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Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW) , where he is the leader of The Learning Tree stable, and the two-time ROH World Champion in AEW's sister promotion,
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
. Noted for his over-the-top rock star persona, in-ring technical wrestling prowess, and his ability to reinvent his character throughout the course of his career, Jericho has been named by journalists and industry colleagues as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. During the 1990s, Jericho performed for American organizations
Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW) and
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW), as well as for promotions in countries such as Canada, Japan, and Mexico. In the latter half of 1999, he made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed WWE in 2002). In 2001, he became the first Undisputed WWF Champion, and thus the final holder of the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
(then referred to as the World Championship), having won and unified the WWF and World titles by defeating
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
and The Rock on the same night. Jericho headlined multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events during his time with the WWF/WWE, including WrestleMania X8 and the inaugural TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs and the
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
matches and the shows itself. He was inducted into the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' Hall of Fame in 2010. Jericho won the Undisputed WWF Championship
once Once may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Once'' (film), a 2007 Irish musical film by John Carney ** ''Once'' (musical), a 2011 stage adaptation of the film * ''Once'' (TV series), a 2017–2019 Argentine telenovela * Canal Once (Mex ...
, the WCW/World Championship
twice Twice (; Japanese language, Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Tuwaisu''; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon ...
, and the World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version)
three times ''Three Times'' () is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of three separate stories of romance, set in different eras, using the same lead actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen. In "A Time for Love," set in 1966, a soldier (C ...
. He has also held the
WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, alo ...
a record nine times and was the
ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
Triple Crown Champion, as well as the fourth Grand Slam Champion in history. In addition, he was the 2008 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and (along with
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
as Jeri-Show) won the 2009 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award—making him the only winner of both Superstar and Tag Team of the Year. After his departure from WWE in 2018, Jericho signed with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW), where he became a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, becoming the first man to have held both the WWE and IWGP versions of the Intercontinental Championship. In January 2019, Jericho joined AEW and became the inaugural holder of the AEW World Championship in August of that year. While in AEW, Jericho would also capture the ROH World Championship (the main title of AEW's sister promotion,
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
) at the 2022 ''Dynamite'': Grand Slam event and the FTW Championship at Dynasty 2024. In 1999, Jericho became the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Fozzy, who released their eponymous debut album the following year. The group's early work is composed largely of
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s, although they have focused primarily on original material from their third album, '' All That Remains'' (2005), onward. Jericho has also appeared on numerous television shows over the years, including the 2011 season of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. He hosted the ABC game show '' Downfall'', the 2011 edition of the ''Revolver'' Golden Gods Awards, and the UK's ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards in 2012 and 2017.


Early life

Christopher Keith Irvine was born in
Manhasset, New York Manhasset is an affluent Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is co ...
on November 9, 1970, the son of a Canadian couple. He is of Scottish descent from his father's side and Ukrainian descent from his mother's side. His father, ice hockey player
Ted Irvine Edward Amos Irvine (born December 8, 1944) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey, hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League from 1964 to 1977. Career Irvine was a Winger (ice hockey), left winger. He amassed a total of 331 p ...
, had been playing for the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
at the time of Jericho's birth. When his father retired, the family moved back to
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, where Irvine grew up. He holds dual American and Canadian citizenships. Irvine's interest in professional wrestling began when he started watching the local
American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...
(AWA) events that took place at the
Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena was the city's premier ice hockey venue from 1955 to 2004 and is best remembered as the home of the first Winnipeg Jets franchise, whi ...
with his family, and his desire to become a professional wrestler himself began when he saw footage of
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
, then appearing with
Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...
, performing various high-flying moves. In addition, Irvine also cited Owen's older brother Bret,
Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promo ...
and
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
as inspirations for him becoming a professional wrestler. His first experience with a professional wrestling promotion was when he acted as part of the ring crew for the first tour of the newly opened Keystone Wrestling Alliance promotion, where he learned important pointers from independent wrestlers Catfish Charlie and Caveman Broda. He attended Red River College in Winnipeg, graduating in 1990 with a diploma in Creative Communications.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1990–1991)

At the age of 19, he entered the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling, where he met
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
on his first day. He was trained by Ed Langley and local Calgary wrestler Brad Young. Two months after completing training, he was ready to start wrestling on independent shows, making his debut at the Moose Hall in
Ponoka, Alberta Ponoka is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 53, north of Red Deer and south of Edmonton. The name Ponoka is Blackfoot for "elk", which is the animal depicted in the town flag. Po ...
, as "Cowboy" Chris Jericho, on October 2, 1990, in a ten-minute time limit draw against Storm. The pair then worked as a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
, initially called Sudden Impact. According to a February 2019 interview with
Rich Eisen Richard Eisen ( ; born June 24, 1969) is an American television sportscaster and radio host. Since 2003, he has worked for NFL Network as a host of various pregame, halftime, and postgame shows and doing occasional play-by-play. He also hosts ...
on The Rich Eisen Show, Jericho stated that his initial name was going to be "Jack Action" however, someone remarked to him that the name was stupid, they then asked him what his name really was, he then got nervous and said "Chris Jericho". He took the name Jericho from an album, '' Walls of Jericho'', by German
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...
band,
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...
. Jericho and Storm worked for Tony Condello in the tours of Northern Manitoba with Adam Copeland (Edge), Jason Reso (Christian) and Terry Gerin (Rhino). The pair also wrestled in Calgary's Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW).


Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1991-1992)

In 1991, Jericho and Storm started touring in Japan for
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fir ...
as Sudden Impact, where he befriended Ricky Fuji, who also trained under
Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...
.


Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and other Mexican promotions (1992–1995)

In the winter of 1992, Jericho traveled to Mexico and competed under the name Leon D'Oro ("Golden Lion", a name that fans voted on for him between "
He-Man He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman s ...
", "Chris Power", and his preferred choice "Leon D'Oro"), and later Corazón de León ("Lion Heart"), where he initially wrestled for several small wrestling companies in
Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...
. In March 1993, Jericho appeared with the
Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Promociones Mora y Asociados and ...
. In April 1993, Jericho began competing in Mexico's oldest promotion,
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
(CMLL). In CMLL, Jericho took on Silver King,
Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' in Spanish language, Spanish) and professional wrestling trainer working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) under the ring name Ne ...
, and
Último Dragón , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
en route to an 11-month reign as the NWA World Middleweight Champion that began in December 1993. Jericho made his final appearance with CMLL in September 1995, unsuccessfully challenging CMLL World Heavyweight Champion
Apolo Dantés José Luis Amezcua Muñoz (born September 28, 1968) is a Mexican professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trainer and professional wrestling promotion, promoter, best known by his ring name Apolo Dantés. He is the son of Alfonso Dantés, ...
in the
Arena Coliseo Arena Coliseo is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico, located at República del Perú 77 in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc Boroughs of the Mexican Federal District, borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or ''luch ...
in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
.


Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1994)

1994 saw Jericho reunited with Lance Storm, as The Thrillseekers in
Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
's
Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(SMW) promotion, where they feuded with the likes of The Heavenly Bodies and Well Dunn.


Wrestling and Romance/WAR (1994–1996)

In late 1994, Jericho began competing regularly in Japan for
Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...
's Wrestling and Romance (later known as Wrestle Association "R") (WAR) promotion as The Lion Heart. In November 1994,
Último Dragón , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
defeated him for the
NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican ''lu ...
, which he had won while wrestling in Mexico. In March 1995, Jericho lost to
Gedo Gedo (, , , or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. The region was formed during 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province ...
in the final of a tournament to crown the inaugural WAR International Junior Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Gedo for the championship in June 1995, losing it to Último Dragón the next month. In December 1995, Jericho competed in the second
Super J-Cup The Super J-Cup is a periodically held professional wrestling tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual Best of the Super Juni ...
tournament, defeating Hanzo Nakajima in the first round, but losing to
Wild Pegasus Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for killing his wife and youngest son. Bearing th ...
in the second round. In 1995, Jericho joined the
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
Fuyuki-Gun ("Fuyuki Army") with Hiromichi Fuyuki, Gedo, and
Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, manager and booker better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's care ...
, adopting the name Lion Do. In February 1996, Jericho and Gedo won a tournament for the newly created International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, defeating Lance Storm and
Yuji Yasuraoka Yuji Yasuraoka (安良岡裕二 ''Yasuraoka Yuji'') (born January 28, 1971) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Wrestle Association R, where he became a one-time Tenryu Project International Junior Heavy ...
in the final. They lost the championship to Storm and Yasuraoka the following month. Jericho made his final appearances with WAR in July 1996, having wrestled a total of twenty-four tours for the company.


Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996)

Thanks in part to recommendations by Chris Benoit,
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
and
Perry Saturn Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for Professional wrestling promotion, promotions inclu ...
, to promoter
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
, and after
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...
saw Jericho's match against Último Dragón for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship in July 1995 and gave a tape of the match to Heyman, Jericho began wrestling for the Philadelphia-based
Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW) promotion in February 1996. In his second appearance, he defeated
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
at the Big Apple Blizzard Blast. Jericho won the
ECW World Television Championship The ECW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in 1992 as part of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Champi ...
from Pitbull #2 in June 1996 at Hardcore Heaven. While in ECW, Jericho wrestled Taz, Sabu,
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
, Cactus Jack,
Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, manager, and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship ...
, and
2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name 2 Cold Scorpio. He gained fame for his performances in professional wrestling promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW ...
. He made his final appearance at The Doctor Is In in August 1996. It was during this time that he drew the attention of
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW).


World Championship Wrestling (1996–1999)


Early appearances (1996–1997)

Jericho debuted for WCW on August 20, 1996, by defeating Mr. JL, which aired on the August 31 episode of '' Saturday Night''. Jericho's televised debut in WCW occurred on the August 26 episode of '' Monday Nitro'' against
Alex Wright Alexander Wright (born May 17, 1975) is a German former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoter. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World ...
in a match which ended in a no contest. He made his
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
debut on September 15 against Chris Benoit in a losing effort at
Fall Brawl Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name wa ...
. The following month, at
Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event currently produced by WWE. Since 2020, it has been held annually for the company's WWE brand extension, developmental brand, NXT (WWE ...
, Jericho lost to nWo member Syxx due to biased officiating by nWo referee Nick Patrick. This led to a match between Jericho and Patrick at World War 3, which stipulated that Jericho's one arm would be tied behind his back. Despite the odds stacked against him, Jericho won the match. Later that night, Jericho participated in the namesake battle royal for a future
WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
match but failed to win the match. Jericho represented WCW against nWo Japan member
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired Professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo Japan, Tea ...
in a losing effort at the nWo Souled Out event. At
SuperBrawl VII SuperBrawl VII was the seventh SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 23, 1997 from the Cow Palace in Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...
for the United States Heavyweight Championship.


Cruiserweight Champion (1997–1998)

On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx at the ''Saturday Nitro''
live event A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the first time, thus winning the first championship of his WCW career. Jericho successfully defended the title against Ultimo Dragon at Bash at the Beach, before losing the title to
Alex Wright Alexander Wright (born May 17, 1975) is a German former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoter. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World ...
on the July 28 episode of ''Monday Nitro''. Jericho unsuccessfully challenged Wright for the title at Road Wild, before defeating Wright in a rematch to win his second Cruiserweight Championship on the August 16 episode of ''Saturday Night''. Jericho began feuding with
Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...
over the title as he successfully defended the title against Guerrero at Clash of the Champions XXXV before losing the title to Guerrero at
Fall Brawl Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name wa ...
. Jericho defeated
Gedo Gedo (, , , or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. The region was formed during 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province ...
at
Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event currently produced by WWE. Since 2020, it has been held annually for the company's WWE brand extension, developmental brand, NXT (WWE ...
. At World War 3, Jericho participated in the namesake battle royal but failed to win. On the January 15, 1998, episode of ''
Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
'', Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero to earn a title shot against Rey Mysterio Jr. for the Cruiserweight Championship at Souled Out. Jericho won the match by forcing Mysterio to submit to the ''Liontamer''. After the match, Jericho turned
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
by assaulting Mysterio's knee with a
toolbox A toolbox (also called toolkit, tool chest or workbox) is a box to organize, carry, and protect the owner's tools. They could be used for trade, a hobby or Do it yourself, DIY, and their contents vary with the craft. Toolbox are made of strong ...
. In the storyline, Mysterio needed six months of recovery before he could return to the ring. Jericho then had a short feud with
Juventud Guerrera Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández (born November 23, 1974), better known by his ring name Juventud "Juvi" Guerrera, is a Mexican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing on the independent circuit. Guerrera is best known for ...
in which Guerrera repeatedly requested a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship, but Jericho constantly rebuffed him. The feud culminated in a title versus mask match at
SuperBrawl VIII SuperBrawl VIII was the eighth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 22, 1998, from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. Eleven matche ...
. Guerrera lost the match and was forced to remove his mask. Following this match, Jericho began his ongoing gimmick of collecting and wearing to the ring
trophy A trophy is a tangible, decorative item used to remind of a specific achievement, serving as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most commonly awarded for sports, sporting events, ranging from youth sports to professional level athlet ...
items from his defeated opponents, such as Guerrera's mask, Prince Iaukea's Hawaiian dress, and a headband from Disco Inferno. Jericho then began a long feud with
Dean Malenko Dean Shelly Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time in the World Wres ...
, in which Jericho repeatedly claimed he was a better wrestler than Malenko, but refused to wrestle him. Because of his mastery of technical wrestling, Malenko was known as "The Man of 1,000 Holds", so Jericho claimed to be "The Man of 1,004 Holds"; Jericho mentions in his autobiography that this line originated from an IWA interview he saw as a child, where manager Floyd Creatchman claimed that
Leo Burke Léonce Cormier (June 29, 1948 – July 24, 2024) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for Puerto Rico's Worl ...
, the first professional wrestler to be known as "The Man of 1,000 Holds", was now known as "The Man of 1,002 Holds", to which Floyd Creatchman stated that "he learned two more". During the March 30, 1998, episode of ''Nitro'', after defeating Marty Jannetty, Jericho pulled out a long pile of paper that listed each of the 1,004 holds he knew and recited them to the audience. Many of the holds were fictional, and nearly every other hold was an
armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...
. On the March 12, 1998, episode of ''
Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
'', Malenko defeated a wrestler wearing Juventud Guerrera's mask who appeared to be Jericho. However, the masked wrestler was actually Lenny Lane, whom Jericho bribed to appear in the match. This started a minor feud between Lane and Jericho after Jericho refused to pay Lane. At Uncensored, Jericho finally wrestled Malenko and defeated him, after which Malenko took a leave of absence from wrestling. Jericho then proceeded to bring with him to the ring a portrait of Malenko that he insulted and demeaned. Just prior to
Slamboree Slamboree was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) held from 1993 through 2000. It was originally billed as "A Legends' Reunion" b ...
, J. J. Dillon (referred to by Jericho as "Jo Jo") scheduled a cruiserweight
Battle Royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
, the winner of which would immediately have a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship. Jericho accepted on the grounds that whoever he faced would be too tired to win a second match. At Slamboree, Jericho came out to introduce the competitors in an insulting fashion before the match started and then went backstage for coffee. An individual who appeared to be Ciclope won the battle royal after Juventud Guerrera shook his hand and then eliminated himself. The winner was a returning Malenko in disguise. Following one of the loudest crowd reactions in WCW history, Malenko proceeded to defeat Jericho for the championship. Jericho claimed he was the victim of a carefully planned
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
to get the belt off of him. He at first blamed the WCW locker room, then added Dillon,
Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
, and finally in a vignette, he walked around
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, with the sign "conspiracy victim" and accused President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
of being one of the conspirators after being rejected from a meeting. Eventually, Malenko vacated the title. Jericho ended up defeating Malenko at The Great American Bash to win the vacant title after Malenko was disqualified after hitting Jericho with a chair. The next night, Malenko was suspended for his actions. At Bash at the Beach, the recently returned Rey Mysterio Jr. (who had recovered from his knee injury) defeated Jericho in a No Disqualification match after the still-suspended Malenko interfered. Jericho regained the Cruiserweight Championship from Mysterio the next night after he interrupted J. J. Dillon while Dillon was giving the championship to Mysterio. Jericho was again awarded the championship. Eventually, Jericho decisively lost the title to Juventud Guerrera in a match at Road Wild with Malenko as special referee.


World Television Champion (1998–1999)

On August 10, Jericho defeated Stevie Ray to win the World Television Championship (Stevie Ray substituting for the champion
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
). Soon afterward, Jericho repeatedly called out WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg in an attempt to begin a feud with him, but never actually wrestled him. Jericho cites
Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...
, Goldberg and
Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...
's refusal to book Jericho in a pay-per-view
squash match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that o ...
loss against Goldberg, which Jericho felt would be a big draw, as a major reason for leaving the company. On November 30, Jericho lost the World Television Championship to
Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. On ...
. In early 1999, Jericho began a feud with
Perry Saturn Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for Professional wrestling promotion, promotions inclu ...
. The feud saw Jericho and Saturn instigating bizarre stipulation matches, such as at Souled Out, where Jericho defeated Saturn in a "loser must wear a dress" match. At SuperBrawl IX, Jericho and Saturn wrestled in a "dress" match which Jericho won. Saturn finally defeated Jericho at Uncensored in a Dog Collar match. Jericho alternated between WCW and a number of Japanese tours before he signed a contract with the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF) on June 30. Jericho's final WCW match came during a Peoria,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, house show July 21, where he and Eddie Guerrero lost to
Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr.(born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He works for WWE, where he is a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championsh ...
and Rey Mysterio Jr. in a tag team match. Fifteen years after Jericho's departure from WCW, his best known entrance music within the company, "One Crazed Anarchist", lent its name to the second single from his band Fozzy's 2014 album, '' Do You Wanna Start a War''.


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1997–1998)

In January 1997, Jericho made his debut for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW), who had a working agreement with WCW, as Super Liger, the masked nemesis of Jyushin Thunder Liger. According to Jericho, Super Liger's first match against
Koji Kanemoto is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer. Professional wrestling career Kanemoto practiced Judo during his hig ...
at Wrestling World 1997 was so poorly received that the gimmick was dropped instantly. Jericho botched several moves in the match and complained he had difficulty seeing through the mask. The following six months, Jericho worked for New Japan unmasked, before being called back by WCW. On September 23, 1998, Jericho made a one-night-only return to NJPW at that years Big Wednesday show, teaming with Black Tiger against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
Shinjiro Otani is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury sustained in April 2022. A product of the Ne ...
and
Tatsuhito Takaiwa is a Koreans in Japan, Zainichi-Korean professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1, as well as makin ...
in a title match, which Jericho and Tiger lost.


World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1999–2005)


Intercontinental Champion (1999–2001)

In the weeks before Jericho's debut, a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" appeared on WWF programming. On the home video, ''Break Down the Walls'', Jericho states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in a post office and
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
approved its use as his introduction to the WWF. The clock finally ran out on the August 9 episode of '' Raw Is War'' in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois while The Rock was in the ring cutting a promo on the
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed "''Raw'' Is Jericho" and that he had "come to save the World Wrestling Federation", referring to himself as "Y2J" (a play on the
Y2K bug The term year 2000 problem, or simply Y2K, refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after the year 2000. Many programs represented four-digit years with only the final two d ...
). The Rock proceeded to verbally mock him for his interruption. Later that month, he would interact with several superstars including in particular interrupting a promo that The Undertaker was involved in, Jericho made his in-ring debut as a heel on August 26, losing a match against
Road Dogg Brian Girard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation (WWF, n ...
by disqualification on the inaugural episode of ''
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
'' after he performed a
powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...
on Road Dogg through a table. Jericho's first long-term feud was with
Chyna Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016), also known as Joanie Laurer, was an American professional wrestler, fitness model, bodybuilder, actress, adult actress, and television personality. Chyna first rose to pr ...
, for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. After losing to Chyna at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 14, Jericho defeated her to win his first WWF Intercontinental Championship at
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
on December 12. This feud included a controversial decision during a rematch in which two separate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title. As a result, they became co-champions, during which Jericho turned face. He attained sole champion status at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 23, 2000, by defeating Chyna and
Hardcore Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Hardcore Holly. After debuting in 1987, Holly worked for ...
in a Triple Threat match. Jericho lost the WWF Intercontinental title to then- European Champion
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
at No Way Out on February 27. Jericho competed in a Triple Threat match against
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
and Angle at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2 in a two-falls contest with both of Angle's titles at stake. Jericho won the European Championship by pinning Benoit, after Benoit pinned Jericho to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. This was the first of six pay-per-view matches between the pair within twelve months. Jericho was originally supposed to be in the main event of WrestleMania, but was taken out after
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...
, who was originally asked by writers to be in the match, took his place. Jericho was even advertised on the event's posters promoting the match. Jericho lost the title the next night to
Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...
on ''Raw is War'' after Chyna sided with Guerrero. On the April 17 episode of ''Raw is War'', Jericho upset
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
in a
WWF Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...
match. Referee
Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 1988 to 2005. Hebner (along with his identical twi ...
made a fast count when Jericho pinned Triple H, causing Jericho to win the title. Hebner later reversed the decision due to pressure from Triple H, and WWE does not recognize Jericho's reign as champion. On April 19, Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero at the Gary Albright Memorial Show organized by
World Xtreme Wrestling World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) was a Florida-based independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American S ...
(WXW). On the May 4 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Jericho defeated Benoit to win his third WWF Intercontinental Championship but lost the title to Benoit four days later on ''Raw is War''. Jericho's feud with Triple H ended at Fully Loaded on July 23, when they competed in a
Last Man Standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
. Jericho lost the match to Triple H only by one second, despite the repeated assistance Triple H's wife,
Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, wreath, garland". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Pol ...
, provided him in the match. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 21, 2001, Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a
ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...
to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. At
WrestleMania X-Seven WrestleMania X-Seven, also known as WrestleMania 17, was a 2001 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 17th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 1, 2001, at t ...
on April 1, he successfully defended his title in a match against
William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
, only to lose it four days later to Triple H. At
Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
on May 20, Jericho and Benoit won a tag team turmoil match and earned a shot at
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
and Triple H for their WWF Tag Team Championship on '' Raw'' the next night. Benoit and Jericho won the match, in which Triple H legitimately tore his quadriceps, spending the rest of the year injured. Benoit and Jericho each became a WWF Tag Team Champion for the first time. The team defended their title in the first fatal four-way Tables, Ladders and Chairs match on the May 24 episode of ''SmackDown!'', where Benoit sustained a year-long injury after missing a diving headbutt through a table. Despite Benoit being carried out on a stretcher, he returned to the match to climb the ladder and retain the championship. The two lost the title one month later to
The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley Brothers, Dudley family members, notably ...
on the June 21 episode of ''SmackDown!''. At King of the Ring on June 24, both Benoit and Jericho competed in a triple threat match for Austin's WWF Championship, in which Booker T interfered as the catalyst for The Invasion angle. Despite Booker T's interference, Austin retained the title.


Undisputed WWF Champion (2001–2002)

In the following months, Jericho became a major force in The Invasion storyline in which WCW and ECW joined forces to overtake the WWF. Jericho remained on the side of the WWF despite previously competing in WCW and ECW. However, Jericho began showing jealousy toward fellow WWF member The Rock. They faced each other in a match at No Mercy on October 21 for the
WCW Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federa ...
after Jericho defeated
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
in a number one contenders match on the October 11 episode of ''SmackDown!''. Jericho won the WCW Championship at No Mercy when he pinned The Rock after debuting a new finisher, the '' Breakdown,'' onto a steel chair, winning his first world title in the process. One night later, the two put their differences aside and won the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Dudley Boyz. After they lost the titles to
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
on the November 1 episode of ''SmackDown!'', they continued their feud. On the November 5 episode of ''Raw,'' The Rock defeated Jericho to regain the WCW Championship. Following the match, Jericho attacked The Rock with a steel chair. At
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 18, Jericho turned heel by almost costing Team WWF the victory after he was eliminated in their Winner Take All matchup by once again attacking The Rock. Despite this, Team WWF won the match. At Vengeance on December 9, Jericho defeated both The Rock for the World Championship (formerly the WCW Championship) and Stone Cold Steve Austin for his first WWF Championship on the same night to become the first wrestler to hold both championships at the same time, which made him the first-ever Undisputed WWF Champion, as well as the fourth Grand Slam winner under the original format. He retained the title at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 20, 2002, against The Rock and at No Way Out on February 17 against Austin. Jericho later lost the title to Royal Rumble winner Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania X8 on March 17. Jericho was later drafted to the SmackDown! brand in the inaugural WWF draft lottery. He would then appear at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 21, interfering in Triple H's Undisputed WWF Championship match against Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He was quickly dumped out the ring, but Triple H would go on to lose the match. This would lead to a
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
match at
Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
on May 19, where Triple H would emerge victorious. Jericho would then compete in the 2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
and The Big Valbowski to advance to the semi-finals, where he was defeated by Rob Van Dam at King of the Ring on June 23. In July, he began a feud with the debuting
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
, losing to him at Vengeance on July 21.


Teaming and feuding with Christian (2002–2004)

After his feud with Cena ended, Jericho moved to the Raw brand on the July 29 episode of ''Raw'', unwilling to work for SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon. Upon his arrival to the brand, he initiated a feud with
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
, leading to a match at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 25, which Jericho lost. On the September 16 episode of ''Raw'', he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time from
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
, before losing the title to Kane two weeks later on ''Raw''. He then later formed a tag team with
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship by defeating Kane and The Hurricane on the October 14 episode of ''Raw''. Christian and Jericho lost the titles to Booker T and Goldust in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, and William Regal and Lance Storm at
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
on December 15. On the January 13, 2003 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, Rob Van Dam, and
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
to select his entry number for the
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
on January 19. He chose number two in order to start the match with
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
, who had challenged him to prove Jericho's claims that he was better than Michaels. After Michaels's entrance, Jericho entered as the second participant. Christian, in Jericho's attire, appeared while the real Jericho attacked Shawn from behind. He eliminated Michaels shortly afterward, but Michaels got his revenge later in the match by causing Test to eliminate Jericho. Jericho spent the most time of any other wrestler in that same Royal Rumble. Jericho simultaneously feuded with Test, Michaels, and
Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...
, defeating Hardy at No Way Out on February 23. Jericho and Michaels fought again at
WrestleMania XIX WrestleMania XIX was a 2003 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 19th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2003, at T-Mobile Park, ...
on March 30, which Michaels won. Jericho, however, attacked Michaels with a low blow after the match following an embrace. After this match, Jericho entered a rivalry with Goldberg, which was fueled by Goldberg's refusal to fight Jericho in WCW. During Jericho's first episode of the ''Highlight Reel'', an interview segment, where Goldberg was the guest, he complained that no one wanted Goldberg in WWE and continued to insult him in the following weeks. On the May 12 episode of ''Raw'', a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg with a
limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...
. A week later, Co-Raw General Manager,
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
, interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was driving the car. One of the interrogates was
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
, who admitted that he was the assailant. Austin forced Storm into a match with Goldberg, who defeated Storm. After the match, Goldberg forced Storm to admit that Jericho was the superstar who conspired Storm into running him over. On the May 26 episode of ''Raw'', Goldberg was once again a guest on the ''Highlight Reel''. Jericho expressed jealousy towards Goldberg's success in WCW and felt that since joining WWE, he had achieved everything he had ever wanted in his career and all that was left was to defeat Goldberg and challenged him to a match. At Bad Blood on June 15, Goldberg settled the score with Jericho and defeated him. On the October 27 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho won his sixth WWE Intercontinental Championship when he defeated
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
. He lost the title back to Van Dam immediately after in a steel cage match. Later in 2003, Jericho started a romance with Trish Stratus while his tag team partner Christian began one with Lita. This, however, turned out to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective paramour first, with a
Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...
at stake. Stratus overheard this and ended her relationship with Jericho, who seemingly felt bad for using Stratus. After he saved her from an attack by Kane, Stratus agreed that the two of them could just be "friends", thus turning Jericho face for the first time since 2001. After Christian put Stratus in the '' Walls of Jericho'' while competing against her in a match, Jericho sought revenge on Christian, which led to a match at
WrestleMania XX WrestleMania XX was a 2004 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 20th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 14, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New Yor ...
on March 14, 2004. Christian defeated Jericho after Stratus ran down and "inadvertently" struck Jericho (thinking it was Christian) and Christian got the roll-up. After the match, Stratus turned on Jericho and revealed that she and Christian were a couple. This revelation led to a handicap match at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 18 that Jericho won. Jericho won his record-breaking seventh WWE Intercontinental Championship at
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
on September 12 in a ladder match against Christian, breaking the previous record held by
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...
from 1999. Jericho's seventh reign was short lived, as he lost it at Taboo Tuesday on October 19 to Shelton Benjamin.


World championship pursuits and departure (2004–2005)

Jericho teamed up with
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
, Chris Benoit, and
Maven MAVEN is a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of that planet's atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of the planet's climate and water. The name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution" w ...
to take on Triple H, Batista, Edge, and
Gene Snitsky Eugene Alan Snisky (born January 14, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Gene Snitsky, who is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment. He played college football at the Universit ...
at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 14. The match stipulated that each member of the winning team would be the general manager of Raw over the next four weeks. Jericho's team won, and took turns as general manager. During Jericho's turn as general manager, the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated because a
Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
for the title a week earlier ended in a draw. At
New Year's Revolution WWE New Year's Revolution is a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 2005 and its name is a play on the Western tradition of New Year's resolutions, being ...
on January 9, 2005, Jericho competed in the
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
against Triple H, Chris Benoit, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho began the match with Benoit and eliminated Edge, but was eliminated by Batista. Triple H went on to win. At
WrestleMania 21 WrestleMania 21, also promoted as WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, was a 2005 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 21st annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2005, at ...
on April 3, Jericho participated in the first ever
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...
. Jericho suggested the match concept, and he competed in the match against Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Kane, Christian, and Edge. Jericho lost the match when Edge claimed the briefcase. At
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on May 1, Jericho challenged Shelton Benjamin for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but lost the match. Jericho lost to Lance Storm at ECW One Night Stand on June 12. Jericho used his old "Lionheart" gimmick, instead of his more well known "Y2J" gimmick. Jericho lost the match after Jason and
Justin Credible Peter Joseph Polaco (born October 16, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Justin Credible. Debut ...
hit Jericho with a Singapore cane, which allowed Storm to win the match. The next night on ''Raw'', Jericho turned heel by betraying WWE Champion
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
after defeating Christian and Tyson Tomko in a tag team match. Jericho lost a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at Vengeance on June 26 which also involved Christian and Cena. The feud continued throughout the summer and Jericho lost to Cena in a WWE Championship match at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 21. The next night on the August 22 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho faced Cena for the WWE Championship again in a rematch, this time in a " You're fired" match. Cena won again, and Jericho was fired by Raw General Manager
Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...
. Jericho was carried out of the arena by security as Kurt Angle attacked Cena. Jericho's WWE contract expired on August 25.


Return to WWE (2007–2010)


Feud with Shawn Michaels (2007–2008)

After a two-year hiatus, WWE promoted Jericho's return starting on the September 24, 2007, episode of ''Raw'' with a
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way th ...
campaign using a series of 15-second cryptic
binary code A binary code represents plain text, text, instruction set, computer processor instructions, or any other data using a two-symbol system. The two-symbol system used is often "0" and "1" from the binary number, binary number system. The binary cod ...
videos, similar to the
matrix digital rain Digital rain, or Matrix code, is the visual effect of vertically falling Source code, computer code popularised by the 1999 film The Matrix, ''The Matrix''. The code is a way of representing the activity of the simulated reality environment of th ...
used in ''The Matrix'' series. The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. Jericho made his return to WWE television as a
face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
on the November 19, 2007, episode of ''Raw'' when he interrupted
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
during Orton's orchestrated "passing of the torch" ceremony. Jericho revealed his intentions to reclaim the WWE Championship in order to "save" WWE fans from Orton. On the November 26 episode of ''Raw,'' Jericho defeated Santino Marella and debuted a new finishing move called the '' Codebreaker.'' At
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
on December 16, he competed in a WWE Championship match against Orton, defeating him by disqualification when ''SmackDown!s color commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) interfered in the match, but Orton retained the title. He began a feud with JBL and met him at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 27, 2008. Jericho was disqualified after hitting JBL with a steel chair. On the March 10 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship for a record eighth time when he defeated
Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...
. In April 2008, Jericho became involved in the ongoing feud between
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
and
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
when he suggested that Michaels enjoyed retiring Ric Flair, causing Shawn Michaels to attack him. Jericho thus asked to be inserted into the match between Batista and Michaels at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 27, but instead, he was appointed as the special guest referee. During the match at Backlash, Michaels feigned a knee injury so that Jericho would give him time to recover and lured Batista in for Sweet Chin Music for the win. After Backlash, Jericho accused Michaels of cheating, but Michaels continued to play up an injury. When Jericho was finally convinced and he apologized to Michaels for not believing him, Michaels then admitted to Jericho that he had faked his injury and he attacked Jericho with Sweet Chin Music. After losing to Michaels at
Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
on May 18, Jericho initiated a handshake after the match. On the June 9 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho hosted his talk show segment, ''The Highlight Reel'', interviewing Michaels. Jericho pointed out that Michaels was still cheered by the fans despite Michaels's deceit and attack on Jericho during the previous months, whereas Jericho was booed when he tried to do the right thing. Jericho then assaulted Michaels with a low blow and sent Michaels through the "Jeritron 6000" television, damaging the eye of Michaels, and turning
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
in the process. This began what was named by both
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
and the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
the "Feud of the Year". At Night of Champions on June 29, Jericho lost the Intercontinental Championship to
Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...
after a distraction by Michaels. In June, Jericho took on Lance Cade as a protégé.


World Heavyweight Champion (2008–2009)

Afterward, Jericho developed a suit-wearing persona inspired by
Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, tw ...
's character Anton Chigurh from the 2007 film ''
No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin ...
'' and wrestler Nick Bockwinkel. Jericho and Michaels met at The Great American Bash on July 20, which Jericho won after attacking the cut on Michaels's eye. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 17, Michaels said that his eye damage would force him to retire and insulted Jericho by saying he would never achieve Michaels's success. Jericho tried to attack Michaels, but Michaels ducked, so Jericho punched Michaels's wife, Rebecca, instead. As a result, they fought in an unsanctioned match at
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
on September 7, which Jericho lost by referee stoppage. Later that night, Jericho entered the
Championship Scramble Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
match as a late replacement for the defending champion
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
and subsequently won the World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Batista, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Kane, and
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
. It was announced that Michaels would challenge Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match at No Mercy on October 5, which Jericho won. At Cyber Sunday on October 26, Jericho lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista, but later won it back eight days later on November 3 on the 800th episode of ''Raw'' in a steel cage match. Jericho defeated Michaels in a Last Man Standing match on the November 10 episode of ''Raw'' after interference from JBL. Jericho lost the World Heavyweight Championship at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 23 to the returning John Cena. On the December 8 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho was awarded the Slammy Award for 2008 Superstar of the Year award. Six days later, he lost his rematch with John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
on December 14. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 25, 2009, Jericho participated in the Royal Rumble match, but he was eliminated by the Undertaker. On February 15 at No Way Out, he competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but he failed to win as he was eliminated by
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
. Following this, Jericho began a rivalry with veteran wrestlers
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
,
Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promo ...
,
Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s ...
and
Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...
, as well as actor
Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. ( ; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former professional Boxing, boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading actor, leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In a Mickey Rourke filmogra ...
. Jericho was originally arranged to face Rourke at WrestleMania 25 on April 5, but Rourke later pulled out of the event. Instead, Jericho defeated Piper, Snuka and Steamboat in a 3-on-1 elimination handicap match at WrestleMania, but was knocked out by Rourke after the match. On the April 13 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 WWE draft. Jericho then faced Steamboat in a singles match at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 26, where Jericho was victorious. In May, Jericho started a feud with Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, leading to a match at
Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
on May 17, which Jericho lost. However, Jericho defeated Mysterio in a No Holds Barred Match at Extreme Rules on June 7 to win his ninth Intercontinental Championship, breaking his own record again. At The Bash on June 28, Jericho lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Mysterio in a mask vs. title match.


Jeri-Show and feud with Edge (2009–2010)

Later in the event, Jericho and his partner
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship as surprise entrants in a triple threat tag team match. As a result of this win, Jericho became the first wrestler to win every (original) Grand Slam eligible championship. Shortly thereafter Edge suffered an injury and Jericho revealed a clause in his contract to allow Edge to be replaced and Jericho's reign to continue uninterrupted. At Night of Champions on July 26, Jericho revealed Big Show as his new tag team partner, creating a team that would come to called Jeri-Show. The duo defeated
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...
and
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
to retain the championship. Jeri-Show successfully defended the title against Cryme Tyme at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 23,
MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...
and
Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...
at Breaking Point on September 13 and
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
and
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
on October 4. At
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 22, both Jericho and Big Show took part in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but the Undertaker successfully retained the title. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, Jeri-Show lost the tag titles to
D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...
(DX) (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. As a member of the SmackDown brand, Jericho could only appear on ''Raw'' as a champion and DX intentionally disqualified themselves in a rematch to force Jericho off the show. On the January 4, 2010, episode of ''Raw'', DX defeated Jeri-Show to retain the championship once again, marking the end of Jeri-Show. Jericho entered the 2010 Royal Rumble match on January 31, but was eliminated by the returning Edge, his former tag team partner, who went on to win the match. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
on February 21, Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, defeating The Undertaker, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and
R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...
following interference from Shawn Michaels. The next night on ''Raw'', Edge used his Royal Rumble win to challenge Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at
WrestleMania XXVI WrestleMania XXVI was a 2010 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 26th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 28, ...
on March 28. Jericho defeated Edge at WrestleMania to retain the title, but lost the championship to
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...
on the following episode of ''SmackDown'', who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Jericho then failed to regain the title from Swagger in a triple-threat match also involving Edge on the April 16 episode of ''SmackDown''. Jericho and Edge continued their feud leading into Extreme Rules on April 25, where Jericho was defeated in a steel cage match. Jericho was drafted to the Raw brand in the 2010 WWE draft. He formed a brief tag team with
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
and unsuccessfully challenged
The Hart Dynasty The Hart Dynasty was a Canadian professional wrestling stable who appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE). The unit consisted of the tag team of Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, and Natalya as a manager. The group was named due to th ...
for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at Over the Limit on May 23. A month later, Jericho lost to Evan Bourne at Fatal 4-Way on June 20, but won a rematch during the following night on ''Raw'', where he put his career on the line. On the July 19 episode of ''Raw'', after being assaulted by The Nexus, Jericho teamed with rivals Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, Daniel Bryan and
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
in a team led by John Cena to face The Nexus at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 15. Jericho and Cena bickered over leadership of the team, which led to him and Edge attacking Cena during the SummerSlam match that they won. Jericho was punished for not showing solidarity against The Nexus, when he was removed from a Six-Pack Challenge for
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...
's WWE Championship at Night of Champions on September 19. Although he re-earned his place in the match after defeating The Hart Dynasty in a handicap steel cage match, he was the first man eliminated from the match at Night of Champions. On the September 27 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho faced
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
who punted him in the head. This was used to explain Jericho's departure from WWE.


Second return to WWE (2011–2018, 2022)


Feud with CM Punk (2011–2012)

Beginning in November 2011, WWE aired cryptic vignettes that promoted a wrestler's return, making his appearance on January 2, 2012, episode of ''Raw SuperShow''. He participated in the Royal Rumble match at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 29, he was eliminated last by Sheamus. Leading to WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, Jericho feuded with WWE Champion CM Punk over the moniker "the Best in the World". In a bid to psychologically unsettle Punk, Jericho revealed that Punk's father was an alcoholic and Punk's sister was a drug addict, which contradicted Punk's
straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...
philosophy. Jericho faced Punk for the title at WrestleMania and Extreme Rules on April 29 in a Chicago Street Fight, but Punk won both matches.


Championship pursuits (2012–2013)

On May 24 at a WWE live event in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, Jericho wrestled a match against CM Punk, during which Jericho kicked a Brazilian flag, causing local police to intervene and threaten Jericho with arrest. Jericho issued an apology to the audience, enabling the event to resume. The following day, WWE suspended Jericho for 30 days while apologizing to the people and government of Brazil. Jericho returned on the June 25 episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', and his absence was explained by a European tour with his band Fozzy which happened to coincide with his suspension. After losing the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match on July 15, Jericho feuded with the newly crowned Mr. Money in the Bank, Dolph Ziggler, turning face for the first time since 2008. Despite Jericho defeating Ziggler at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 19, he lost to Ziggler the following night on ''Raw'', and, as a result, Ziggler retained his Money in the Bank contract and Jericho was terminated from WWE. This was used to write him off so he could tour with Fozzy for the remainder of the year. On January 27, 2013, Jericho returned after a five-month hiatus entering the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
match as the second entrant. Jericho lasted over 47 minutes before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. On the March 18 episode of ''Raw'', The Miz and Jericho faced Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship, but Barrett retained his title. Jericho asked Vince McMahon to face Barrett and win his 10th Intercontinental title at
WrestleMania 29 WrestleMania 29, also promoted as WrestleMania NY/NJ, was a 2013 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was the 29th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 7, 2013, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New J ...
on April 7, but he was booked in a feud with
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...
, losing to Fandango at WrestleMania, but Jericho won a rematch at Extreme Rules on May 19. He then faced the returning CM Punk at Payback on June 16, where he was defeated. Jericho then began feuding with Ryback, which led to a singles match on July 14 at Money in the Bank, where Ryback emerged victorious. On the July 19 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jericho unsuccessfully challenged Curtis Axel for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and was afterwards attacked by Ryback. This was done to write Jericho off television as he was taking a temporary hiatus to tour with Fozzy for the remainder of the year and possibly January and February. In a November interview for WWE.com, Jericho revealed that he would not be a full-time wrestler due to his musical and acting ventures.


Various sporadic feuds (2014–2016)

After an eleven-month hiatus, Jericho returned on the June 30, 2014, episode of ''Raw'', attacking
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
, who had also returned minutes earlier. The Wyatt Family then interrupted and ultimately attacked Jericho. Jericho faced
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...
at
Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
on July 20 in a winning effort. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 17, with Wyatt Family members
Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...
and Erick Rowan banned from ringside, Wyatt picked up the victory. On the September 8 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho lost to Wyatt in a steel cage match, ending the feud. Jericho then feuded with Randy Orton, who had attacked him the week before after his match against Wyatt in the trainers room. Orton defeated him at Night of Champions on September 21. Throughout the rest of October and November, Jericho wrestled exclusively at live events, defeating Bray Wyatt. Jericho returned to WWE television in December as the guest general manager of the December 15 episode of ''Raw''. Jericho booked himself in a street fight against
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
in the main event, which led to the return of
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
. Before the match could begin, Lesnar attacked Jericho with an '' F-5''. In January 2015, Jericho revealed that he signed an exclusive WWE contract, under which he would compete at 16 house shows only. He later signed a similar contract once the former expired and competed at house shows throughout the rest of 2015. During this time he wrestled against the likes of
Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...
, Kevin Owens and King Barrett in winning efforts. In May 2015, Jericho was one of the hosts of '' Tough Enoughs sixth season. Jericho also hosted two ''Live! With Chris Jericho'' specials on the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...
during 2015; his guests were John Cena and Stephanie McMahon. Jericho made his televised return at The Beast in the East on July 4, defeating Neville. At Night of Champions on September 20, Jericho was revealed as the mystery partner of
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
and
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...
, facing The Wyatt Family in a losing effort. On October 3, Jericho unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Owens for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Live from Madison Square Garden. The match marked 20 years since Jericho's debut with ECW while also celebrating his 25th year as a professional wrestler in total. On the January 4, 2016, episode of ''Raw'', Jericho returned to in-ring competition full-time and confronted The New Day. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 24, Jericho entered as the sixth entrant, lasting over 50 minutes, before being eliminated by
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...
. On the January 25 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho faced the recently debuted
AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (or A.J. Styles), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, ...
in a losing effort. Following the match, after initial hesitation by Jericho, the pair shook hands. On the February 11 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jericho defeated Styles. At Fastlane on February 21, Styles was victorious in a third match between the pair. On the February 22 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho and Styles formed a tag team, dubbed Y2AJ. Following their loss against The New Day on the March 7 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho attacked Styles, ending their alliance, claiming that he was sick of the fans chanting for Styles instead of him, turning
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
in the process. Their feud culminated at
WrestleMania 32 WrestleMania 32 was a 2016 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 32nd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T ...
on April 3, where Jericho defeated Styles. However, on the April 4 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho competed in a fatal-four-way match against Styles, Kevin Owens and Cesaro to determine the No. 1 contender for the
WWE World Heavyweight Championship WWE World Heavyweight Championship may refer to: * World Heavyweight Championship (WWE, 2002–2013), a professional wrestling championship that existed between 2002 and 2013 * World Heavyweight Championship (WWE, 2023–present), a professional ...
in a losing effort after being pinned by Styles, ending their feud. The following week on ''Raw'',
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...
interrupted ''The Highlight Reel'', handing Jericho a note from
Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...
replacing the show with ''The Ambrose Asylum'', igniting a feud between the two. During this time, Jericho tweaked his gimmick. He became arrogant and childish while wearing expensive scarfs and calling everyone who appeased him "stupid idiots". At Payback on May 1, Jericho faced Ambrose in a losing effort. After attacking one another and Ambrose destroying Jericho's light-up ring jacket, Jericho was challenged by Ambrose to an Asylum match at Extreme Rules on May 22, where Ambrose again defeated Jericho after Jericho was thrown in a pile of thumbtacks. On the May 23 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho defeated Apollo Crews to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...
at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on June 19, where Jericho was unsuccessful as the match was won by Ambrose. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Jericho was drafted to the Raw brand. At
Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
on July 24, Jericho hosted a ''Highlight Reel'' segment with the returning
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
, where he took an ''RKO'' from Orton after he insulted him. The next night on ''Raw'', Jericho competed in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for the newly created
WWE Universal Championship The WWE Universal Championship was a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Established in 2016, it was the third overall men's world championship created by the compan ...
at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 21, but he was unsuccessful, as
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
won the match.


The List of Jericho (2016–2017)

At SummerSlam, Jericho and Kevin Owens defeated Enzo and Cass. Both wrestlers began an alliance, allowing Owens to win the
WWE Universal Championship The WWE Universal Championship was a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Established in 2016, it was the third overall men's world championship created by the compan ...
. Jericho also started a new character, where he began a list called "The List of Jericho", where he wrote down the name of the person that bothered him and why. If someone annoyed Jericho, he would ask "you know what happens?" before shouting "you just made the list!" and writing the person's name down. The List of Jericho soon became incredibly popular with the fans, with many critics describing Jericho and his list as "easily one of the best moments of ''Raw'''s broadcast". During Owens' reign, Jericho assisted him to retain the title. Jericho also defeated
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
in a handicap match also involving Owens on the January 9 episode of ''Raw'' to win the WWE United States title, becoming Grand Slam winner under the current format. Due to interfering multiple times in Owens's matches, Jericho was suspended above the ring in a shark proof cage during Reigns's rematch at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
pay-per-view event. Owens nonetheless retained the championship after Braun Strowman, taking advantage of the added no disqualification stipulation, interfered. Also at the event, Jericho entered as the second entrant in the Royal Rumble match, lasting over an hour (thus breaking the record with a cumulative time of over five hours) and being the third to last before being eliminated by Reigns. In February, a feud started between Jericho and Owens after Jericho accepted a Universal Championship challenge from Goldberg on Owens's behalf. On the February 13 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho held a "Festival of Friendship" for Owens, who attacked Jericho, ending their alliance. Jericho returned at Fastlane on March 5, distracting Owens during his match with Goldberg and causing Owens to lose the Universal Championship, turning face again in the process. This led to a match between Jericho and Owens at
WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was a 2017 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 33rd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping Wo ...
, where Jericho lost the title. At Payback on April 30, Jericho defeated Owens to regain the title and moved to the SmackDown brand, but lost it back to him two nights later on ''SmackDown Live''. Following the match, Owens attacked Jericho, who was carried out on a stretcher. Thus, Jericho was written off television so he could fulfill his commitments to tour with and promote his new album with Fozzy. Jericho made a surprise return at a house show in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
on June 28, where he lost to Hideo Itami.


Final matches and departure (2017–2018)

On the July 25 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', Jericho participated in a triple threat match against Owens and Styles for the title in which Jericho was pinned by Styles. On January 22, 2018, during the 25th Anniversary of ''Raw'', Jericho appeared backstage in a segment with
Elias Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...
, putting him on The List of Jericho. At the Greatest Royal Rumble, Jericho was the final entrant in the 50-man
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
, eliminating Shelton Benjamin before being eliminated by the eventual winner
Braun Strowman Adam Joseph Scherr (born September 6, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Strongman (strength athlete), strongman. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2013 to 2025, where he performed un ...
. This event marked Jericho's final in-ring appearance with WWE to date. In September 2019, during an interview for the Mature Audiences Mayhem Podcast, Jericho explained that an incident occurred that made him finalize a decision to leave WWE. Even though Jericho was with the WWE for 15 years, at
WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was a 2017 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 33rd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping Wo ...
in 2017, the match between Jericho and Kevin Owens (an established feud) was marked as second place on the WrestleMania match card for the United States Championship. The decision, made by Vince McMahon, prompted Jericho to seek work elsewhere.


Cameo (2022)

On the June 27, 2022 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho made an appearance via video message to congratulate John Cena on his career.


Return to NJPW (2017–2020)

On November 5, 2017, Jericho returned to NJPW in a pre-taped vignette, challenging
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome for Omega's IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The match, dubbed "Alpha vs. Omega", was Jericho's first match outside of
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
since he left WCW in July 1999. Journalist
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
wrote that Jericho's WWE contract had expired and that he was a "free agent". NJPW also referred to Jericho as a free agent. In contrast, the ''
Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards References External links

* http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp Official website 1960 establishments in Japan Da ...
'' newspaper described an anonymous NJPW official saying that Jericho is still under contract with WWE, and that WWE chairman Vince McMahon had given him permission to wrestle this match in NJPW. At the event, Jericho was defeated by Omega. It was later revealed that the match was awarded a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer of the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
''. This was the first of his career. Jericho's next feud was against
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...
, defeating him at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall to win the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship The was a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was officially announced on January 5, 2011, and the Inaugural Champion MVP wa ...
. After retaining the title against Evil at Power Struggle, he lost it against Naito at
Wrestle Kingdom 13 Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2019 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the twenty-eighth January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the ...
. Jericho's last matches with NJPW were at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, being defeated by
Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a member of the Don Callis Family stable and is the current AEW Continental Champion in his first reign. Known as the , he is b ...
for the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IW ...
, and at Wrestle Kingdom 14, where he defeated
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...
.


Return to the independent circuit (2018–2019, 2023–present)

On September 1, 2018, Jericho (disguised as Penta El Zero) appeared at the All In show promoted by Cody and The Young Bucks, where he attacked
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
following Omega's victory over Penta to promote his upcoming Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise. In October 2018, Jericho organized Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea, a series of professional wrestling matches originating from Jericho's cruise ship, which embarked from
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and featured wrestlers from
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
. On May 3, 2019, Jericho appeared at a Southern Honor Wrestling event, where he was attacked by Kenny Omega. On January 8, 2023, Jericho made his debut for
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...
(PWG), as part of PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2023 night 2, where he teamed with the Jericho Appreciation Society ( Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker,
Matt Menard Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
and Sammy Guevara) to defeat the team of Jonathan Gresham, Kevin Blackwood, Michael Oku, Player Uno, and SB Kento in a ten-man tag team match. On August 26, 2023, Jericho made his surprise debut for
Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wre ...
(RevPro) at RevPro 11th Anniversary Show by attacking
Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW International Champion. He is also known for his eight year tenure with New Japa ...
ahead of their match at All In. On December 3, 2023, Jericho made a surprise appearance at Vietnam Pro Wrestling (VPW).


All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2019–present)


The Inner Circle (2019–2021)

On January 8, 2019, Jericho made a surprise appearance at a media event organized by the upstart
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW) promotion. Shortly afterwards, Jericho was filmed signing a full-time performers three-year contract with AEW. Jericho defeated
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
at the promotion's inaugural event Double or Nothing on May 25, and went on to defeat
Adam Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW ...
at All Out on August 31 to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. On the premiere episode of ''
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
'' on October 2, Jericho allied himself with Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz, creating a stable that would be known as The Inner Circle. Jericho would make successful title defences against
Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...
on the October 16 episode of ''Dynamite'', Cody at Full Gear on November 9, and
Scorpio Sky Schuyler Andrews (born April 2, 1983), better known by the ring name Scorpio Sky, is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW TNT Champion and ...
on the Thanksgiving Eve special episode on November 27. In December, Jericho started a feud with
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...
where he tried to convide Moxley to join the group. At
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on February 29, 2020, Jericho lost the title to Moxley. After losing the championship, Jericho and The Inner Circle began a feud with The Elite (Adam Page, Cody, Kenny Omega and
The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
). At Double or Nothing on May 23, The Inner Circle were defeated by Page, Omega, The Young Bucks and
Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he a former List of TNA World Tag Team Champions, three time TNA Wor ...
in a
Stadium Stampede match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
. Jericho next began a rivalry with
Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is ...
, with Jericho defeating him on the Fyter Fest episode of ''Dynamite'' on July 8, but losing a rematch on the August 12 episode of ''Dynamite''. The two faced once again at All Out on September 5, in a Mimosa Mayhem match, which Jericho lost. Beginning in October, Jericho began a feud with MJF, who requested to join the Inner Circle, despite disapproval from Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz. Jericho and MJF wrestled in a match at the Full Gear event on November 7, which MJF won, thus allowing him to join the Inner Circle. On the Beach Break episode of ''Dynamite'' on February 3, 2021, Jericho and MJF won a tag team battle royal to become the number one contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
event on March 7 against The Young Bucks, which they were unsuccessful in winning. On the March 10 episode of ''Dynamite'', MJF betrayed and left The Inner Circle after revealing he had been secretly plotting against them and building his own stable, The Pinnacle—consisting of Wardlow,
Shawn Spears Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Shawn Spears, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE NXT, NXT WWE brand extension, ...
and FTR ( Cash Wheeler and
Dax Harwood David Michael Harwood (born June 30, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Dax Harwood. Teamed with Cash Wheeler as FTR, Harwood is a two-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. H ...
) turning the Inner Circle
face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
. On the Blood and Guts episode of ''Dynamite'' on May 5, The Inner Circle lost to The Pinnacle in the inaugural Blood and Guts match. However, in the main event of Double or Nothing on May 30, The Inner Circle defeated The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede match, after Sammy Guevara pinned Shawn Spears. Jericho then began pursuing another match with MJF, who stated that he would first have to defeat a gauntlet of opponents selected by MJF, in a series dubbed the "Labors of Jericho". Jericho would defeat each of MJF's handpicked opponents (
Shawn Spears Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Shawn Spears, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE NXT, NXT WWE brand extension, ...
, Nick Gage,
Juventud Guerrera Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández (born November 23, 1974), better known by his ring name Juventud "Juvi" Guerrera, is a Mexican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing on the independent circuit. Guerrera is best known for ...
and Wardlow) and faced MJF in the final labor on the August 18 episode of ''Dynamite'', but he was defeated. Jericho demanded one more match, stipulating that if he lost, he would retire from in-ring competition, which MJF accepted. At All Out on September 5, Jericho defeated MJF to maintain his career and end their feud. Following All Out, The Inner Circle started a rivalry with Men of the Year (
Ethan Page Julian Micevski (born September 20, 1989), better known by his ring name Ethan Page, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand, and is ...
and
Scorpio Sky Schuyler Andrews (born April 2, 1983), better known by the ring name Scorpio Sky, is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW TNT Champion and ...
), and their ally,
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
(MMA) coach Dan Lambert. Lambert also brought in members of his MMA team American Top Team (ATT) to oppose The Inner Circle, including former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and
Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweigh ...
. At the Full Gear event on November 13, The Inner Circle defeated Men of the Year and ATT in a Minneapolis Street Fight.


Jericho Appreciation Society (2022–2023)

At
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on March 6, 2022, Jericho was defeated by Eddie Kingston. After the match, Jericho refused to shake Kingston's hand. On the March 9 episode of ''Dynamite'', Jericho turned heel by attacking Kingston and the team of Santana and Ortiz with a help of 2.0 and Daniel Garcia, ending the Inner Circle. At Double or Nothing on May 29, The Jericho Appreciation Society defeated the
Blackpool Combat Club The Death Riders are a Heel (professional wrestling), villainous professional wrestling stable that performs in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Ring of Honor (ROH). The stable consists of the leader Jon Moxley, Cla ...
(
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...
and
Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...
), Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz in an Anarchy in the Arena match. The Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club feud continued through 2022 and saw the return of Jericho's Lionheart persona in matches with Moxley and Danielson. At '' Dynamite: Grand Slam'' on September 21, Jericho defeated
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...
to win the ROH World Championship for the first time in his career. On October 18, it was revealed that Jericho had signed a contract extension with AEW through December 2025. With this extension, Jericho received new roles as a coach and creative consultant, in addition to performing for AEW as an in-ring wrestler. During his reign as ROH World Champion, Jericho referred to himself as "The Ocho" (as it marked his eighth overall world championship) and successfully defended the title against many former ROH champions, such as Dalton Castle, whom he defeated at Title Tuesday,
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
, Tomohiro Ishii, whom he defeated on the Thanksgiving Eve episode of ''Dynamite'' on November 23, and Bandido. At Final Battle on December 10, Jericho lost the ROH World Championship back to Castagnoli, ending his reign at 80 days. Going into 2023, Jericho began feud with
Ricky Starks Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Ricky Saints. Starks is known for his time in All El ...
. The feud cultimated at
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, where Jericho was defeated by Starks. After losing to Starks, Jericho began a feud with
Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989), known by the ring name Adam Cole, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of The Paragon (professional wrestling), ...
, which cultimated at Double or Nothing, where Jericho was defeated by Cole in an unsanctioned match. On the August 9, 2023 episode of ''Dynamite,'' all members except Sammy Guevera, of the Jericho Appreciation Society walked out on Jericho due to his association with
Don Callis Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager (wrestling), manager, color commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works a ...
, effectively disbanding the stable.


Feud with The Don Callis Family (2023–2024)

Jericho was able to maintain his alliance with Guevara, reforming their tag team known as "Le Sex Gods". At All In, Jericho was defeated by
Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW International Champion. He is also known for his eight year tenure with New Japa ...
. After the match, Jericho shoved Guevara away. On the ''Dynamite'' edition of Grand Slam, Jericho defeated Guevara, but when Jericho tried to show respect, Guevara hit him with a low blow and joined The Don Callis Family, turning Jericho face in the process. On the ''Rampage'' edition of Grand Slam, Jericho tried to attack The Don Callis Family, only to be outnumbered and saved by
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
. Jericho and Omega then formed a tag team known as "The Golden Jets" to take out The Don Callis Family. At WrestleDream, The Golden Jets with Kota Ibushi were defeated by The Don Callis Family (Ospreay, Guevera, and
Konosuke Takeshita is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to American Wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Don Callis Family and one-half of the tag team Protoshita with Kyle Fletcher. He is a former AEW ...
). At Full Gear, The Golden Jets defeated
The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
to earn a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championships. In December 2023, Omega was diagnosed with
diverticulitis Diverticulitis, also called colonic diverticulitis, is a gastrointestinal disease characterized by inflammation of abnormal pouches—Diverticulum, diverticula—that can develop in the wall of the large intestine. Symptoms typically include lo ...
and would be forced to take time off, effectively ending The Golden Jets. On the December 27 edition of ''Dynamite'', Jericho came to Guevara's aid from a Don Callis Family attack and reunited Le Sex Gods. At Worlds End, Le Sex Gods teamed with Sting and
Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...
to defeat The Don Callis Family (Takeshita and
Powerhouse Hobbs William Hobson (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Powerhouse Hobbs and is a member of The Opps. He is one-third of the current AEW World ...
),
Ricky Starks Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Ricky Saints. Starks is known for his time in All El ...
, and Big Bill. On January 13, 2024, at '' Battle of the Belts IX'', Le Sex Gods unsuccessfully challenged Starks and Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Championships due to interference from Hobbs and Takeshita. On the February 7 episode of ''Dynamite'', Jericho was defeated by Takeshita, ending a near six-month feud with The Don Callis Family. In February 2024, Jericho revived his "Lionheart" persona.


The Learning Tree (2024–present)

Starting in March 2024, Jericho attempted to form a mentor-student relationship with
Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
, however, Jericho was rebuffed, ultimately leading to a match between the two at
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
which saw Jericho win the FTW Championship. On the April 24 episode of ''Dynamite'', Jericho turned heel by renaming the FTW Championship to the "For The World Championship", dubbed himself "The Learning Tree", where he would arrogantly offer advice and guidance to wrestlers, and sarcastically saying he needs his "TV time", which was a reference to the online criticism of Jericho being constantly featured on AEW programming. On the May 1 episode of ''Dynamite'', Jericho successfully defended the FTW Championship against
Katsuyori Shibata } is a Japanese professional wrestler, trainer, and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Opps and is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions with Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs. ...
, with the assistance of Big Bill (professional wrestler), Big Bill, whom Jericho then agreed to add to his learning tree. On May 26 at Double or Nothing (2024), Double or Nothing, Jericho successfully defended the title against Hook and Katsuyori Shibata with the help of Bryan Keith (wrestler), Bryan Keith. On June 30 at Forbidden Door (2024), Forbidden Door Jericho teamed with Jeff Cobb and Big Bill to take on Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and Hook but was unsuccessful. On August 25, Jericho faced Hook at All In (2024), All in but lost the title, ending his reign at 127 days. On the October 23, 2024 episode of ''Dynamite'', Jericho defeated Mark Briscoe in a ladder match, Ladder War (with Big Bill giving him a boost on his shoulders) to win the ROH World Championship for the second time, marking his ninth overall world title, and with that he gave himself the nickname of "The Nueve" (nine in Spanish). On November 27 at Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite (2024), Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite, Jericho successfully defended his title against Tomohiro Ishii. On December 20 at Final Battle (2024), Final Battle, Jericho successfully defended his title against Matt Cardona. After the match, Jericho attempted to attack Cardona but was chased off by a returning Bandido. On the February 22, 2025 episode of ''AEW Collision, Collision'', Jericho successfully defended his title against Bandido. On March 9 at AEW Revolution (2025), Revolution Zero Hour, Jericho was scheduled to defend his title against Bandido's brother Gravity (wrestler), Gravity, but the match never started due to The Learning Tree attacking Gravity and unmasking him. On April 6 at AEW Dynasty (2025), Dynasty, Jericho lost the title to Bandido in a Title vs. Mask match. On the following episode of ''Dynamite'', tension in The Learning Tree would rise as Jericho would blame losing the ROH World Championship on both Big Bill and Bryan Keith, before saying it's best that he leaves for a while until Bill and Keith make a change.


Legacy

Known for his over-the-top, rock star persona, Jericho has been described by multiple industry commentators as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Journalist Chris Van Vliet noted that his name is "always thrown around as the GOAT [greatest of all time], or at least one of the GOATs", with Van Vliet himself asserting that Jericho is "if not ''the'' best, certainly one of the best". Todd Martin of the ''Wade Keller#Pro Wrestling Torch, Pro Wrestling Torch'' remarked, to agreement from editor Wade Keller, that Jericho is "one of the great wrestlers of all time" and in "a lofty category", while likening his oeuvre to those of WWE Hall of Famers Randy Savage,
Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promo ...
, Ted DiBiase and Dory Funk Jr. Praised for his ability to continually evolve his Gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmick, Jericho was dubbed by KC Joyner of ESPN as "wrestling's David Bowie". Various outlets have included Jericho in lists of the greatest wrestlers ever. ''The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun'' reporter Kevin Eck, who has also served as editor of ''WCW Magazine'' and a WWE producer, featured Jericho in his "Top 10 favorite wrestlers of all time" and "Top 10 all-around performers"—the former piece noting that Jericho is "regarded as one of the very best talkers in the business". Keisha Hatchett in ''TV Guide'' wrote that Jericho "owns the mic with cerebral insults" and is set apart from peers by "his charismatic presence, which is highlighted by a laundry list of unforgettable catchphrases". He was voted by ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' (''WON'') readers as "Best on Interviews" for the 2000s decade, coinciding with his 2010 induction into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, ''WON'' Hall of Fame. Fans also named Jericho the greatest WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE Intercontinental Champion of all time in a 2013 WWE poll, affording him a Landslide victory, landslide 63% victory over the other four contenders (Curt Hennig, Mr. Perfect, The Honky Tonk Man, Rick Rude and Pat Patterson (wrestler), Pat Patterson). Chris Jericho's feud with
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
and their series of matches, particularly their ladder match at No Mercy in 2008 received critical acclaim.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
named their feud the "feud of the year" and the ladder match the "match of the year". A number of Jericho's industry colleagues have hailed him as one of the greatest wrestlers in history.
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
labelled him the single greatest performer of all time.
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
lauded his consistently "dynamic" Glossary of professional wrestling terms#promo, promos and in-ring work, while arguing that he should be considered among the 10 best ever.
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
asserted that Jericho "has a legit argument for being the best of all time", based on his ability to achieve success and notoriety across numerous territories.
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...
said, "Jericho is really making a case for being the greatest of all time... he's doing it again, he's doing something completely new, and breaking new barriers still here in 2020." Matt Striker pointed to Jericho's "magnanimous" nature as a contributing factor to his status as an all-time great; his willingness to impart knowledge was commended by James Ellsworth (wrestler), James Ellsworth, who described Jericho as an "outstanding human being" and a childhood favorite. Kevin Owens stated that "Jericho was always someone I looked up to", while
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
affirmed that he was part of a generation of young wrestlers who sought to "emulate" Jericho. WWE declared Jericho a "marquee Glossary of professional wrestling terms#draw, draw" with a "reputation as one of the best ever". As of 2019, he is one of the ten most prolific pay-per-view performers in company history. After Jericho signed with All Elite Wrestling, it was said his role was similar to Terry Funk in ECW, as an experienced veteran bringing credibility to a younger promotion. Jericho was credited as one of the key attractions of AEW's weekly television broadcasts, leading to him adopting the nickname "The Demo God" due to many of the segments he appeared in being some of the highest viewed in the key demographics. He was voted as the List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Box Office Draw, Best Box Office Draw by readers of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' in 2019. On March 15, 2023, prior to an ''AEW Dynamite'' broadcast from Winnipeg, Jericho was bestowed with a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal by Premier of Manitoba Heather Stefanson, and it was announced that a portion of Winnipeg's Wordsworth Way where he lived would be renamed "Chris Jericho Way".


Music career

Jericho is the lead singer for the heavy metal band Fozzy. Since their debut album in 2000, Fozzy have released seven studio albums; ''Fozzy (album), Fozzy'', ''Happenstance (Fozzy album), Happenstance'', '' All That Remains'', ''Chasing the Grail'', ''Sin and Bones'', '' Do You Wanna Start a War'', ''Judas (Fozzy album), Judas'', and one live album, ''Remains Alive''. In 2005, Jericho performed vocals on a cover of "The Evil That Men Do (song), The Evil That Men Do" on the Iron Maiden tribute album, ''Numbers from the Beast.'' He made a guest appearance on Dream Theater's album, ''Systematic Chaos'' on the song "Systematic Chaos#Repentance, Repentance", as one of several musical guests recorded apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings in the past. In the mid-1990s, Jericho wrote a monthly column for ''Metal Edge'' magazine focused on the heavy metal scene. The column ran for about a year. He started his own weekly XM Satellite Radio show in March 2005 called ''The Rock of Jericho'', which aired Sunday nights on XM 41 The Boneyard.


Discography

; Albums with Fozzy * ''Fozzy (album), Fozzy'' (2000) * ''Happenstance (Fozzy album), Happenstance'' (2002) * '' All That Remains'' (2005) * ''Chasing the Grail'' (2010) * ''Sin and Bones'' (2012) * '' Do You Wanna Start a War'' (2014) * ''Judas (Fozzy album), Judas'' (2017) * ''Boombox'' (2022) ; Live albums * ''Remains Alive'' (2009) ; As guest * Don't You Wish You Were Me? - WWE Originals (2004) *King of the Night Time World - Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss (2004) * With Rich Ward, Mike Inez, Fred Coury *Bullet for My Valentine – ''Temper Temper (Bullet for My Valentine album), Temper Temper – Dead to the World'' (2013) * Devin Townsend – ''Z² (album)#Disc 2: Dark Matters, Dark Matters'' (2014) * Michael Sweet – ''I'm Not Your Suicide – Anybody Else'' (2014)


Other endeavors


Film, theater, comedy, and writing

In 2000, a WWE produced VHS tape documenting Jericho's career titled ''Break Down the Walls'' was released. He later received two three disc sets profiling matches and interviews. On June 24, 2006, Jericho premiered in his first Syfy, Sci-Fi Channel movie ''Android Apocalypse'' alongside Scott Bairstow and Joey Lawrence. Jericho debuted as a stage actor in a comedy play ''Opening Night'', which premiered at the Toronto Centre for the Arts during July 20–22, 2006, in Toronto. During his stay in Toronto, Jericho hosted the sketch comedy show ''Sunday Night Live'' with sketch troupe The Sketchersons at The Brunswick House. Jericho was also the first wrestler attached and interviewed for the wrestling documentary, ''Bloodstained Memoirs''. The interview was recorded in the UK during a Fozzy tour in 2006. Jericho wrote his autobiography, ''A Lion's Tale, A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex'', which was released on October 25, 2007, and became a ''New York Times'' bestseller. It covers Jericho's life and wrestling career up to his debut in the WWE. Jericho's second autobiography, ''Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps'', was released on February 16, 2011, and covers his wrestling career since his WWE debut. On October 14, 2014, Jericho's third book, ''The Best In The World...At What I Have No Idea'', was released. It covers some untold stories of the "Save Us" era, his Fozzy career, and his multiple returns from 2011 to 2013. Jericho's fourth book, ''No Is a Four-Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling but Succeeded in Life'', was released on August 29, 2017, and details twenty valuable lessons Jericho learned throughout his career as a wrestler and musician. Jericho appeared in the 2009 film ''Albino Farm''. In the film ''MacGruber (film), MacGruber'', released May 21, 2010, he briefly appeared as Frank Korver, a former military teammate of the eponymous Green Beret, Navy Seal, and Army Ranger. Jericho released a comedy web series on October 29, 2013, that is loosely based on his life entitled ''But I'm Chris Jericho!'' Jericho plays a former wrestler, struggling to make it big as an actor. A second season was produced in 2017 by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC and distributed over CBC's television app and CBC.ca. In 2016, Jericho starred in the documentary film ''Nine Legends'' alongside Mike Tyson and other wrestlers. In August 2018, Jericho was confirmed to star in the film ''KillRoy Was Here''. On March 14, 2019, filmmaker Kevin Smith cast Jericho as a KKK Grand Wizard in ''Jay and Silent Bob Reboot''.


Television

Jericho was a contributor to the VH1 pop culture shows ''Best Week Ever'', ''I Love the '80s (U.S. TV series), I Love the '80s'', and VH1's top 100 artists. Jericho also hosted the five-part, five-hour VH1 special ''100 Most Shocking Music Moments'', an update of the original special ''100 Most Shocking Moments in Rock N' Roll'' first hosted by Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray. On July 12, 2006, he made an appearance on G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4's ''Attack of the Show!''; he made a second appearance on August 21, 2009. In May 2006, Jericho appeared on VH1's ''The Greatest (VH1 TV series), 40 Greatest Metal Songs'' and ''Heavy: The Story of Metal'' as a commentator. He was one of eight celebrities in the 2006 Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television singing reality show ''Celebrity Duets'', produced by Simon Cowell, and was the first contestant eliminated. Jericho worked at a McDonald's to show off his skills while prepping for the show. Jericho hosted his own reality show in 2008 titled ''Redemption Song (TV series), Redemption Song'', in which 11 women tried their hand at getting into the music scene. It was shown on Fuse TV. He guest starred as Billy "The Body Bag" Cobb in "Xero Control", an episode of the Disney XD 2009 original series ''Aaron Stone''. He hosted VH1's ''100 Most Shocking Music Moments'', which began airing in December 2009. In June 2010, Jericho was named the host of the ABC prime-time game show '' Downfall''. On March 1, 2011, Chris Jericho was named one of the contestants on the 2011 lineup of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. His partner was two-time champion Cheryl Burke. This led to a wave of publicity, including an interview with Jay Leno. On April 26, Jericho was the fifth contestant eliminated on the show. On May 5, Jericho made his third appearance as a guest on ''Attack of the Show!'' where he depicted Thor. He promoted ''Undisputed'' and hosted the ''Revolver'' Golden Gods Awards on May 28 on VH1 Classic. On January 17, 2012, Jericho made his fourth appearance on ''Attack of the Show!'' in a segment called "Twitter Twister" where he portrayed a character called "The Twistercutioner" and read Twitter#Tweets, tweets as instructions for a game of Twister (game), Twister between Kevin and Candace. Jericho hosted the UK's ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards in 2012 and 2017. On February 26, 2013, Jericho began hosting a robot combat competition program on SyFy titled ''Robot Combat League'' the series ended on April 23, 2015. In 2022, Jericho competed in The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 8, season eight of ''The Masked Singer (American TV series), The Masked Singer'' as "Bride" which resembles a dragon-like Kaiju in a wedding dress. After besting George Foreman as "Venus Fly Trap" and George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton as "Gopher" on "Hall of Fame Night", he was eliminated on "Comedy Roast Night" alongside Adam Carolla as "Avocado".


''Talk Is Jericho'' podcast

In December 2013, Jericho began hosting his own podcast, ''Talk Is Jericho''. Episodes usually include a loosely scripted monologue before an interview, typically with a wrestler, rock musician or paranormal expert. The show originally appeared on PodcastOne, before moving to the WestwoodOne network in 2018. Notable guests on the show include Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, Lemmy from Motörhead, Paul Stanley from Kiss (band), KISS, Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures, pornographic actress Asa Akira, writer/director Kevin Smith and many former and current wrestlers. In April 2015, Jericho hosted his own video podcast on the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...
, ''Live! with Chris Jericho'', with
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
as his first guest, followed by Stephanie McMahon as his guest later that same month. Once he signed with All Elite Wrestling, AEW, he was no longer allowed to have
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
performers as guests on the podcast.


Web

On August 10, 2019, Jericho launched his own dirtsheet website called WebIsJericho.com. The website is dedicated to the memory of Axl Rotten. In May 2020, Jericho officially joined as a competitor of the ''Movie Trivia Schmoedown'' under manager Roxy Striar in the Roxstars faction. Jericho first expressed interest in the Schmoedown following an appearance on ''Collider Live'' with Striar and Schmoedown commissioner Kristian Harloff. He became friends with Striar following the interview and kept in contact. During the 2020 season, Jericho contacted Striar, asking to be a part of the league. Striar formally drafted Jericho into her faction during the first free-agent period following the season-opening draft. His first match is scheduled for August 27 against Kevin Smith.


Cruises

In 2017, Jericho launched Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea, a cruise "combining the worlds of rock and wrestling with a once in a lifetime amazing vacation experience". The cruise featured live band performances, artist-hosted activities and a Sea of Honor Tournament with over a dozen Ring of Honor wrestlers competing. Guests had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Chris and his closest wrestling, comedian, and musician friends including Jim Ross, Diamond Dallas Page and Jim Breuer, among others. The cruise sailed October 27–31, 2018, from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas. Jericho hosted a second cruise, Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: Second Wave, which run from January 20–24, 2020. A third cruise, Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Triple Whammy, is scheduled for October 21–25, 2021.


Personal life

Irvine married Jessica Lockhart on July 30, 2000. They reside in Odessa, Florida, with their three children: son Ash Edward Irvine (born 2003) and identical twin daughters Sierra Loretta "SiSi" Irvine and Cheyenne Lee "Chey" Irvine (born 2006). All three have been guests on his podcast, ''Talk Is Jericho'', with his son discussing fish and his daughters discussing literature. Irvine owns three cats. In October 2020, Irvine reportedly donated $3,000 to Donald Trump's Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign, presidential re-election campaign. Irvine is a Christians, Christian. He has a tattoo of his wife's name on his ring finger. He has the letter F, representing Fozzy, on the back of his hand. Since 2012, he has gradually gotten a sleeve over his left arm. His tattoos include: the artwork of Fozzy's album ''Sin and Bones'', a Jack-o'-lantern (Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M. Shadows, who collaborated with Fozzy on the track "Sandpaper" from ''Sin and Bones'', also got a matching tattoo), a lake monster, and himself from his WWF debut in 1999. On January 27, 2010, Irvine and fellow wrestler Gregory Helms were arrested in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky after leaving a bar. A police report stated that Helms punched Irvine and the other passengers in the cab. Fellow wrestlers
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
later bailed them out. Since January 2012, Irvine (along with former NFL Quarterback Tim Tebow, former NFL player Derrick Brooks, and former Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones) has been the co-owner of a sports training facility in Tampa, a franchise site of D1 Sports Training and Therapy. Irvine is a fan of Japanese convenience store chain Lawson (store), Lawson, which Irvine would frequently shop at when he wrestled in Japan in the 1990s. Irvine still visits Lawson whenever he returns to Japan, whether to wrestle or if he is touring with Fozzy.


Charity work

Jericho has made philanthropic and charitable efforts. Alongside WWE superstars Kevin Owens and Tyler Breeze, he donated $2,500 to help victims of the Alberta forest fires. He also donated $1,500 to help Brian Knobbs with his knee surgery. In 2023, after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jericho donated $10,000 to Hamlin's charity; originally a $5,000 donation, he later donated another $5,000 after misspelling his own name in the original donation.


Filmography


Video games


Championships and accomplishments


Professional wrestling

*
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
** AEW World Championship (List of AEW World Champions, 1 time, inaugural) ** FTW Championship (1 time) **AEW Dynamite Awards (2 times) ***Bleacher Report PPV Moment of the Year (AEW Dynamite Awards#2021, 2021) – ***Biggest Beatdown (2021) – * ''The Baltimore Sun'' ** Feud of the Year (2008) * Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2023 * Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling ** CRMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** CRMW North American Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
**CRMW Mid-Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * Canadian Wrestling Connection ** CWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lance Storm *
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
**
NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican ''lu ...
(NWA World Middleweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) *
Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
**
ECW World Television Championship The ECW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in 1992 as part of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Champi ...
(List of ECW World Television Champions, 1 time) * International Wrestling Alliance ** IWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (IWA Junior Heavyweight Championship, 1 time) *
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
**
IWGP Intercontinental Championship The was a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was officially announced on January 5, 2011, and the Inaugural Champion MVP wa ...
(List of IWGP Intercontinental Champions, 1 time) * ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' ** List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Faction of the Year, Faction of the Year (2021) – with The Inner Circle **List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Decade awards, Feud of the Decade (2000s) ** List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Feud of the Year, Feud of the Year (2008) **Feud of the Year (2021) ** List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Most Hated Wrestler of the Year, Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002, 2008) ** Ranked No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated#PWI 500, PWI 500'' in 2009 *
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
** ROH World Championship (List of ROH World Champions, 2 times) * ''Rolling Stone'' ** Ranked No. 3 of the 10 best WWE wrestlers of 2016 * ''Sports Illustrated'' ** Ranked No. 5 of the Sports Illustrated#Male/Men's Wrestler of the Year, top 10 male wrestlers in 2019 **Ranked No. 18 of the 20 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time *
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
** WCW Cruiserweight Championship (List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions (1991–2007), 4 times) ** WCW World Television Championship (List of WCW World Television Champions, 1 time) * WWE, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE **WWE Championship, Undisputed WWF Championship (List of WWE Champions, 1 time) ** World Heavyweight Championship (List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE, 2002–2013), 3 times) ** WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WCW/World Championship (List of WCW World Heavyweight Champions, 2 times) ** WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWF/WWE Intercontinental Championship (List of WWE Intercontinental Champions, 9 times) ** WWE United States Championship (List of WWE United States Champions, 2 times) ** WWE European Championship, WWF European Championship (List of WWE European Champions, 1 time) ** WWE Hardcore Championship, WWF Hardcore Championship (List of WWE Hardcore Champions, 1 time) ** World Tag Team Championship (WWE), WWE Tag Team Championship (List of World Tag Team Champions (WWE), 2 times) – with
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
(1) and
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
(1) ** World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 1971–2010), WWF/World Tag Team Championship (List of World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010), 5 times) – with
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
(1), The Rock (1),
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
(1),
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
(1), and
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
(1) ** Bragging Rights (2009), Bragging Rights Trophy (2009) – with WWE SmackDown, Team SmackDown ** Insurrextion (2001)#Results, Queen's Cup **List of WWE tournaments#WWF Undisputed Championship Tournament (2001), Undisputed WWF Championship Tournament (2001) ** Grand Slam (professional wrestling)#Original format (established 1997), Fourth Grand Slam Champion ** Triple Crown (professional wrestling)#List of WWE Men's Triple Crown winners, Ninth Triple Crown Champion ** Slammy Award (Slammy Award, 3 times) *** Extreme Moment of the Year (2014) *** Superstar of the Year (2008) *** Tag Team of the Year (2009) – with
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
* WAR (wrestling promotion), Wrestle Association "R" ** WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) ** International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with
Gedo Gedo (, , , or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. The region was formed during 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province ...
* World Wrestling Association ** WWA Tag Team Championship (Mexico), WWA Tag Team Championship (WWA Tag Team Championship (Mexico)#Title history, 1 time) – with El Dandy * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award (Wrestler of the Year), Wrestler of the Year (2008, 2009, 2019) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best on Interviews, Best on Interviews (2003, 2008, 2009, 2019) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Wrestling Observer Decade Awards, Best on Interviews of the Decade (2000s) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Feud of the Year, Feud of the Year (2008) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Pro Wrestling Match of the Year, Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2008) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Underrated, Most Underrated Wrestler (1999, 2000) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Readers' Favorite Wrestler, Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1999) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#United States/Canada MVP, United States/Canada MVP (2019) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Charismatic, Most Charismatic (2019) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Box Office Draw, Best Box Office Draw (2019) **List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Pro Wrestling Book, Best Pro Wrestling Book (2011) ** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Worst Gimmick, Worst Gimmick (2024) **Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame#Inductees, Class of 2010)


Music

*RIAA certification, Gold for "Judas" by the RIAA as a member of Fozzy. (2022)


Other

* The Order of the Buffalo Hunt of the province of Manitoba, awarded for his "championship achievements in sports and commitments to underprivileged children". (2004) – "After that, Gary Doer, the premier of Manitoba, awarded me with the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, which was the province's highest honor. It was quite the prestigious prize, which has been given to such dignitaries such as Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Pope John Paul II, and now Chris Jericho." / caption: "Manitoba Premier Gary Doer presents me with the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, along with a tiny bronze buffalo. I'm thinking, 'That's all I get?'" * Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal of the province of Manitoba, for his work with various local charities. (2023) * In 2004, Jericho received the List of Keys to the City in Canada#Winnipeg, Keys to the City of Winnipeg. *On March 12, 2023, the city of Winnipeg renamed the street he grew up on into "Chris Jericho Way".


''Luchas de Apuestas'' record


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jericho, Chris 1970 births Living people 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian memoirists 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century male professional wrestlers AEW World Champions All Elite Wrestling personnel American Christians American color commentators American game show hosts American hard rock musicians American heavy metal singers American male film actors American male professional wrestlers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American memoirists American people of Scottish descent American people of Ukrainian descent American philanthropists American sports podcasters American radio personalities American rock singers American rock songwriters Canadian Christians Canadian colour commentators Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers in the United States Canadian game show hosts Canadian hard rock musicians Canadian heavy metal singers Canadian male film actors Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian male television actors Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian philanthropists Canadian podcasters Canadian radio personalities Canadian rock singers Canadian YouTubers Christians from New York (state) ECW World Television Champions Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Expatriate professional wrestlers in Mexico Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers American expatriate professional wrestlers Fozzy members FTW Champions IWGP Intercontinental champions Jericho Appreciation Society members Male actors from New York (state) Male actors from Winnipeg Musicians from Winnipeg NWA/WCW World Television Champions NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions NWA World Middleweight Champions Participants in American reality television series People from Manhasset, New York Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Professional wrestling podcasters Red River College alumni ROH World Champions Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Professional wrestlers from Winnipeg Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Champions Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions WCW World Heavyweight Champions WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Champions World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE) WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Hardcore Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions YouTubers from New York (state) YouTubers from Winnipeg