10 Best Wrestling Talkers Of 2019 (So Far)
4. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is an old, nasty, narcissistic ar*ehole who has subverted, incredibly, the veteran schtick.
He is cantankerous in his belief that he deserves special treatment by default, but he isn't demanding respect with an authoritative tone. He is acting like a petulant child in his slow-build programme with Cody, receiving the most reasonable critique with the thinnest of skin. For all of his catchphrase-generating genius, his 2008 vintage verbosity, this new belligerent prick has mastered the use of just one word to draw the heat. His repeated use of "Huh? Huh? Huh?" nags at the temple with relentless, woodpecker precision. It's deeply irritating stuff, one that must prey on Cody's frame of mind to the eventual point of grand retaliation.
He is also great at swearing, which helps massively. He calls Cody a "little son of a bitch" and a "little bastard" in that superb promo, the effect of which, the repeated "little", is equivalent to prodding him in the ribcage, just begging for that executive mask to slip.
His "I'm gonna win!" scream ahead of his IWGP Title Challenge at Dominion was another, choice extension of this new gimmick. Jericho is a brat reliving his youth, but he has the experience his youthful contemporaries lack.