How Chris Jericho Is Secretly Building Wrestling's Next Megastar
Most if not all shrugged at the announcement that Cody Vs. Sammy Guevara would open the debut Dynamite - and most sighed at the scarcely believable stipulation. There's a certain irony to that in retrospect. Nobody bought the idea of Chris Jericho Vs. Sammy Guevara at Full Gear, but if the turn is booked correctly, that is now, just eight months into Guevara's mainstream career, one of the biggest matches in modern wrestling.
But Guevara performed superbly in a super-heated and very well-worked match, impressing the Washington crowd into selling his near-fall attempts with his obnoxious heel psychology and spectacular athleticism. And then, of course, in a marvellous booking twist, he joined the Inner Circle in the show-closing angle. Guevara has impressed at an unstoppable canter in the months since.
If you want to reduce it, Chris Jericho is brilliant because he is a vicious, petulant jackass who deserves every bit of the violent retribution coming his way. Guevara has taken clear inspiration from Chris Jericho, and has said as much in a recent interview with CatchClub. But there's no outright plagiarism - only echoes and modifications. Guevara is savvy enough to grasp the core of Jericho's superb heel persona and use it as a template from which to build his own.
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