Probably the most criminally underused talent of the WCW era was Chris Jericho. A survivor of the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling, Jericho could possibly be the last wrestler left who actually traveled to territories all over the world and learned different styles. Jericho wrestled in Germany, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and honed his craft in Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling before signing with WCW. Debuting as Lionheart Chris Jericho (the name he used in Mexico), Jericho was your standard pretty boy babyface who had a nice moveset but absolutely no character for the audience to connect with. It wasnt until Jericho turned heel in 1997 that he finally found the persona that would make him a star: A total whiny jerk. Jericho began by collecting trophies from his opponents. He forced Juventud Guerrera to unmask, stole Prince Iaukeas Hawaiian skirt, and confiscated the Disco Infernos headband (not the headband!). However, it was Jerichos feud with technical master Dean Malenko that provides us with the first moment on our countdown. http://youtu.be/QpNmTNkuYQA?t=5m47s Malenko had long be touted as the Man of 1,000 Holds, someone who didnt need a personality or charisma because he was that good in the ring. Jericho set his sights on Malenko and named himself the Man of 1,004 Holds. On March 30, 1998, Chris Jericho defeated Marty Jannetty on an episode of Nitro in basically a squash match but that wasnt the interesting part. After the match, Jericho produced a 20 foot long list that he claimed was a collected of all of his 1,004 holds. With seemingly every other move being ARMBAR! and a submission called the Moss Covered Three Handled Family Gredunza. It was impossible not to laugh at Jerichos ridiculousness.
