'The Lionheart' was one of the kings of the indie jungle, but he'd hoped like many his age of WWE superstardom. The son of a famous father, Chris' Dad Ted Irvine was a hugely successful Ice Hockey star for several NHL teams but Jericho's heart was lost to Sports Entertainment.
With no intent to become a second generation skater, Jericho's stock rose relatively quickly in his chosen profession. Debuting in 1990, he was hugely in demand six years laters. Both WWE and WCW were interested, with Jericho noting that he was contacted by Jim Cornette at the time for enhancement work.
During a podcast discussion on it, he said: “The first ever opportunity I got in the WWE was [when] Jim Cornette called me to tell me, ‘we’re going to do this thing where we have five enhancement guys. Now, they’re not jobbers because they all have gimmicks, but we want you to be one of these guys. They’re not going to win any matches, but at least they’ll have gimmicks and they’ll have TV time and an entrance.’ And I’m like, ‘well, it [has] been six years. I don’t really need to do that. I’m just going to keep doing my thing.’”
Not for the last time, 'Y2J' was wise beyond his years. He had a further instinct tied to one of the last and most ludicrous sideline gimmicks McMahon divised before the entire company underwent a radical shift in 1997
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
