10 Wrestlers Who Foreshadowed Everything

5. Chris Jericho

CM Punk WWE 2K
WWE.com

The self-styled "Madonna of professional wrestling" shtick isn't just bluster from one of the industries biggest hype men. Chris Jericho hasn't been afraid of reinvention for better and worse during his legendary career, but one of his wisest ever moves might have been the one he made in the summer of 1999.

Things were far from rosy for 'Y2J' during his initial months in WWE, but the mere fact that he made it out of WCW before the entire company collapsed within itself did wonders for his aura and earmarked him as somebody who knew how to stay ahead of the curve.

Paul Wight's 1999 arrival in the organisation had been hit with similar political problems as the ones Jericho would eventually have to navigate, but little could have compared to the creative disillusion and financial panic of working for a World Championship Wrestling that had comfortably lost a wrestling war long before it completely ceased to be. Jericho loves to put himself over as one of the "last guys to do [insert thing] with [insert wrestler]" on his podcasts. But here, he was definitely one of the first.

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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