8 Wrestlers Who Can't Hide Their Frustration RIGHT NOW
2. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho was living his best life as 'Le Champion' in 2019, and he thoroughly warranted the smug smile plastered over his wonderful sh*t-eating face. After three decades of an incredibly distinguished career, he finally became the man, a legitimate tippy-top talent, whose in-ring, promo game and angle work shone to establish Dynamite as the best episodic TV show since WWF RAW in 2000.
Everything he said was gold. The way he said everything was gold. Much as people are starting to take the piss out of him now - he loves hearing Judas far too much, and he's better at spraying sparkling wine than getting the hair dye out of the bottle - his vital contributions to the company should never be forgotten.
Might the fact that some critics are writing him off inform his disposition of late?
His recent attempts at patter are...not good. "GFY" is more "rooty tooty booty" than a "a little bit of the bubbly," and the squarehead gags aimed at Matt Lee are excruciating. The look on his face when he didn't realise the camera was rolling on January 5 revealed rather a lot. Jericho - and this isn't a piss-take but rather an objective truth - has quite the ego on him. Perhaps his fading presence at the heart of the promotion explains this phoned-in comedy.
Is this harsh?
Is Jericho entering muted/conflicted performances of late by design, equipped with the knowledge that the height of emotion must be reserved for the crescendo of his slow-burn conflict with Eddie Kingston? He doesn't look thrilled to be there anymore.
Is this good character work, or...?