I think Jericho is a little overrated in the ring (hear me out)

[John la Rock]

Before I take any slack I want you to hear me out...

Jericho is a great talent (as a whole) but I don't think he is one of the top 3 workers in the company like so many people here think. Jericho has no intensity in the ring and his chops look like shit. It's hard to take him seriously (I think that's his main problem).

When I see a guy like Benoit (who has been booked similar to Jericho) I know he's a serious threat to his opponent. He makes wrestling look real and the opponent knows that he is in the fight of his life.

When I see people here saying: "he's no Jericho in the ring" I think to myself WTF? He's not one of the best in ring workers of all time. I can name at least 10-15 who are/were better than him.

I'd nod my head if someone said "he's no Jericho on the mic" because Y2J is definately one of the best talkers ever. That's for damn sure.

I'm not saying he's a Mark Henry in the ring but he's no Chris Benoit either

Thoughts?

[Mr. JL]

I disagree.

I have followed Chris Jericho's career from Japan, to ECW (in fact, I just finished watching the lionheart Chris Jericho take on 2 Cold Scorpio and thought it was amazing), to WCW, and all the way into his WWF and WWE career.

I must admit though, if I had only seen Chris Jericho's work in the WWF/WWE then I would be more inclined to agree with you when you say Chris Jericho is overrated in the ring.

[James Steele]

I saw Chris Jericho in WCW & WWF/E. I then looked into some of his older stuff when I became a hardcore jerichoholic.

The WWE's Chris Jericho is not the "Chris 'Fucking' Jericho" everyone loves,admires, and would have long and sweaty HGA with... ( :shifty: )

Seriously, I agree with Mr.JL on this one. He is not the guy he used to be, but that is a combination of WWE's watering down and Chris' lack of air time to give you a classic match. I think that all Jericho needs to show what he is all about is the air time for his matches. Plus, Jericho can't be like Chris Benoit because they are really polar opposites in the character spectrum, IMO. I still say that if WWE let Chris be "WCW Heel Of The Gods" Chris Jericho that he would be too over to deny giving him the title and the main event spots. You could most likely argue that now (since Jericho has basically been over as hell constantly for 4 years).

[MVP]

Out of everyone in WWE, you think JERICHO is overrated?

You can't judge Chris Jericho's in-ring ability by his WWF/E matches. If you watch his matches in ECW, WCW, and Japan you'll think otherwise of him. It's easy to think that he's not as good as others cause his wrestling in WWE is watered down like mad. If anything, Jericho is underrated, and is one of the most underrated workers of all time.

[John la Rock]

I appreciate the feedback, thanks.

Also I'm talking about in-ring ability only here.

I've seen most of Jericho's stuff and I can't think of a time where he carried a match on his own (succesfully). Every classic match that he had someone else carried. I also think Jericho gets nervous under pressure. He couldn't carry a rusty HHH to a 4 star match at Mania 18 which I belive Angle, Guerrero, or Benoit could haved easily done

[James Steele]

You know, maybe this is just me but if you are in the MAIN EVENT OF WRESTLEMANIA you should not have to be carried. Look, Triple H v. Angle has been done nothing CLASSIC came out of it and HHH was at his best. Benoit has done it to a degree (but you could argue about Shawn Michaels and a lot of other stuff). Guerrero v. HHH has never been done on a major scale (i.e. PPV Match), but I heard Eddie can carry a bowl of pudding so He could probably carry Trips.

I actually think you have somewhat of a point, but wasn't WrestleMania X8 more about HHH/Steph than HHH/Jericho? Also, Chris Jericho has never been given the oppurtunity to be THE main event guy. When he was THE MAIN EVENT GUY, He was busy running over HHH's dog. Also, I would give a hell of a lot more respect to Chris Jericho than to say he was carried in all of his "classic matches".

[John la Rock]

well of course wrestling a classic match is a 2 man job. But can someone please give me an example where Jericho clearly outshined his opponent in a 5 star star match?

[John la Rock]

also James, wasn't HHH/Angle one of the best matches on the card? Y2J/HHH at Mania was one of the worst and it was the main-event

[James Steele]

Dude, HHH/Y2J was no where near the real main event of WrestleMania X8. Do I need to remind of of "ICON VS. ICON" ? Sure, they gave the match "the main event spot", but how in the hell could they top Rock/Hogan? I seriously don't think anything could come after Rock/Hogan and would have worked. Except maybe Bret Hart coming back and kicking Vince McMahon's ass.


No offense JLR, but I don't think their can be a 5-Star match in which one superstar outshines the other.

However, I think that Jericho v. Austin v. Benoit from King Of The Ring 2001 was a hell of a match and Chris Jericho did quite a show. Another great example would be Jericho/Malenko series from WCW was a hell of showing as well. While many won't view these a 5-Star classics, they are indeed great matches in which Jericho shows his worth.

[John la Rock]

ya it is hard to wrestle after Rock/Hogan. It should have been the last match no doubt about it. Bad booking on WWE's part there. I agree with you on that one.

But technically the last match of the card is the main-event and I was expecting Y2J/HHH to be alot better than it was

[Nowhere Man]

Considering the man has not had a singles push for the World Title in almost three years, yet consistently gets some of the best reactions on the show, should be a pretty good indication of Jericho's worth.

As for his in-ring ability, it's quite a bit different from the likes of Benoit (although if you look at the really early Japan/ECW stuff, they're practically identical), but he's got solid work. Even when certain folks in the company (coughHuntercough) put him in a predicament where there's no conceivable way for him to go over (i.e. the Goldberg feud), Y2J still gets the crowd thinking it's still anyone's match.

I'll admit that much of that is due to what he does out of the ring, but the guy can sell like crazy, and has a great offensive arsenal that works for him both as a face and a heel. Sure, his chops look like crap, but unless you're Chris Benoit or Ric Flair that usually isn't a critical part of the match. Jericho's got a fantastic mix of ground-based and high-flying offense, and in my opinion, he's the most well-rounded wrestler in the business.

Oh, and as for naming a great match where Jericho clearly out-shined his opponent, I suggest looking at the afore-mentioned Jericho/Goldberg match from 2003. Not 5-Star by any stretch of the imagination, but Jericho was working with one of the sloppiest wrestlers in the business (whom he has legitimate beef with, no less), and he carried him to a fantastically convincing match.

[Mayo]

I am sorry John La Rock, I love you and all but I have to disagree with you here. Jericho really is the goods. He just hasn't been used properly in the WWE and could have really been main eventing for much longer than he did. He still entertains me to a great degree, and although his best matches are probably behind him, he rules :love:

[Mike the Metal Ed]

BURN HIIIIM!!!

:shifty:

[Kane Knight]

Wouldn't Jericho have to be RATED before he could be OVER rated?

[wwe2222]

What he really needs to do is grow back his crazy beard. He looks too much like a pretty boy, not the 'Ayatollah of RocknRollah'.

I agree somewhat. Im a big Jericho fan but I keep expecting more out of his wwe matches. Even in the short amount of time hes been given, I think he can do better than what hes giving right now.

[Rob]

Personally, I feel that Chris Jericho is one of the single most abused and misused talents in pro wrestling today. In my opinion, he strikes me as the stand out guy who can easily be "the next Rock or Austin". He related well to the fans and media and already has some mainstream exposure outside the wrestling world. Plus he is a freaking awesome performer.

[GODSON]

I think people need to realize Jericho from 95 is not the same guy from 2005. Jericho in ring skills has decrease while Benoit,Eddie and Rey stayed the same. In the recent Jericho/Edge match from Raw. That match was given time(around 15 minutes) and was slow sometimes boring. Jericho in WCW got less time on Nitro and his matches were better. I think people need to realize that it's a different Jericho just like HHH is not the same guy he was 5 years ago.

I do think Jericho can be a top guy if he change his character up a little. Right now, Jericho doing highlight reels and corny stuff like that, he will never be taken seriously again as he did when he first came to the WWE. I like Jericho but I just can't take him seriously no more. Maybe he need to turn heel and fued with Batista.

[YOUR Hero]

Jericho's in ring abilities and what he displays nowadays are two different things. It's my opinion that he doesn't give it his all these days, not that I can say I blame him.

[Joe Kerr]

Thats like saying RVD is overrated. What the WWE allows wrestlers to do as to what they were use to doing in wcw ecw that made them takes credit away. If Jericho could go all out like he use to he would deffinatly be at the top again.

[Altar of Helmsley]

I think that the Chris Jericho of today knows the score in terms of booking and will just carry on as he does now, going from one meaningless feud to another meaningless i.c title run.

Its a shame because IMO i find him very entertaining on the mic and in the ring. Its a shame that management only see him as 'That guy who ruined HHH's comeback' and can't seam to be able to hear the fans reaction to him.

Y2J Y2J ect.....

[AareDub]

Jericho, in his current situation, reminds me of Raven. Most people respect them, and are fans of them, because of the work they've done in the past. Their in-ring abilities may not be what they used to be, but there's not a doubt in my mind that you could market their companies around a solid title run and plenty of mic time.

So is Jericho overrated? I don't think so. However, I'll agree that his "rating" is not solely based on his in ring work in the WWE.

[Karlsberg]

While i agree that Benoit is marginaly the better in ring worker of the two Jerich has never really been given the oppourtunity in wwe to showcase his talents a la Jericho vs Malenko in wcw.

It doesn't help matters that the bookers are hell bent on punishing him for mania 18 much like they have done to RVD since the first elimination chamber

[PullMyFinger]

He's not overrated at all, if anything he's underrated. The WCW days of Jericho were hilarious and great, and when he entered WWE...same shit. Since his last world title reign, he's turned into some shitty face and hasn't even gotten near the Heavyweight Championship whatsoever.

Jericho needs to turn into a crybaby cocky heel, grow out his hair (cuz he looks weird right now), and give him a monster push as champ. He's probably the best talent they have at the moment.

[John la Rock]

^

remember I'm only talking about his in-ring skills. I know he's an amazing performer I never said he wasn't

[PullMyFinger]

Oops, sorry.

Performing wise? You really can't judge that b/c the WWE loves to tone down people's performance. In WCW, he was great, but lately it seems Jericho has been relatively slow...I kinda blame that on lack of incentives.

[Gertner]

I really dislike him as a face.

[John la Rock]

also when I say Chris Jericho is an awesome performer I mean he has a lot of charisma and can cut unbelievable promos. I value these credentials way more than in-ring ability. Why do you think Hulk Hogan was the most Over wrestler of all time?