To his credit, Irwin played a blinder in the role. Throwing his gloves to the mat as the bell rang and charging at foes with overhand lefts and rights, The Goon did indeed replicate the kind of scrap often seen in The NHL. His gear too, was loyal to a comical fault. Head-to-toe in hockey attire, Irwin had boots fashioned with soles like hockey blades. They impacted the way he walked, but he styled it out well considering the limitations.
Could the son of an actual Ice Hockey pro have done the job better? He genuinely believes he would have been given the chance. Commenting on how McMahon likes to chat with wrestlers about their lives and histories to get a feel for a character, Jericho theories that before Irwin, it could have been Irvine.
He said: “I just know, that I bet you I was earmarked to be the Goon, who was a hockey player/wrestler who wore hockey equipment to the ring and had wrestling boots that looked like skate blades, like they were shaved down to look like thin skate blades. I guarantee that could have been me, guys.”
As 1996 became 1997, The Goon was put back on ice as the company itself began the slow skate to the hottest period in industry history. Jericho himself was a beneficiary of the better days. Having moved to WCW in the end, he'd grown tired of his time in Atlanta by 1999. Though his start in WWE was frustratingly slow at first, he at least made it through the doors with his name, personality and ridiculous haircut in tact.
His original incarnation could have left him absolutely pucked.
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.
