10 Reasons Why Chris Jericho’s Post-WWE Run Is His Best Ever

9. Five Stars

Chris Jericho AEW
NJPW

A f*cking fantastic bells-and-whistles battle between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega didn't just justify 'Y2J's surprising decision to escape the WWE churn. It kicked off a chain of events that helped curate and create the single biggest competition Vince McMahon has encountered in nearly two decades.

The butterfly effect from the match has been well-documented, but it gets lost how little ripple there would have been had it not been such a success. Wild as it now may seem, there were plenty assuming that it probably wouldn't be able to meet expectations, let alone completely surpass them.

Jericho's last matches in 2017 weren't much to write home about - so much so that a Kenny Omega in career form was considered a leap too far for the aging antagonist to make. With only a smidgin of help from a No Disqualification situation (itself driven by Jericho's increasing psychopathy), the two went to f*cking war in front 43,000 rapturous Tokyo Dome fans.

Many considered it the match of the night, some the match of the year, whilst friend of 'The Painmaker' Dave Meltzer gave Jericho his first ever five star rating in his Wrestling Observer review.

A d*ck-swinging festival of naked aggression, this was entirely worthy of Meltzer's full monty.

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