Chris Jericho responds to critics, circa 2002

[A damn road sign]

Anyone else ever seen this? I know it was 12 years ago, but it's still pretty amusing. Basically Jericho went online and looked up a few reviews of his match with Rob Van Dam from the 2002 King of the Ring and took exception to a few he saw saying it was a bad match (I don't think it was, nor was it particularly memorable?) and proceeded to post a scathing blog on his official website. I paid a visit to the Wayback Machine and managed to dig out the original article, check it out. It's hilarious.

web.archive.org/web/20021010031640/www.chrisjericho.com/commentary.htm

Hello Jackoffs...

All right, I've had it. You want a war? Now you've got one. I'm suffering from a bout of insomnia, so I decided to go on the web and check out the reviews of the King Of The Ring from tonight, more specifically on the PW Torch website. After reading what all of you "smarks" (and believe me, you are all still marks) had to say about my match and the show, I am furious.

Everybody has the right to an opinion and here's mine. I am sick of all you holier than thou, pompous, jackasses. That's it. That's all. Baby goes to sleep now. I had one of my best matches of the year tonight with RVD, that featured 20 minutes of tremendous action, innovative false finishes and an absolutely tremendous crowd. It was everything I could've asked for in a match and it was in my opinion, an off the charts performance from RVD and myself, match of the year caliber. I was so excited about the contest and I can humbly state that we stole the show. The crowd was so into it that they were burned out after we went on, quiet for the next 3-4 matches. They ate up every move from start to finish, and they enjoyed the hell out of it.

But now I read the opinions of some of you. Many of you state that the match was very good or excellent. I agree. But many others are saying that the match was slow and predictable with one jackass even saying that it was one of the worst matches of my career!!! How can you honestly say that? What the hell do you people want? What is it that you are looking for? We go out there and bust our asses to entertain you (and if the Columbus fans were quiet, they sure as hell weren't during my match, they were entertained) and your thoughts were that bad?

Well if you didn't like my match tonight, then you are out of luck if you're a Jericho fan, cause it was the best you're gonna get, jerky. That was CJ at his finest. Wrestling at it's finest. A great 4 1/2 star performance with a tremendous build, a great crowd and an awesome match.

If you didn't like it, then stop watching me and stop watching the WWE and take up bowling, cause you will never like anything we give you.

I'm the first one to admit when my performance is not up to snuff, or when something was bad and I'm the most self critical person on the WWE roster, but tonight's performance was me at my finest. Didn't like it? Get the F out then and good riddance to you.

For all of you that enjoyed my match I say thanks. For those that didn't like it, I don't care cause I'm through with you.

I am now finished with the internet and I'm finished with this site because I hate what you marks are doing. You've spoiled it for me. Your negativity is ridiculous. You all come off like a bunch of bitter know-it alls, who won't be happy with anything we give you. Nothing is ever good enough and quite frankly I'm over it. You are the same people that are saying that Attack of the Clones is boring, analyzing every little detail, instead of allowing yourselves to be entertained by it's magic.

It seems that some of you wish the wrestling business would dry up and die, because some of you dislike EVERYTHING we do. Is it always good? No, but we are killing ourselves to try and entertain you and if you don't respect that, then kiss my ass. I want the business to be around forever and I am doing my part to keep it great and I did that tonight, no matter what any of you think.

Alot of the boys pander to you on their websites, asking for your input and your thoughts and I used to be one of them. Guess what? I'm not anymore. Think what you want. I don't care. Do what you want. I don't care. Respond how you want too as well, because I won't be reading. I don't give a damn about what you think anymore...

One of the best wrestlers in the world and one of the performers in the best match of the night and match of year candidate from the KOR,

Chris Jericho

Just amazing that a contracted WWE performer of Jericho's calibre would go on the Internet and tell fans to "get the F out" and "take up bowling" because they didn't give his match a five-star rating. Maybe just being a heel, but whatever. Hilarious.

I love Chris Jericho.

[ben:friendship frog]

Haha, I think I remember this.
I've met Jericho a few times and had the opportunity to 'hang out' with him for a while each time, thanks to a mutual friend after Fozzy gigs, and this doesn't surprise me. Very talented man, but he's all ego.

[Deleted]

For all of you that enjoyed my match I say thanks. For those that didn't like it, I don't care cause I'm through with you.

It's funny to picture him crying while he was typing this.

[Session Moth is over]

Shit like that is just embarrasing.

I have no idea whether that match was good or not but wrestlers attacking fans over their opinion never comes across well.

Especially using words like 'marks' and shit like that.

Jericho says he doesn't care what the fans think, this little rant proves otherwise.

[Deleted]

He just happened to be Drunkicho enough to get online and blab about it. I'm sure feelings like this aren't unique.

[Hobby Drifter]

"Drunkicho" as his own book called it.

EDIT: Beat me by a few seconds.

[King Boo]

Sept 8, 2014 17:40:30 GMT -5 ben:friendship frog said:

Haha, I think I remember this.
I've met Jericho a few times and had the opportunity to 'hang out' with him for a while each time, thanks to a mutual friend after Fozzy gigs, and this doesn't surprise me. Very talented man, but he's all ego.

I've had the same opportunity and ego was the last thing I got from him. I actually walked from it with more respect and like for the guy - he was super nice and funny. He didn't know me from a hole in the wall before that, but he talked to me like we were old friends and even remembered me months after the fact. Just an all around awesome guy.

[xCompackx]

I don't see what's wrong with defending your work. Everyone has different opinions and all that, but claiming a match is "the worst of his career" isn't really something you can throw around and still be taken seriously. I haven't seen the match Jericho's talking about, but at some point you kinda do have to recognize when good wrestling is good wrestling.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2014 18:07:29 GMT -5 King Boo said:

Sept 8, 2014 17:40:30 GMT -5 ben:friendship frog said:

Haha, I think I remember this.
I've met Jericho a few times and had the opportunity to 'hang out' with him for a while each time, thanks to a mutual friend after Fozzy gigs, and this doesn't surprise me. Very talented man, but he's all ego.

I've had the same opportunity and ego was the last thing I got from him. I actually walked from it with more respect and like for the guy - he was super nice and funny. He didn't know me from a hole in the wall before that, but he talked to me like we were old friends and even remembered me months after the fact. Just an all around awesome guy.

Yeah, Jericho is a polite/respectful enough person to deal with around Fozzy gig junk, a friend put it best by saying it's almost disappointing to talk to him when you expect some form of Jericho from Raw. Albeit namedropping should be banned from his music life, it's funny at first but he's such a huge now-middle-age rock music mark it can be a bit awkward to hear and it seems to have leaked into his podcast style.

[Deleted]

I had a pleasant experience when I bumped into Jericho randomly who was having the time of his life with Fozzy in the most empty grey cup tailgate I have ever seen. I didn't ask him anything about wrestling since he left WWE a few weeks ago but he never once looked annoyed or looked like he wanted you to get the hell out of here or went threw any motions.

All I can say is I'm surprised on how short Jericho was and how huge his hands were. There is no way a man that's 5'7 - 5'8 should have hands that huge

[chazraps]

The wrestling internet was a very different, very weird place in June, 2002. Considering that Jericho was one of the first to utilize his own website, going back to the late-90s, he's had a different relationship with fans online that pretty much any/every other contracted performer who passed through Monday night televisions.

Out of context, and especially if it went up today, this would come off as irredeemably terrible. But Jericho in 2002 had a reason for this and probably didn't want his site to just be another one that never got updated again, so he gave this reason.

And if you watch the Van Dam-Jericho match, he's correct.

We all have our off days, and quite a few people probably rubbed him the wrong way over the course of a night, but it's half-meltdown half-perfect thing to say and only way he could say it.

[Deleted]

I love the fact he called himself "CJ", just hilarious.

Haven't seen the match but honestly that type of attitude is true. The fans were complaining about their match then, wow. I don't even know what those same fans think about today's product.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2014 18:59:46 GMT -5 @kn said:

I love the fact he called himself "CJ", just hilarious.

Haven't seen the match but honestly that type of attitude is true. The fans were complaining about their match then, wow. I don't even know what those same fans think about today's product.

I just got a few codec messages from two of them, let me decode it:
Bring back...
Attitude era...
Stone Cold! Stone Cold!
...bleeding chair shots.
...Misawa wouldn't have died if he was tougher...
...Benoit removed from history? Worse crime than Snuka...
...Attitude Era!...
...CM Punk vs Stone Cold!...
...Fake and gay...

Not sure what they were trying to say really.

[mrbananagrabber]

Damn, son. I was kinda on your side until that Attack of the Clones comment. You can't defend that shit.

[PsychoGoatee]

I love that match, but he lost me bringing Attack of the Clones into it. That movie, oh my

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2014 19:31:07 GMT -5 @pauledraperously said:

Sept 8, 2014 18:59:46 GMT -5 @kn said:

I love the fact he called himself "CJ", just hilarious.

Haven't seen the match but honestly that type of attitude is true. The fans were complaining about their match then, wow. I don't even know what those same fans think about today's product.

I just got a few codec messages from two of them, let me decode it:
Bring back...
Attitude era...
Stone Cold! Stone Cold!
...bleeding chair shots.
...Misawa wouldn't have died if he was tougher...
...Benoit removed from history? Worse crime than Snuka...
...Attitude Era!...
...CM Punk vs Stone Cold!...
...Fake and gay...

Not sure what they were trying to say really.

Yep sounds like a lot of them still watch the current product and post online a good amount.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

LOL, I remember this. This was well before WWE took the internet seriously to any degree.

[cabbageboy]

Yeah I remember him saying this, as well as the more amusing intro to Karen Angle when she took to the net to call out RVD for hurting Kurt too much, haha. Anyone care to find those posts?

I'd need to watch RVD/Jericho from KOTR again to recall what kind of match it was. I seem to recall it being pretty good (best thing on a terrible PPV), but not as good as RVD vs. basically anyone circa 2002. Jericho was so utterly buried by this point after the HHH/Steph feud that it wasn't even funny. More importantly, the KOTR finals with RVD/Lesnar was to me the single biggest booking blunder of the post Invasion era. RVD was primed to be the #1 babyface in the WWE for the 2002-04 period and they somehow managed to screw it all up and the Lesnar push backfired when he quit not even 2 years later.

[Crappler El 0 M]

I remember this as well. He and RVD did have the best match on the show, but the other matches on that show weren't particularly good. As far as Attack of the Clones goes... time backs us up on that one!

[Manute Bol]

So is this match really all that great, or is Jericho reaching a bit?