10 Wrestlers Who Were REJECTED For Famous Wrestling Gimmicks

7. Chris Jericho

MJF Demon
WWE

You can cut this short story long with a deeper dive into this bizarre chapter of Chris Jericho's illustrious career, but it's over to the former AEW Champion himself for a speculative take on what might have been had he worked for Vince McMahon before finding himself as a US-centric heel in WCW.

As he put it during a discussion on his own podcast;

“I just know, that I bet you I was earmarked to be the Goon, who was a hockey player/wrestler who wore hockey equipment to the ring and had wrestling boots that looked like skate blades, like they were shaved down to look like thin skate blades. I guarantee that could have been me, guys.”

WWE were hiring guys to be in-character jobbers at the time in order to present the veneer of competitive action on Monday Night Raw. Nitro had raised the bar of what could be delivered on television, forcing changes within the former market leader, but 'Lion Heart' wisely took that lane before making the jump three years later when waters - for the company if not Jericho himself - were a little less choppy.

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