Should Chris Jericho headline a HOF class or be a "B" level entry?

[Hanso Amore]

I often wonder how his career would be had they not missed him early.

Yes, he could have hit it off sooner, but at the same time that mismanagement led to him being burned out and leaving in 2005. When he came back he was better than ever and did his best work. I also wonder had he stayed if he would have been more like Christian than what he was...he came back at the top because they needed him.

Also, had he been on the road during the Benoit murders, how that all would have hit him different.

I think his 2005 break was key to his success. Just like HbK came back after 4 years better than ever, Jericho would never have been as great if he stayed.

[Heyman]

Originally Posted by Hanso Amore I often wonder how his career would be had they not missed him early.

I don't think it's a question of having missed him. The WWE knew what they had in him, but simply fucked up for the following reasons:

1) Back in 2000, they over-estimated as to how long they'd have both Austin and The Rock for, and hence, felt no need to try and elevate other faces to that level.

2) Back in 2000, the WWE tried to use Jericho's popularity to put over Benoit and Angle, as opposed to having Angle and Benoit putting over Jericho. The WWE figured that they could use Jericho's popularity to get Benoit over, but Benoit simply wasn't charismatic enough to be THE guy.

3) Jericho's "phantom" World Title victory over Triple H should have been legit.

4) Jericho's first Undisputed World Title reign from Survivor Series 2001 to Wrestlemania 18 was made to look like a complete fluke and complete joke. Triple H then completely squashed Jericho at Wrestlemania 18, and a few matches after that.

5) The WWE completely pissed away Jericho between 2002 and 2005.

Jericho's run post 2007 was quite impressive (as a heel), but he could have and should have been so much bigger.