Face or Heel: Chris Jericho [Archive]

rated rjo

07-30-2010, 09:03 PM

Not sure if this topic was done before, but it's one of those age old debates regardless. I'm actually thinking of turning this into a series, looking at wrestlers who've held really memorable gimmicks in both heel and face roles.

Naturally, I assumed the best place to start would be with the man who is "The BEST in the world at what he does."

In light of this Nexus storyline, I got to thinking about Jericho's old days as a face. Lately I've seen a lot of people claim that they love heel Jericho or that Jericho's the best heel in the WWE. I feel like people are blatantly forgetting how stellar he was during his face run. He's was and IS still one of the few people in the business who could work a mic as well as Austin, Rock, HBK, HHH and all the greats. Not only that, but he has some of best in-ring work of most of the guys in the business today, if not THE best.

So which Jericho was / is better?

HEEL:mad: http://www.kierantowers.com/user/cimage/Y2J--Chris-Jericho-psd16231.png
OR
FACE:D http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nz2GkVEv62Q/SJxN5qjwPEI/AAAAAAAAAb0/0ciJeaA3TtE/s400/chris+jericho.jpg

Schlomey

07-30-2010, 09:30 PM

he's always been a million times better on the mic over HBK.

dronepool

07-30-2010, 09:46 PM

I like both, but I prefer his older look and attire.

Perry Saturn

07-30-2010, 09:58 PM

I like both, but I prefer his older look and attire.

:y:

Kane Knight

07-30-2010, 10:08 PM

I bet if you do a series of these, most of them will end up with "heel" being the majority vote.

Jericho can pull both off really well, but I'd certainly rather see him heel.

slapmesilly

07-30-2010, 10:11 PM

this was a no brainer. jericho is a better heel

Schlomey

07-30-2010, 10:12 PM

I cannot and will not vote. Jericho is the best in the world at what he does...be it face or heel.

XCaliber

07-30-2010, 10:16 PM

He's great at being both but I marginally prefer him as a heel but I miss his old face look.

voncouch

07-30-2010, 10:26 PM

This guy is one of the best heel workers in the company today. Don't get me wrong, I like face Jericho. I'll take any Jericho I can get. But his WCW days, his WWE debut and his current run? Heel 100%

The Pope

07-30-2010, 10:38 PM

Don't get me wrong, I like face Jericho.

I got you wrong.

rated rjo

07-30-2010, 10:48 PM

I bet if you do a series of these, most of them will end up with "heel" being the majority vote.

Jericho can pull both off really well, but I'd certainly rather see him heel.

I was thinking of doing that actually. Figured Jericho was a good place to start given he can pull off both so well and he has had really memorable runs with both styles.

rated rjo

07-30-2010, 10:49 PM

I cannot and will not vote. Jericho is the best in the world at what he does...be it face or heel.

That's secret option #3.

SlickyTrickyDamon

07-30-2010, 11:25 PM

He is the Best in the World at what he does, but he was way better as a heel whether he was a funny heel or this cool, cocky, heel.

I think Jericho prefers having 20000 people boo him rather than having them cheer him. It's a lot more fun to be an asshole.

In closing I feel that Chris Jericho as heel winning this poll was axiomatic!

PS: I see 3 votes for Jericho as a face, but only one person talking about why the chose it. Boo defend your opinion.

Stickman

07-30-2010, 11:33 PM

Either or Jericho is gold. As long as he doesn't pander to the hypocrites I'm a fan.

Wishbone

07-30-2010, 11:37 PM

I voted face for the simple reason that when I cheer for Jericho as a heel my friends and family think I'm a dick whereas when I cheer for him as a face it's ok

SlickyTrickyDamon

07-31-2010, 12:07 AM

I voted face for the simple reason that when I cheer for Jericho as a heel my friends and family think I'm a dick whereas when I cheer for him as a face it's ok

sycophant - a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

:wave: :naughty: :p

Emperor Smeat

07-31-2010, 12:07 AM

Heel version of Jericho but not the weeny/scared heel he was during his 1st title reign.

Him and Eddie Guerrero's sinister type of heel character were two of my favorite heel type characters for the 2000s.

Although as a big fan of Jericho, I would cheer for him regardless if he was a face, tweener, or heel since he is an amazing wrestler.

Aguakate

07-31-2010, 01:06 AM

I think he should be kept as a heel, but it WOULD be nice if he used a little humor, like he did back in the late 1990's-early 2000's, where he was a heel, but wasn't DARK like he is now.

Jeritron

07-31-2010, 01:47 AM

I say heel because he's had a bigger and better body of work as a heel. He had his WCW heel run, his debut in WWF, his first title run and the subsequent years, and now his current capacity.
His face run in 2000-2001 is still some of the best stuff of his career, and wrestling in general. It was a much shorter time in comparison to his heel work though, and his other face runs in 2004 and 2007 were short-lived and a bit stale in comparison.

Jeritron

07-31-2010, 01:49 AM

It should also be noted that Jericho is such a popular performer for WWE that a face run is almost mandatory every few years, or upon a return.
I wouldn't be suprised if he made a short face turn in the next year, only to turn super heel again eventually

jskinnyg

07-31-2010, 01:52 AM

he's always been a million times better on the mic over HBK.

THIS from The Schlome... AND He is the BEST at what he does, plain and simple... HEEL ALL THE FUCKING WAY... He's great as a face, but he has the knack of pissing everyone off so down pat it's insane... But when he came back to the WWE in 2007... HUGE F'in Face Pop...

Glad he's HEEL though baby... Not a fan of many faces...

Aguakate

07-31-2010, 04:28 AM

he's always been a million times better on the mic over HBK.

...WHOA, WHOA...Hold on there...

...Jericho's awesome, but when HBK turned it on, especially as a heel...they're neck and neck.

Brock

07-31-2010, 04:31 AM

ill choose heel.. because he is the best in the world on what he does..

dweebo420

07-31-2010, 04:50 AM

he was great in both worlds cant say nothing bad about either but I went heel just slightly.

RiX1024

07-31-2010, 05:55 AM

Heel, hands down.

Nicky Fives

07-31-2010, 09:12 AM

Heel..... although his stuff with Kirk Angel and Chris Benoyt was quite entertaining.....

Biggz

07-31-2010, 09:37 AM

Better as a heel except when he was a face feuding with HHH and making fun of Stephanie.

Kane Knight

07-31-2010, 10:01 AM

Heel..... although his stuff with Kirk Angel and Chris Benoyt was quite entertaining.....

There was a girl in High School and her family actually pronounced their last name like that, instead of how Benoit pronounced it. While I grew up with a lot of exposure to French, I still frequently read it as "Ben Noyt" instead of "Ben wa."

Anyway, Jericho's a good example of a guy who could probably be an anti-hero pretty easily. "Tweener" is such a retarded word, but he and Christian are pretty good examples of the sort of "faces doing heelish things" deal that can be done. What Cena should have been, what Eddie was, and what Christian has been occasionally. Ken Kenn...Errr...Anderson appears to be somewhere in the right vicinity as well.

Providence Peep

07-31-2010, 10:05 AM

I prefer seeing him as a heel than as a face, but he's great either way. Btw, for anyone who missed it, he did an interview with the UK Sun back in May. The best part of the interview came when Jericho was asked about his future in WWE and whether he's be leaving the ring for the stage any time soon. He responded, "I think now is the time to stay for a couple of years to help those around me. I want to help the young talent."

jskinnyg

07-31-2010, 11:15 AM

Heel..... although his stuff with Kirk Angel and Chris Benoyt was quite entertaining.....

Forgot about the Kirk Angel stuff... Awesome... Stinko Malenko was another fav...

FakeLaser

07-31-2010, 11:17 AM

Chris Jericho is one of the greatest heels in the history of professional wrestling.

Sixx

07-31-2010, 11:55 AM

Heel, but as stated before, I prefer his old look and attire.

To quote The Rock, he looks like he came back from a Justin Timberlake karaoke with that haircut.

And these boots are mad weird.

Ultra Mantis

07-31-2010, 12:02 PM

Conspiracy Victim Heel Jericho > Everything

bigslimjj

07-31-2010, 12:31 PM

heel for sure.this encarnation of jericho is my favorite of all time.Since coming back I have become an even bigger fan of his work.But what does my opinion matter?Maybe you should call Chris and ASK HIM!!!

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BollywoodSingh

07-31-2010, 03:09 PM

I liked him best as a heel in WCW in 1998-1999. In WWE, however, I liked him better as a face from 1999-2001. I didn't really enjoy his face runs in 2004-2005 and 2007-2008.

Nicky Fives

07-31-2010, 03:45 PM

Forgot about the Kirk Angel stuff... Awesome... Stinko Malenko was another fav...

He was a heel then though..... either way, it was still entertaining.....

#1004: ARMBAR!

07-31-2010, 03:57 PM

face, but probably because I was a huge mark when he was a face, and loved how he made fun of Stephanie.

Stephanie and Rhino standing beside each other in the ring, before Jericho's match with Rhyno at summerslam...

Jericho: "At Summerslam I'm gonna take care of that smelly, greasy, nasty animal.. and I'm gonna get you, too Rhyno!"

Anybody Thrilla

07-31-2010, 04:44 PM

Chris Jericho in WCW as the Cruiserweight heel is probably my favorite wrestling character in wrestling history. His current heel character is my favorite in the company right now, and actually in quite some time.

His original face run in WCW was garbage (even though that probably wasn't his fault). When he was a face in WWE and he beat Triple H for the title in a match that "never happened", he was shit hot and pretty awesome all around. In his most recent face run, I couldn't really get behind him as much as I wanted to.

I definitely have to give the nod to heel Jericho here, and I didn't have to think hard about it at all. Jericho can DO face, but he's MADE to be a heel. He gets bonus points in the heel area because of how completely different his current heel run is from his previous heel runs. It seemed that even his face characters were somewhat based off of his original WCW cruiserweight heel character at their bases, but his current persona is completely unique and completely awesome still.

Majunior

07-31-2010, 05:21 PM

It's Jericho. It doesn't matter if he's a heel or a face, he's gold.

I can't really choose one or the other. Both are memorable in their own right. From him calling Rhyno and Steph "The Gore, and the Whore," to his butchery of names, to the toolbox to the knee, to the millennium countdown, to the sinister schemer, to mic work that far exceeds his peers, to ring work that far exceeds his peers, heel and face are far less important than simply letting him do what he does best.