This segment was a way to spotlight a wrestler and discuss who his/her best opponent was. In wrestling, we call opponents "dance partners". This segment was about who was a wrestler's best opponent based on their quality of storylines, matches, drawing power, etc.
The obvious rivals were Rock vs. Austin, Bret vs Shawn, etc. However, there were others that were very debatable.
In this series, I would like to explore a series of wrestlers and dissect their opponents and what kind of chemistry they had based on the following criteria:
Storyline
Match Quality
Rivalry Rating
It is time for me to take that same concept and present it in my own way.
Today, I would like to explore who the best Dance Partner (Rival) was for, Chris Jericho:
Throughout his highly decorated career, Chris Jericho has had a wealth of opponents as he has honed his craft all around the world. With those opponents, he has had some of the best storylines and best matches of his career, and in wrestling history. It is time to see what dance partners he had the best chemistry with:
Shawn Michaels:
Length of feud: 2008
Featured Matches:
WrestleMania XIX
Great American Bash 2008
Unforgiven 2008
No Mercy 2008
Match Quality: 5/5
Storyline Quality: 9.5/10
Rivalry Rating: 9/10
This was a student vs teacher rivalry that turned into a very personal feud filled with bad blood. As we know, Chris Jericho was largely inspired by "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. Y2J patterned much of his early career, character and even image after HBK. That was the driving element in the early stages of their rivalry in late 2002-early 2003.
In the video packages, WWE would show Jericho doing the same moves that Michaels did in his early career with the Rockers. When Shawn returned, Jericho called him the "Has Been Kid" right before HBK knocked him out with Sweet Chin Music.
This led to a feud that culminated at that point in a fantastic match at WrestleMania XIX. In the match, Jericho matched HBK move for move. Jerry Lawler mentioned time and again that it was like Shawn Michaels wrestled a mirror image of himself. After a great technical show stealer, Shawn wins. They would encounter each other on and off again before Jericho made his exit in 2005.
When Jericho made his second run, he rejuvenated his career by taking on one of the greatest heel turns in history. When Shawn Michaels wrestled Batista at Backlash, Jericho noticed that Shawn faked an injury. HBK confessed that he did fake it.
Chris invited Shawn as a guest on the Highlight Reel. In that segment, Jericho would make a turn that no one saw coming as he attacked Shawn and threw him headfirst into the Jeritron 5000. This moment had shades of the classic Barber Shop Segment where Shawn Michaels threw Marty Jannetty head first into the Barber Shop window. This would ignite the best storyline of Jericho's career. The personal elements of the storyline elevated the value of the matches. This was the Feud of the Year in 2008.
The ultimate conclusion was the match that they have both become famous for the Ladder Match. In the end, Jericho would prevail.
Chris Benoit:
Length of Feud: 1995-2005
Featured Matches:
Super J-Cup from WAR in Japan (1995)
WCW Fall Brawl 1996
Triple Threat Match (w/Kurt Angle) at WrestleMania 2000 for IC/European Titles
Backlash for IC Championship
Judgment Day
Summerslam 2000 (2 out of 3 Falls)
Royal Rumble 2001 (Ladder Match for the IC Championship).
2001 King of the Ring (Triple Threat Match vs. Stone Cold for the WWF Championship)
Submission Match (RAW from Japan in 2005)
Match Quality: 4.5/5
Storyline Quality: 7/10
Rivalry Rating: 8/10
The Careers of Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit were connected, which naturally made them great dance partners. They both got their start as students of the Hart Dungeon in Calgary.
From that point, their paths would cross in Japan where their rivalry would start. They would compete in the J-Cup Tournament in the smaller Japanese promotion WAR.
You can call them the B+ version of HBK vs Bret. They would meet up again in WCW, but with no real storyline involved. Things reached another level when they met each other in WWF/E.
Their first big match was the Triple Threat at WM 2000 for both the European and IC Titles. Jericho and Benoit pinned each other to win those titles. After Jericho lost the European Title, he would feud with Benoit for the IC Title.
Through the Summer of 2000, Benoit and Y2J would square off in three PPV Matches. Benoit got the best of him. Things finally came to an onset at the 2001 Royal Rumble, when Jericho defeated him. Y2J mocked Benoit's missing tooth. The Rabid Wolverine was not smiling. The only way that Y2J was able to defeat his long-time rival was to beat him at his own game with physicality. This match has been compared to Shawn vs. Razor from WM X. I would not rank it above that match, but very close.
Rey Mysterio:
Length of Feud: 2009
Featured Matches:
Cruiserweight Title Match at WCW Souled Out
The Bash 2009 (Title vs Mask for IC Championship)
Extreme Rules 2009
Match Quality: 4/5
Storyline Quality: 8/10
Rivalry Rating: 7/10
Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio have crossed paths long before becoming stars in the WWE. They were both the key players for the Cruiserweight Division in WCW as they battled for the Cruiserweight Championship.
They had naturally great chemistry in the ring, but they did not have a substantial storyline to build around. It was not until they encountered each other in WWE that they finally had a strong storyline to create a great rivalry.
In 2009, Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio orchestrated a personal feud over the Intercontinental Championship that helped to strengthen the foundation of a storied title.
At the height of his legendary heel run, Jericho became obsessed with unmasking Mysterio. He wanted to know why Rey always wore a mask.
The feud started when Jericho disguised himself as a fan during one of Rey's matches on RAW. When the match was over, Mysterio went to celebrate with the fans.
One of the fans wore a mask and attacked him. The person took off the mask to reveal himself as Chris Jericho. It showed what lengths that Y2J would go to in order to get to Rey. Their matches for the title were personal and greatly executed, as these were the very best matches that both men have ever had with each other.
Dean Malenko:
Length of Feud: 1998
Featured Matches:
WCW/NWO Uncensored
Match Quality: 3.5/5
Storyline Quality: 7/10
Rivalry Rating: 6/10
This was definitely Chris Jericho's most entertaining feud in WCW. Dean Malenko called himself "The Man of 1,000 Holds". Jericho made a parody of it calling himself "The Man of 1,004 Holds". The feud was further ignited when Jericho read the list of holds. His most famous hold: Armbar.
Malenko was a man of few words, but Jericho was a man of many, many words. He still is today. Chris would constantly call out Malenko and claim that he was a better wrestler than him. He would constantly take shots at Malenko saying that he could beat him.
Jericho was the WCW Cruiserweight Champion at the time in his best year with WCW. The two finally met at WCW Uncensored, where Jericho would defeat him with the Liontamer.
After the loss, Dean took a break from the company. During that time, Jericho continued to insult him. One night, Chris had to defend the title against a Mystery opponent. Little did he know that it was Dean Malenko. The surprise took Jericho by surprise as Malenko defeated him for the title. Jericho would then claim to be a "Conspiracy Victim".
This feud helped to elevate Jericho's status among the Cruiserweights in WCW and made him stand out as an entertainer. This was his most noteworthy feud of his time in WCW.
The Rock:
Length of Feud: 2001
Featured Matches:
No Mercy 2001
Vengeance 2001
Royal Rumble 2002
Match Quality: 3.5/5
Storyline Quality: 8/10
Rivalry Rating: 8/10
This feud gets special recognition because Chris Jericho finally got to work with one of the biggest Box Office attractions in wrestling History, The Rock. The Great One and The Ayatollah of Rock & Rolla teamed up during the Invasion to fight off WCW and ECW.
However, they still had their own rivalry going. The origins of this friendly rivalry started during Jericho's debut on RAW on August 9, 1999. As we all know by now, Y2J dropped a legendary missile of a promo aimed at the WWF locker room including one of the biggest stars in the wrestling world (The Rock).
Rocky stood there and let Jericho fire his arrows and made him look even better than ever before. In his book "Undisputed", Y2J says that he was more famous after 30 seconds on RAW than he was for 3 years on Nitro.
That says everything, especially when he went on a verbal war with the People's Champ. This indeed put Jericho over more than anything he had done in WCW. After Jericho finished shooting his verbal bullets, The Rock fires back and shuts Jericho down.
At the end of the day, Chris Jericho became a made man in that place in time. The rest of his career would speak for itself. Fast forward back to 2001, Jericho feuds with The Rock for the WCW Championship.
Y2J brings everything that he had against The Brahma Bull. At No Mercy, Chris Jericho defeats The Rock to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Rocky would regain the title shortly afterward. At Vengeance 2001, Chris Jericho made history by becoming the first Undisputed Champion.
The first man that he defeated to unify the titles was The Rock himself. Jericho defeated Rocky for the second time to win the WCW World Title. This was the biggest mainstream dance partner that Jericho has had besides Austin.
His victories over The Rock put Chris Jericho on a different level than where he was in WCW. The significance of this feud is what puts The Rock in the conversation of Jericho's best dance partners.
Triple H:
Length of Feud: 2002
Featured Matches:
Monday Night RAW (April 17, 2000, WWF Championship)
Fully Loaded 2000 (Last Man Standing)
Monday Night RAW (July 2001, World Tag Team Titles)
WrestleMania X8 (Undisputed Championship)
Backlash 2002 (Hell In A Cell Match)
Match Quality: 4/5
Storyline Quality: 7.5/10
Rivalry Quality: 8/10
His first encounter may have been with The Rock, but Chris Jericho's first experience of a Main Event match was with Triple H. Jericho served as the thorn in the side of Triple H and Stephanie, because of his verbal attacks on the McMahon Princess. This infuriated The Game as it led to a great storyline between them.
Initially, Jericho went through his share of struggles after his legendary War of Words with The Rock. He was stuck in storylines with Chyna as he was running in circles. Finally, he got the chance to work with Stephanie and Triple H.
This led to a match for the WWF Title on an episode of RAW on April 17, 2000. The match was well executed with Jericho scoring the upset win over Triple H. Minutes later, Triple H forced the referee to reverse the decision. Y2J returned to give the title back, but he put the WWE on notice about what he was capable of. He earned the respect of the fans with his performance.
They would collide at Fully Loaded 2000 in a Last Man Standing Match. This was one of the best Last Man Standing Matches that I had ever seen, as I was convinced that Jericho would win. With a split second, Triple H won the match. However, he realized that Jericho brought the fight to him. This showed the toughness of Chris Jericho.
In 2001, Jericho teamed with rival Chris Benoit to defeat the Two-Man Power Trip of Triple H & Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the Tag Titles. If not for Benoit being erased, this would still be remembered as one of the greatest RAW Main Events in WWE History.
In 2002, the two would Main Event WrestleMania X8 in Toronto, Canada. This was a homecoming for Jericho, as he was able to close WrestleMania in front of what would technically be his hometown crowd. The match had great chemistry and was well organized, even though it followed in the footsteps of Rock vs. Hogan.
However, it was still a great match as The Cerebral Assassin defeated Y2J to become Undisputed Champion. They would clash again at Hell In A Cell, where The Game would reign Supreme to end their feud.
Conclusion:
In the end, after reviewing these great rivals, I would say that Jericho had his best dances in the ring with:
Shawn Michaels:
When it comes to matches, both legends are naturals at telling a story. When they added the personal element, it took their feud to a greater level.
This rivalry had the most substance out of all of Jericho's rivalries. His feuds with the likes of Benoit and Malenko were mostly based on matches while his feuds with The Rock and Triple H were mostly based on storylines. Jericho's feud with HBK was the perfect combination of both because Shawn Michaels had such a profound impact on his career.
It went from simply Student vs. Teacher to a man disappointed in a man that was once his idol. This was about a man proving that his hero was exposed as a liar. Even though Jericho was the heel, Shawn proved him right. Yet, the fans still cheered Michaels.
This feud revealed Chris Jericho's calculated heel side. This was also the point in Jericho's career where he needed to reinvent himself, and this rivalry came at the right time. Not only did Jericho spark new life into his career, but he sparked the most intense feud of his career.
In the end, it was still about the protege having the last laugh on his mentor. Jericho did it in a vicious way.
It provided the elevation that Jericho needed in order to be the most effective heel that he could possibly be. This proved why Chris Jericho called himself The Best In the World at What he did.
Greatest Matches:
1. vs. Shawn Michaels/No Mercy 2008
2. vs. Chris Benoit/Royal Rumble 2001
3. vs. Shawn Michaels/WrestleMania XIX
4. vs. Triple H/Fully Loaded 2000
5. vs. Shawn Michaels/Great American Bash 2008
6. vs. Rey Mysterio/The Bash 2009
7. w/Chris Benoit vs. Two-Man Power Trip/Monday Night RAW
8. vs. Dean Malenko/Uncensored 1998
9. vs. The Rock/Royal Rumble 2002
10. vs. The Rock/No Mercy 2001
Portrait Courtesy of Rob Schamberger (Twitter/Instagram: @RobSchamberger)
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