5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Jan 5)
2. Alpha
What a bloody match Alpha Vs. Omega was.
At 47 years of age, Chris Jericho wrestled what was easily his best match in a decade. Structurally, it was near-perfect; Jericho battered Omega, whose Egyptian God, toy gun get-up must have been ridiculous on purpose in order to augment the psychology of Jericho's brutal, hubris-destroying opening salvo.
From there, Jericho was an absolutely hilarious d*ckhead, calling fans "f*ckfaces", photographing them with a flipped-bird frame, and aping their "Kennyyyyy" chant with an hysterical inflection of which Trey Parker would be proud. He also shoved ref Red Shoes in the face and brutalised his Young Lion son in the Walls Of Jericho.
Between this, and the smoke and mirrors weaponry, Jericho satisfied the base level expectations - before, incredibly, using the stamina and skill to complete a full-scale New Japan epic. It was hilarious, brutal, dramatic - and wrestled with the smoothness that has eluded his latter career. That One-Winged Angel/Walls Of Jericho counter was more seamless than his WCW work. He also sang an inventive variation of his greatest hits; Omega's chest-first rope bump from Jericho's modified basement springboard dropkick was an awesome remix.
Ultimately, Jericho wrestled a layered masterclass with an opponent who underscored his own Best In The World credentials with a fighting babyface peformance. In reality, Jericho isn't on Omega's level. In the fantasy world of New Japan, they somehow contrived to level the playing field.
Some doubted his ability to pull it off, your writer included. As far as wrestling goes, it's great being proved wrong.