Every Chris Jericho Reinvention Ranked From Worst To Best

6. Man Of 1,004 Holds

Reinvention Of Chris Jericho
WWE.com

It's unclear whether or not Chris Jericho was ever a fan of BBC series I'm Alan Partridge, but, and this is some compliment, he shared the same gift as one of British comedy's greatest ever creations.

In a bit of magic specificity that framed the character as spectacularly petulant, Partridge countered an irate farmer enemy's eye-rolled "I have 100 cows" with "I have 104 friends." It's an immortal line in the annals of British comedy, one that captures the pathetic essence of the smallness of man. Jericho did the exact same thing with his riff on Dean Malenko's ARMBAR gimmick as the ARMBAR Man of 1,000 ARMBAR holds, peppering his list with grating repetition so as to not undermine that he was the heel d*ckhead in the programme.

Braggart, conspiracy theory victim, tantrum-throwing brat: Jericho emerged as a charisma-drenched sports entertainer from a division that was only "meant" to showcase good wrestling. Jericho in WCW was an entertainment machine operating in one that was fundamentally broken.

To develop that act, leaving was imperative, and, developing his expert sense of when to go to preserve his legend, he knew when - and where - to go to build it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!