Every Chris Jericho Reinvention Ranked From Worst To Best
8. Ayatollah Of Rock N' Rolla
In the years following his doomed Undisputed Championship reign, Jericho settled into the role of an established upper midcard act who, playing heel or babyface, more or less used his extravagant Y2J persona throughout several pursuits of the Intercontinental Title. Still, within that guise, he demonstrated exceptional character work, as the jealous, aspirational protege of Shawn Michaels, most notably.
After developing a veteran presence, Jericho, before his first hiatus, made literal his Ayatollah of Rock N' Rolla nickname in his final programme with newly-minted headliner John Cena.
This Jericho took to wearing shades, and styling his hair with a shaggy cut, in his new guise as a rock star informed by his real-life exploits as the frontman of Fozzy. He experimented with a more aloof promo delivery and body language to get the act over as something different, and it seemed to make an impression on the fans: he was cheered for perhaps the first, traceable moment of the imminent Cena Sucks! era in a fabulous veteran performance, in which it was very clear who was driving the quality of their SummerSlam 2005 match.
Before he even became a rock star proper, Jericho learned the oldest trick.