Has Jericho surpassed HBK...

[The OP]

...as WWE's most dependable wrestler?

Personally, I think he has. Don't get me wrong, Michaels is still from bell to bell one of the absolute best in the business, but his matches have gotten somewhat formulaic in the past few years. He's still very, very good but he doesn't look as inspired out there as he used to and I don't think he's the best anymore.

Jericho on the other hand never seems to stop improving no matter how good he gets and there tend to be more surprises and creative twists in the average Jericho match than an HBK match.

Who agrees? Who disagrees? Is there a WWE wrestler you think is even more consistent than Jericho or Shawn? Discuss.

[The F'N Captain]

I don't know if the parallels to HBK/Y2J are worth mentioning but I really think Jericho will go down in history as one of the best guys to walk into a ring ever.

[clifford]

no. A close second. Jericho may be more consistent at the moment, but there is no one I would rather watch in a big time match than HBK still.

[Albino Heat]

Not quite yet. When he is on, Michaels is the best in the world. The only time Jericho has been quite that high... he was wrestling Michaels.

[Parrish]

no but once micheals decides to hang it up then Jericho will be #1

[rnrk supports BLM]

If you mean "dependable" in the sense that he works a fulltime schedule, rarely gets injured, and can generally be plugged in for a match or feud wherever he's needed in the main event or the midcard, then yes, Jericho is probably WWE's most dependable wrestler.

But in terms of overall match quality, promo work, and generally connecting with the audience, no, Jericho has not surpassed Michaels, and at this stage it doesn't look like he ever will.

[marvelocity]

Either Jericho or Punk are WWE's most reliable wrestlers, whether it be lack of missed time to injuries, putting on consistently entertaining matches, or having good character development and really understanding their characters.

[i.Sarita.com]

Jan 2, 2010 21:40:40 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

If you mean "dependable" in the sense that he works a fulltime schedule, rarely gets injured, and can generally be plugged in for a match or feud wherever he's needed in the main event or the midcard, then yes, Jericho is probably WWE's most dependable wrestler.

But in terms of overall match quality, promo work, and generally connecting with the audience, no, Jericho has not surpassed Michaels, and at this stage it doesn't look like he ever will.

Jericho is a better promo man than Michaels.

[kennerado]

"You tried to be the hero one too many times Michaels!"

[rnrk supports BLM]

Jan 2, 2010 21:44:23 GMT -5 i.Sarita.com said:

Jan 2, 2010 21:40:40 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

If you mean "dependable" in the sense that he works a fulltime schedule, rarely gets injured, and can generally be plugged in for a match or feud wherever he's needed in the main event or the midcard, then yes, Jericho is probably WWE's most dependable wrestler.

But in terms of overall match quality, promo work, and generally connecting with the audience, no, Jericho has not surpassed Michaels, and at this stage it doesn't look like he ever will.

Jericho is a better promo man than Michaels.

I'd disagree. While Jericho's always done a fantastic job as a heel, he's been hit or miss as a babyface, particularly after the '07 return, whereas Michaels can be very effective in either role.

And I don't think Jericho has ever been able to get the crowd as emotionally invested in him as Michaels can, either with his various "career-ending injury" angles back in the New Generation or with his serious feuds with Jericho and JBL in '08-'09.

Heck, take the most recent Jericho/Michaels feud, arguably both men's best work over the last several years, and imagine the characters reversed. I can see Michaels as the serious, suit-wearing heel eaten away by jealousy and insecurity, who's cleaned his own life up but sees the fans prefer the wild, amoral Jericho over him, pushing him to try and destroy Jericho's life while blaming the fans for cheering him. But I can't imagine Jericho being able to draw the same kinds of emotions from the crowd or see him fighting back tears as he leads his black-eyed wife back to the locker room.

[Piccolo]

Jericho is obviously much more dependable in the day to day grind, while I'd say Michaels is more dependable when it comes to delivering when he's in the spotlight, but takes it easy the rest of the time.

I guess that makes sense, given where they are in their careers. They're only five years apart, but as you get toward the end, five years makes a big difference. Jericho is still sort of in the late stages of his prime, whereas Michaels is really someone who has to save himself up for the big stuff due to bodily wear and tear.

So yeah, when it comes to being the guy delivering terrific matches on TV, Jericho's currently surpassed Michaels.

[AriadosMan]

As a draw? No.
In terms of contributing to the shows and overall product, and making it great? YES. He is now the best heel in all of pro wrestling and can generate heat more effectively than anyone.

[♥ Bunnyslinger ♥]

Tomko gimme a beat.

[corndog]

Jan 2, 2010 22:19:24 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

Jan 2, 2010 21:44:23 GMT -5 i.Sarita.com said:

Jericho is a better promo man than Michaels.

I'd disagree. While Jericho's always done a fantastic job as a heel, he's been hit or miss as a babyface, particularly after the '07 return, whereas Michaels can be very effective in either role.

And I don't think Jericho has ever been able to get the crowd as emotionally invested in him as Michaels can, either with his various "career-ending injury" angles back in the New Generation or with his serious feuds with Jericho and JBL in '08-'09.

Heck, take the most recent Jericho/Michaels feud, arguably both men's best work over the last several years, and imagine the characters reversed. I can see Michaels as the serious, suit-wearing heel eaten away by jealousy and insecurity, who's cleaned his own life up but sees the fans prefer the wild, amoral Jericho over him, pushing him to try and destroy Jericho's life while blaming the fans for cheering him. But I can't imagine Jericho being able to draw the same kinds of emotions from the crowd or see him fighting back tears as he leads his black-eyed wife back to the locker room.

I agree that Jericho is not as good of being a face as Micheals. But Jericho is definitely better than Micheals at being a heel, especially a serious one. I think in promos Micheals could be good as a serious heel, but in the ring it wouldn't work as well. Micheals would mainly be getting beat up in his matches and flailing around the ring like he always did. With Jericho's style he tries to beat up his opponents and outwrestle them although he usually fails and has to cheat, it makes more sense with his obsession to prove he is the best.

[noleafclover1980]

Jericho may be the best (debatable) heel in WWE at the moment, if HBK goes heel like a lot think he may, Jericho wouldn't even have that. Heel Shawn is flat out awesome.

[4real]

When he's fit and healthy Edge is the more dependable. But seeing as Jericho never seems to get injured he is the man right now. Screw your Cena's, DX and Taker's, Jericho is the man and WWE knows it.

[Mozenrath]

I prefer Jericho's body of work, but if we're talking prestige with the general markdome, maybe someday. He has a better shot than most.

[The Ichi]

If we're talking dependable, Cena's up there too whether people wanna admit it or not.

[Mangs]

I love Jericho. He's a great preformer, he's a great heel and whenever he's having a match I'm always watching every single bit of it without looking away or getting bored.

HBK is nice too, but Jericho is just my personal favourite.

["Magic" Mark Hurr]

Has he surpassed HBK, maybe not yet.

If he punched my wife in the face and she came home and showed me, I'd be pissed that she didn't get it autographed.