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The Natural Chris Jericho
September 5, 2005 by James Reinheimer

Many have debated who the best ever wrestler is. From the Harts to the Flair's to the Hogan's, fans have been asking themselves who it is. Then Chris Jericho settled the dispute and became the first ever Undisputed Champion at Vengeance 2001. Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were all given the chance to become Champion but the WWF made the decision to give it to Chris Jericho. This decision could have been disputed but overall it was the right one.

Chris Jericho has everything to be a sports entertainer. He's got the wrestling skill, the charisma and the ability to connect to the fans.

His wrestling ability is one that really cannot be matched. As well as being a high flier Jericho is an extremely talented mat wrestler. Very few wrestlers can say that they are good at both. Eddie Guerrero and Ricky Steamboat are maybe the only ones. Training at the legendary Stu Hart's Dungeon would almost guarantee that he would be a future mat great and the experience wrestling in Mexico and Japan gave him high flying ability.

In the ring you could say that his moves are just average but the way that he does them makes them incredible. Anybody can do a bulldog or a moonsault but the way Jericho did them made them special. Like how Ricky Steamboat did the armdrag or how The Rock did his Peoples Elbow. Jericho has taken a new element to pro wrestling with his style and ability to perform a move and turn it into something else.

Jericho's charisma is unmatched. He is one of the most outspoken superstars in the WWE and can easily do a promo without people being disappointed. Jericho's debut back in 1999 is one of the most memorable moments on RAW. He came into the WWF as a complete mid-carder and instantly stood up right next to one of the WWF's top superstars at the time in The Rock. Although he didn't get the last laugh he made an impressive Promo which is still remembered to this date.

Even in the ring he could make matches interesting with his larger than life ego. The showboating he does inside the ring is some of the best ever. One being his Non Shalon Pin Cover. His ability to mess with the fans coming to the ring and wrestling inside the ring is again only matched with by a few wrestlers.

Last but not least Jericho had the ability to really connect to the fans whether it was in the wrestling business, through the media or in the rock world. As a heel in the WWE Jericho was one of those wrestlers who people just loved. He debuted as a heel but the fans still cheered for him much like what is happening to Christian right now. Fans just loved him for what he does for the business and not his character.

As a rock star he continued to grow more and more popular and fans always wanted to see him. Of course you can't have a successful wrestling career if you're in a band but Jericho is one who has. And even once he has finished his wrestling career he will have something to fall back on.

So that just shows that Chris Jericho really is one of the best wrestlers ever and deserved to be the Undisputed Champion. It came to a shock to a lot of fans as he was an underdog in the tournament with Angle, Austin and Rock but the first Undisputed Champion had to be the best. It was obvious that Jericho really surpasses any of those three and that he is one of the greatest superstars to ever step foot in a wrestling ring.

by James Reinheimer ..

Jacob Kuhn wrote:
James, I like how you are loyal to your favorite wrestler. I think there should be a lot more of that in the world. So many fans seem fickle and will change their favorites depending upon who is the flavor of the month and who is a heel/face.

I personally don't consider Chris Jericho the first undisputed champion. In my eyes, one would have to have held the WCW, WWF and NWA belts at the time to be undisputed. However, in the narrow mind of Vince McMahon, belts most likely don't mean anything if they are not owned by his company.

So, it's all a matter of opinion. I think it was great that Jericho was given the chance to be the WCW and WWE champions at the same time. It's unfortunate that he has been given the shaft ever since, though.

Jane Kopp wrote:
Great article about Jericho, he is one of the best out there, but u are forgeting 2 more high flying mat technicians. Bret Hart and Chris Benoit.

Kenny Wisdom wrote:
I agree 100%, Jericho is my all-time favorite wrester. I have disputed with many people who say "Benoit is the best wrestler" and I've often said the exact same thing as you, Benoit may be the best technical worker, but Jericho is an amazing technical and U.S. style wrestler, and he can also do Japanese lightweight very well, as well as ariel skills. He may not be the best in either category, but he is the most well-rounded. I won't even go into his great promos, because you already have that covered. Thank you for this article and recognizing what I've always thought about this amazing human being.

Sam W. wrote:
Im with you James, Jericho doesn't need a push he just needs the opportunity, I like his nonchalant cover as well !

David Temrick wrote:
I don't think anyone would argue about Jericho's natural abilities. He's an amazing performer and one of my all time favorites. The reason why Chris isn't seen more in Championship matches isn't because of his skill. It's because of two things.

One. I've heard that he's not much of a back area politician. Meaning" Well it means that he doesn't really undersell anyone else to make himself look better to the bookers. Also, he's not much of an ass kisser, which others tend to be.

Two. Drug abuse. Not hard stuff. I mean the guy isn't a freakin crack head. He and RVD were on suspension and then being wathed very closely because they were caught smoking weed after a RAW airing one night. Now this doesn't mean a lot to me personally because the WWE higher ups won't bat an eye at the guys popping pain killers like M&M's backstage, or being on steriods....but apparently pot is where they draw the line.

Anyway. That's just what I've heard, I could be wrong. But it explains why we don't see more Champ matches for Jericho.

mayur reve wrote:
Hi,I read your article.It's really nice to wrtie about a great in-ring performer&my favourite wrestler Chris Jericho.I mean i remember while i was watching Tv and Rock's promo was going on&all of a sudden a countdown clock with Y2J written on it appeared on the titantron.I was anxious to know who's debut is it"and out of the explosion came Chris Jericho a new WWE superstar&also the best.His first promr made me realize that he is the future of WWE.He proved it by winning IC title&defending it in great matches against angle,benoit.Jericho's greatest time in his career arrived at vengeance 2001 where he beat both The Rock&Stone Cold at the same night& became the first ever UNDISPUTED CHAMPION in WWE which no one has ever been before & he will always be remembered for that.It's too bad that Jericho is no longer in WWE but you can't say what can happen in WWE.Well that was my opinion,hope u liked it& do write some more interesting articles about such great in-ring performers like Chris Jericho.Thank You.

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