.
Four days later, after helping The Rock against the McMahon-Helmsley faction, Jericho was forced to defend the Intercontinental Championship on Raw is War . He first retained the title against Kurt Angle and Big Show, but then lost it to Benoit, who was assisted by special guest referee Triple H , who awarded the victory to Rabid Wolverine when he was trapping Jericho in a Crippler Crossface , despite of Y2J not giving up.
Later, Benoit announced that he was going to give Jericho a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship on Judgment Day in a submission match.
Fully Loaded 2000
Last Man Standing match:
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho
In the previous King of the Ring PPV, Jericho kissed Triple H’s wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, although Stephanie’s interference cost Y2J the loss at the hands of Kurt Angle in the quarter-finals of the King of the Ring tournament.
The following night, on the June 26 episode of Raw is War, X-Pac defeated Jericho after interference from Stephanie and Road Dogg. After the match, Stephanie got revenge and humiliated Jericho, slapping him in the face and kicking him in the groin area. Also on the same show, Y2J retaliated by costing Triple H the loss in a triple-threat match against The Rock and Kurt Angle.
Three days later, on SmackDown! , Triple H demanded that commissioner Mick Foley schedule a match between him and Jericho that night, but Foley preferred to score a six-man tag team match between the DX ( Triple H, Road Dogg, and X-Pac) and a team consisting of Jericho. and the Dudley Boyz, with DX having the upper hand. On the July 3 episode of Raw, Foley announced that Jericho and Triple H would face off at the Fully Loaded pay-per-view. And two weeks later, Foley accepted the proposal from Y2J and turned the match into a Last Man Standing match.
Royal Rumble 2001
Ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Chris Jericho
After WrestleMania 2000, Chris Benoit recorded three consecutive pay-per-view victories over Y2J , including one in a best-of-three match at SummerSlam.
On the January 4 edition of SmackDown! , Benoit defended the intercontinental title against Jericho, but interference from Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, members of The Radicalz group, gave Y2J the disqualification victory.
Four days later on Raw Is War, Jericho joined forces with The Hardy Boyz to defeat The Radicalz, as he secured the victorious settlement in Benoit. Buoyed by this victory, Jericho demanded a title match at the Royal Rumble, with Benoit accepted and gave Jericho the opportunity to choose the stipulation, with Y2J opting for a ladder match.
No Mercy 2001
WCW Championship:
The Rock (c) vs. Chris Jericho
At SummerSlam 2001, The Rock defeated Booker T to win the WCW Championship, at a time when the storyline that became known as The Invasion took place, in which a faction of wrestlers representing WCW and ECW faced off against a representative faction of the WWF. , after the WWF acquired WCW and ECW in March and April 2001, respectively.
However, The Rock defended the title against Rhyno on the August 27 episode of Raw is War and against Booker T and Shane McMahon in a handicap match at Unforgiven.
On the October 8 edition of Raw, Shane McMahon, who was the owner of WCW, announced that he would team up with Rob Van Dam against Chris and The Rock. McMahon and Van Dam won the match after RVD made the settlement in The Rock, which was accidentally hit by a chair kick from Jericho. After the feud, The Rock confronted Y2J backstage but was attacked by Jericho. Three days later, on SmackDown! , Jericho beat Rob Van Dam to become the top contender for the WCW Championship at the No Mercy pay-per-view .
Royal Rumble 2002
Undisputed WWF Championship :
Chris Jericho (c) vs. The Rock
During the Invasion storyline, which ran throughout 2001, The Rock won the WCW Championship twice and Chris took it both times, the second time at Vengeance in December, when Y2J became the first unified champion. Jericho had a very active first month as champion, having defended the belt against Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Steel Cage match and against Rob Van Dam, The Big Show and Kurt Angle.
Meanwhile, The Rock beat Booker T to become the main contender and made Jericho fold with a Sharpshooter during a team match in which Rob Van Dam was partnered, while Y2J played alongside Test.
WrestleMania XIX (2003)
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
After Shawn Michaels lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H at Armageddon 2002, HBK appeared in an in-ring segment with Jericho, during which Y2J mocked Michaels and threatened to attack him. However, he ended up lying on the ground after being Superkicked by Michaels. On a different note, the following month Michaels was invited to The Highlight Reel and Jericho said during the segment that he idolized HBK and that he was an inspiration to him when he was younger.
At the 2003 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels entered first in the Royal Rumble match. Knowing this, Jericho wanted to enter the second position, after winning a battle royal that gave him the right to choose what position he would enter. Jericho eventually eliminated Shawn Michaels, but Michaels took revenge shortly afterwards by attacking Jericho, thus contributing to Y2J ‘s elimination. That said, both agreed to face each other at WrestleMania XIX.
Unforgiven 2008
Unsanctioned match:
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
After winning and eventually ending Ric Flair’s career at WrestleMania XXIV, Shawn Michaels was confronted on different days by Batista and Chris Jericho, who accused HBK of selfishness. A match between Michaels and Batista was then scheduled for Backlash , but on the April 14 Monday Night Raw HBK and Jericho clashed again. Y2J said it wouldn’t be surprising if it was Michaels who suggested to Vince McMahon the idea of Ric Flair stepping down, and then Michaels exploded and Superkick him . Frustrated, Jericho asked Regal to be included in the Backlash match and the Brit assigned him the role of guest referee. At Backlash , Michaels defeated Batista, but at one point appeared to suffer a left knee injury. On the April 28 episode of Raw , Jericho accused Michaels of faking the injury to catch Batista off guard and beat him, something HBK denied.
The following week, a duel was scheduled between Jericho and Michaels for Judgment Day. On the May 12 episode of Raw , Y2J apologized to HBK for accusing him of sustaining an injury and gave him the option to withdraw from the match, but Michaels revealed that he actually faked the knee injury. At Judgment Day, Michaels won and then they both shook hands.
Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels re-engaged in a feud with Batista, who beat him in a Stretcher match at One Night Stand. Later, on June 9, Chris Jericho invited Michaels to his talk show, The Highlight Reel, pointed out that fans continued to support HBK and booed Jericho despite the fact that he did the right thing, and then threw Michaels into a television screen, causing damage to the rival’s eye. At the time, Chris Jericho was the intercontinental champion and defended the title at Night Of Champions against Kofi Kingston, having lost after Shawn Michaels caused him a distraction.
This led to yet another match between Jericho and Michaels, this time at The Great American Bash. Y2J from the start of the duel sought to wreak havoc in the opponent’s eye, benefiting from the help of Lance Cade, which at one point caused the referee to deem Michaels unable to continue declaring Chris Jericho the winner. After several weeks away, Shawn Michaels took to the ring during SummerSlam and, along with his wife, Rebecca, announced his retirement. Jericho stopped him and, while trying to punch Michaels, accidentally ended up hitting Rebecca. A week later on Monday Night Raw, Michaels announced that he would no longer withdraw and challenged Jericho to an Unsanctioned match at Unforgiven.
No Mercy 2008
Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
At Unforgiven, Shawn Michaels got the better of him after the referee declared that Chris Jericho no longer had a chance to defend himself. However, that night was not over for Y2J, who was invited to replace CM Punk – who had been attacked by Randy Orton – in the Scramble match for the World Heavyweight Championship and ended up winning the match, becoming world champion. A week later, on September 15 Monday Night Raw, it was announced that Chris Jericho would defend the title against Shawn Michaels in a ladder match at No Mercy.
The Bash (2009)
Title vs. Mask – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
After losing to Jeff Hardy in a match to determine the main contender for the World Heavyweight Championship on the May 1 episode of SmackDown, the following week Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio issued an open challenge to anyone who wanted to enter the ring with him and Chris responded in the affirmative.
The match between the two took place on Judgment Day, with Mysterio emerging victorious. However, Y2J continued to harass Mysterio, accusing him of being dishonest with fans by wearing a mask and not showing his face, and having even attacked him after having masked himself with one of Mysterio’s masks and having pretended to be a fan in the audience.
This led to another match between the two at Extreme Rules, with Jericho winning the title in a No Holds Barred match after taking the mask off Mysterio. On the June 15 episode of Raw, Mysterio was entitled to a rematch but failed to emerge victorious. However, four days later, on SmackDown, it was announced that the two would face off at The Bash in a match where Jericho’s title and Mysterio’s mask would be at stake.
Payback 2013
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
On the May 27, 2013, episode of Raw, Chris introduced The Highlight Reel and invited Paul Heyman, who was asked about CM Punk’s absence from the lineup, in a segment very similar to the one that marked the start of the feud between Y2J and Punk. the previous year, marked by the discussion about which of the two was the “best in the world”. Jericho challenged CM Punk to a match at Payback and Heyman accepted on Punk’s behalf. The following week, Jericho and Heyman signed the match contract. On the June 7 episode of SmackDown, Curtis Axel beat up Chris Jericho after Heyman, who was Axel’s manager, distracted Y2J by playing CM Punk’s theme song. After that match, Jericho applied a Codebreaker to Curtis Axel.
