Subscribe to download
Chris Jericho (2018)

189 Pts.



It was generally assumed Jericho would help NJPW expand their fanbase in the west, but what wasn’t as certain was whether he would get over enough in Japan to justify long-term program commitments, especially at his price tag. If semi-main events at Wrestle Kingdom and Dominion against tippy top megastar made guys weren’t totally convincing evidence, Jericho shut the door on all conjecture by drawing a sellout against respectable-upper-midcarder-but-hardly-a-tippy-top-dude EVIL on top at Power Struggle. If he wasn’t over the hump with Japanese fans by then, he clearly is now, with a third straight excellent bout worked in a unique style for the promotion, and earning some hardcore cred by not simply parachuting in for a mega show, but this time working a second-tier tour ender in a sub-10,000 seat venue.

I defend the use of part-timers elsewhere in this book (Young Bucks profile), of which Jericho is the ultimate example of, in both his raw use, but more importantly, how that use translates to keeping him just enough teases to keep warm for his small handful of bouts, while at the same time dragging the run out and milking the most money out of it before the diminishing returns kick in. The key to extending the usefulness of the run was getting over in Japan, and between the success of the Jericho match and his feud with LIJ, which was his best bet to hit an emotional chord with native fans, he got the job done.

So now what? He’ll presumably wrap up the LIJ/Naito thing at Wrestle Kingdom 13. There are still interesting scenarios with the rest of the top tier, notably Tanahashi and Okada. Enough time has passed that Alpha vs Omega II could work, plus that opens up the possibility of an EVIL-like side bout against Kota Ibushi that would be a significantly stronger diversion than the EVIL match in terms of star power.

Those who complain that he’s not working Road To shows or even monthly are missing the point as to why this all works to begin with, but his price tag is also a factor. As long as he holds up his end and gets his ♥♥♥♥ over, I see no reason to not continue the relationship until he runs out of top guys to work with.

The one trick left to pull with Jericho is to convince him to work a show in the United States, something Jericho is on record as not wanting to do, out of respect for promising Vince McMahon that he would never work a non-WWE show in his backyard. I wouldn’t write that off completely. Jericho has proven to be a savvy businessman whose instincts are almost always on point. He saw the lay of the land and exploited it. He knew he had something to offer NJPW, which was added exposure in the west, leveraging that into big paydays. He wisely aligned himself with The Elite, understanding that was a rabid the fanbase who put their money where their mouths are, leveraging that into big t-shirt sales, a relationship with Hot Topic, and a sold out cruise. If Vince no longer sees him as a top guy, if his comebacks are treated more like nostalgia than main event run kickoffs, I don’t think Jericho would remain loyal to his Vince pact with six-figure money on the table from New Japan. Especially since non-main event runs on TV will only diminish his value elsewhere. If WWE wants to keep Jericho’s side hobby Japan exclusive, they’d be best served to keep treating him like a big deal.

In which case, Jericho wins again.