10 Times Chris Jericho Shocked The Wrestling World

5. Inventing A Brand New Repertoire During The Kevin Owens Friendship

Chris Jericho Rey Mysterio
WWE.com

Even Chris Jericho's many detractors struggled to find much wrong with a run alongside Kevin Owens that steered both towards unlikely title wins and 'Y2J' to an entire new realm of catchphrases and catcalls years after his old favourites began to grow mould.

The two came together rather accidentally, with a SummerSlam 2016 tag match with Enzo and Big Cass ostensibly the beginning and end of the pairing as any major force - particularly after Kevin Owens unexpectedly won the Universal Title following an unfortunate injury to Finn Bálor on the night he ascended to the summit.

Getting "It" over as a catchphrase, referring to opponents as "Stupid Idiots" and adding them to a now-legendary "List Of Jericho", 'Y2J' began his second life as a sneaky heel that drew such affection from the crowd that it eventually turned him babyface in time for their pre-WrestleMania split.

The feud was nearly good enough to warrant a spot on the 'Show Of Shows' for all the marbles. Owens' Universal Title reign was ultimately sacrificed to satiate the Brock Lesnar/Bill Goldberg programme, but without Big Bill's November 2016 return the two may have gone all the way to the Grandest Stage.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 over 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 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana 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