10 Best Storytellers In Wrestling Right Now
2. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho has used his creative license to control the events of Dynamite in complete antithesis to, say, Hulk Hogan, distilling perfectly AEW's "WCW, but productive" vision.
The key is in his selective vulnerability. The balance has proven almost perfect; he will show a tremendous amount of ass, but has tweaked his in-ring work to an extent that he appears demonstrably capable of kicking one. Against the younger, rawer Jungle Boy, he sold with flailing, almost comedic desperation to put over the upstart's fire, before using a masterful grasp of minutiae to cinch the Liontamer in to an ungodly angle. Against Cody, in a throwback masterclass, he used an assortment of classic heel tricks - tricks he was clever enough to revive, so they felt fresh - but again, his work was so physical and vicious that he never felt anything less than a convincing, formidable World Champion.
Jericho is the North American Kazuchika Okada, in that he presides over a delicate ecosystem that requires his inimitable genius to function effectively. Sell too much, and he loses his heat; appear too dominant, and nobody gets over in defeat.
On the subject of whom...