Chris Jericho is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, whose longevity is unmatched by most. Jericho has succeeded everywhere he has been in the professional wrestling world, winning titles in WWE, ECW, WCW, AEW, ROH, and NJPW, all whilst being able to reinvent himself and climb the ranks.
Cody Rhodes’ Definitive 18 Best Matches, Reviewed
Cody Rhodes is one of the most popular wrestlers today with plenty of excellent matches on his resume. Which one tops the list as his best?
Throughout his lengthy career, Jericho has had some tremendous matches against some of the very best, and these range across those aforementioned promotions he has competed in. TheSportster’s rating system will determine the very best matches of his career, and these ratings will be compared to those from Cagematch.net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
10 Chris Jericho Vs. Edge Vs. Kane Vs. Mike Knox Vs. John Cena Vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE No Way Out 2009)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.46
This Elimination Chamber match was all about the storytelling, with Edge forcing himself into the bout after losing his WWE Title earlier in the night. The other narrative saw several top stars teaming up to take out John Cena, which resulted in one of the best eliminations in this match’s history, as Jericho, Edge, & Mysterio all hit their respective finishers on the World Heavyweight Champion. Although the likes of Mike Knox and Kane didn’t add too much, they didn’t take anything away either from what was a very fun and well wrestled Chamber match.
9 Chris Jericho Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Edge Vs. Chris Benoit Vs. Kane Vs. Christian (WWE WrestleMania 21)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
1.75/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.98
The inaugural Money in the Bank ladder match is often regarded as one of, if not the very best iteration of this now classic matchup. Six of WWE’s biggest and most talented names clashed in a frenzied, scary, and wildly entertaining matchup to win the briefcase. There were strong spots, nice character moments, and a defined star made in Edge, whose win of the match set him on course to become a multi-time world champion and main eventer.
8 Chris Jericho Vs. CM Punk (WWE Payback 2013)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.56
One year after their WWE Championship rivalry, Chris Jericho and CM Punk met once again, this time in front of an electric Chicago crowd who treated Punk like a returning hero. This match outshone their previous clashes, with the focus being more on the in-ring work rather than convoluted storytelling. That being said, the story in this match specifically was well told, as it saw Punk trying to shake off his ring rust from a recent absence, which he did so throughout. The double GTS at the end was a great way to finish this off.
7 Chris Jericho Vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW WrestleKingdom 13)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.76
10 Best Squash Matches In WWE History, Definitively Reviewed
Just because one wrestler dominated another one, doesn’t mean that these WWE squashes weren’t entertaining matches!
Chris Jericho’s various excursions to NJPW as “The Painmaker” allowed him to show a different side of himself that worked wonderfully well in the company. His No DQ Intercontinental Championship clash with Naito was one of his best. They were both vicious and aggressive in their attacks upon one another, both rising to the stipulation on hand. Jericho’s heel work was great, but Naito’s work as the good guy was arguably even better. In the end, Naito picked up a massive victory over Jericho to win gold.
6 The Inner Circle Vs. The Elite (AEW Double Or Nothing 2020)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
1.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.21
AEW’s use of setting during the pandemic era was second to none, and the best example of this came in the massive Stadium Stampede match between The Elite and The Inner Circle, who battled it out in a masterpiece at the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The character work was top draw, the comedy work was hilarious, the physicality was felt throughout, and the number of unique spots was never-ending. This is one of the most unique matches in professional wrestling history, and one of the best too.
5 Chris Jericho Vs. Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. RVD Vs. Booker T Vs. Kane (WWE Survivor Series 2002)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.00
The very first Elimination Chamber match is still up there with the very best, and Chris Jericho was a part of it, picking up eliminations over both Booker T and Kane. This match was a great introduction to this stipulation, with a chaotic atmosphere, brutal spots, scary moments, and blood. Shawn Michaels’ emotional victory capped off what was a tremendous World Heavyweight Championship match featuring six legends of the business.
4 Chris Jericho Vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE The Bash 2009)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.23
The best match in the phenomenal series between Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio came at The Bash, and the stakes couldn’t have been higher as it was Title Vs. Mask. The story leading in had all been about Jericho wanting to unmask Mysterio, and this played a huge role in the match itself too. Their chemistry was on show once again, with both in-ring technical ability on display, and both wonderful heel/babyface work from each man. The action and pace was non-stop, but this didn’t affect the psychology at all. The reveal of Mysterio wearing two masks was a classic moment.
3 Chris Jericho Vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW WrestleKingdom 12)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9/10
|
Storytelling |
2/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.18
Chris Jericho’s shocking arrival in NJPW saw him first target Kenny Omega, and it led to him wrestling his best match in years. Jericho brought a level of physicality, speed, and stiffness to his offense which had been absent ever since his WCW days. Jericho really played into the NJPW big match style with some big spots, near-falls, and back-and-forths. There were some inconsistencies with the No DQ ruling, but aside from that this was a great match that played a huge role in the eventual creation of AEW.
2 Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE No Mercy 2008)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
|
Storytelling |
2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.25/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.19
10 Best Matches Of Bryan Danielson’s Wrestling Career, Definitively Reviewed
Bryan Danielson is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and these classic matches prove it.
The brutal and violent rivalry between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels culminated in this emotional ladder match which was jam-packed full of top tier psychology and storytelling. They used the ladder in some inventive ways, but avoided the curse of this just becoming a spot fest. The limb-work was fantastic, the ladder felt like a brutal force and weapon, but the focus was still on the feud between these two. The interference was slightly jarring, but overall this was a classic, and had a great finish as they played tug of war with the World Heavyweight Championship.
1 Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania 19)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10
|
Storytelling |
2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
|
Technical Ability |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Character Work/Psychology |
2.5/2.5 |
|
Crowd Reaction |
2/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.05
The best match of Chris Jericho’s entire career came at WrestleMania 19 against one of his greatest rivals, Shawn Michaels. This was wrestled to beautiful perfection, with fluid action, wonderful sequences, and all their greatest hits, all in front of a great crowd. The story of Jericho trying to overcome his hero, only to fall short, and then low blow Michaels after the bell, was brilliant. This match certainly doesn’t get enough love, but it is up there with the best matches in WrestleMania history.
