10 Reasons Why Chris Jericho’s Last Run Was His Best Ever

9. Iron Man

Chris Jericho Festival of Friendship
WWE.com

Chris Jericho is known for putting in tremendous physical shifts in matches, particularly since his reduced schedule afforded him valuable rest and recuperation time from the rigours of in-ring competition.

Two particularly long nights for 'Y2J' in his most recent stretch earned him a place in history, as 51 and 61 minute stints in the 2016 and 2017 Royal Rumble matches respectively smashed the previous record for spending more time in Royal Rumble matches than any other superstar.

It's a dubious honour in storyline terms of course, with all that energy looking wasted considering that Jericho has never actually won the famous 30-man war.

It does however highlight the faith management had in his physical and mental ability in such a complex and challenging environment, despite his advancing age over an increasingly younger roster.

His work in the 2017 Rumble drew particular praise, with fan support growing for his sidekick persona alongside vindictive Universal Champion Kevin Owens. With the audience already partial to him after a spell inside a shark cage during his best friend's successful title defence against Roman Reigns, he became a sympathetic figure after his marathon stretch, and was perfect fodder for the despised 'Big Dog' when he made his surprise entrance at #30.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett