Is Jericho the biggest wrestling genius of our generation?

[Le Barron de HF]

The man has been able to adapt and create new gimmicks for every return he's ever done (Quiet intellectual heel, troll, his current gimmick, cocky heel, cool face with the catch phrases). Money in the Bank was his idea. He's been part of one of the longest running wrestler segment in history (Highlight reel). He's produced comedy gold like his promo on Steph, Ralphus, the 1004 holds list. He knows when to put his ego aside and put talent over unlike some big name talents.

So my question is does Y2J have the best mind for the business out of the wrestlers of the past 30 years?

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[BonMorrison]

Definitely one of them.

 

[PBandJ]

He's up there.

Very few guys can keep themselves as relevant as he's managed to keep himself.

 

[quoipourquoi]

First three that came to mind were Jericho, Edge, and Stratus. Something in the water up there.

 

[Engebretson]

Jericho has shown that he's been able to put the best interests of the business above his own ego throughout his career, which is pretty incredible considering his longevity.

I don't know if I'd call him the biggest wrestling genius of our generation, and I'm not exactly sure who I'd give that title to, but he's definitely up there and deserves more credit than he gets for his understanding of the business.

 

[Morozov]

He is one of the greatest of all time. May not have the name value of some of the biggest stars, but as a package of in ring skills, mic work, longevity, experience (diverse experience at that) and a willingness to play his part e.g do the jobs, put guys over etc there's few better ever.

When Jericho would come out and say I am the best in the world at what I do every night he was entirely right. He was the best "professional wrestler" around at those times.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Maybe the whole ill-fated "Fozzy" sabbatical helped his in-ring character, maybe not.

Good to see he's focused primarily on wrestling, at least for the time being.

I'd like to read up on how exactly he came up with the MITB match. Did he table the idea to Vince behind closed doors, or was this brought up during a promo?

 

[OmniSens]

Definitely one of them as well as one of the most consistent in the ring.

 

[Kimi]

Maybe the whole ill-fated "Fozzy" sabbatical helped his in-ring character, maybe not.

Good to see he's focused primarily on wrestling, at least for the time being.

I'd like to read up on how exactly he came up with the MITB match. Did he table the idea to Vince behind closed doors, or was this brought up during a promo?

Lucky for you, I can copy and past the actual interesting bits form last week's Newsletter:

When talking about his idea for Money in the Bank, which was largely a concept he created for WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles, Jericho said his idea was that the winner would get a title shot the next night on Raw. So the idea of having one year to cash in and having it be a surprise, which has worked out great, both for a heel title win or a face pop, didn’t come from Jericho.

The actual birth of the Money in the Bank concept went like this. For WrestleMania 21, the booked idea was a three-way submission match with Edge vs. Jericho vs. Chris Benoit. None of the three liked the idea because it was just a match put together without a story and with nothing to follow up on. Brian Gewirtz then came up with the idea of a Hollywood Dream match between the three and adding Rob Van Dam, with the idea that the winner would get anything he wanted. Van Dam would win that and it would lead to him saying he wanted the ECW One Night Stand PPV show, which, in fact, he had pushed for. Vince McMahon didn’t like that idea. Jericho then came up with the idea of a match with a bunch of guys where the winner of a ladder match would get a contract for a title match the next night on Raw. He suggested the multiple person match with Benoit, himself, Edge, Christian and Kane because none had a program and they were all major stars at the time and it made no sense for them to have nothing for Mania. Van Dam ended up not being put in that match. However, they added Shelton Benjamin to it since he was such an awesome athlete. Gewirtz then came up with the idea of the winner having a year to take his title match and choosing when to get it. McMahon approved Gewirtz’s idea and he was the one who added that the winner would carry around a briefcase that they would cash in.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Nice.

 

[Guardian17]

Only one word comes to mind when I think of Jericho...

Armbar!

 

[DenisSamson3]

I still remember his parasites and leeches gimmick in the wwe, he also did something similar in wcw. Something about his tone and the way he says it makes you not like his character, but that proves he is doing a good job lol.

 

[Morozov]

I always wished to see Jericho to go TNA and that they just gave him huge creative control while also working on screen. Just let him run everything.

I know some people will be like "lol no" but the point is that I'd love to see a show run by Jericho. Have him still wrestling, but let him run things backstage as well. You could do it too because you know he isn't going to go all Hogan and book himself as superman.

I've watched his WWE debut promo more than any other other promo easily. I remember re-posting it here a while ago and mentioning how applicable much of it is today too.

 

[Ozz]

Moss-covered, three-handle family credenza!

Been a big Jericho going back to the '90s in WCW. His WWF debut was such a killer moment; I remember all the hype and it was quite well-known, but when it finally happened it was just spectacular. At the time, he was one of the hottest "up-and-comers" out of WCW. He was always solid, sure, but the years leading up to the jump when WCW was gaining steam itself were when he really took off. Lots of people seem to forget (or didn't know) that.

 

[Cor]

Chris Jericho is the best in the world at what he does.

 

[ColePens]

Jericho/Edge, from my very limited information of simply listening to stories, are the two best as they focus on youth and want to build for the future. They see the future and not just trying to boost the current weekly number.

 

[The Lunatic Fridge]

If you don't already think he is you're just a stupid hypocritial idiot parasite.

 

[hbk]

This last run has been so enjoyable. Heat is off the charts. He turned a ridiculously long scarf into a prop. Who else can do that? Elevated some young talent as well. Styles received a good rub. Both came out of that program elevated on the card.

 

[Sheppy]

The last few years of Jericho returns have been pretty "bleh" for me. I have fully enjoyed him this time around. He's been spectacular.

"Drink it in, maaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn"

I love smug Jericho.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I always wished to see Jericho to go TNA and that they just gave him huge creative control while also working on screen. Just let him run everything.

I know some people will be like "lol no" but the point is that I'd love to see a show run by Jericho. Have him still wrestling, but let him run things backstage as well. You could do it too because you know he isn't going to go all Hogan and book himself as superman.

I've watched his WWE debut promo more than any other other promo easily. I remember re-posting it here a while ago and mentioning how applicable much of it is today too.

If that promo happened today the IWC would complain that he got "buried" by the Rock

Its my favorite debut of all time, and he's pretty much my fave of all time so I'm going to drink it in for as long as I can.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Depends on how you define this generation and genius. Guys like Punk, Bryan, and KO would absolutely give him a run for his money as biggest genius.

 

[weastern bias]

I was kind of getting tired of Jericho until his brilliant "I'm ashamed to be Canadian" promo in Montreal

He's the best heel in the company right now imo; if he were closer to his prime he'd probably be a main eventer

As for the topic: iunno

 

[GarbageGoal]

There are times when he's just spinning his tires and being corny, but right now he's on point and one of the few reasons to keep watching. Still one of my top five all time favorites.

 

[PolishBingo]

 

[NYGBleedBlueNYR]

I wish they could/would pay him enough to be on commentary as a poor mans Heenan