Solid Argument for Jericho as the GOAT.

[Jobes]

I mean, dude's been wrestling for almost thirty years, during that time he's not never been over, he just had a five-star match at the age of 47, he's a solid promo, great heel, great babyface was able to make the word, "it," and a clipboard the most popular things on RAW.

I think for his longevity, his promo ability, his in-ring skill, and his continued popularity, you could argue that he's the greatest of all time.

[Juice]

Jericho IS it's an uphill battle to disagree. I think. He had a lot of success outside of WWE umbrella so he won't get the HBK god status but in every way he earned it.

[Nickybojelais]

He's certainly the greatest evolving character of all time. He really knows when and how to change it up before he becomes stale and bland. A lot of wrestlers could learn a lot from this.

[Deleted]

He’s up there but I don’t think he’s the GOAT either.  Not sure who I’d put in that spot though.

[Amazing Kitsune]

How does he do on the "Did he draw money?" argument?

[The Barber]

Mar 3, 2018 22:45:19 GMT -5 Nickybojelais said:

He's certainly the greatest evolving character of all time. He really knows when and how to change it up before he becomes stale and bland. A lot of wrestlers could learn a lot from this.

That's because Vince lets him do it. If not, he'd still be screaming about Jerichoholics or whatever.

Mar 3, 2018 22:59:29 GMT -5 Amazing Kitsune said:

How does he do on the "Did he draw money?" argument?

I'm not to sure he ever did.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

I'm not sure I'd back him as the GOAT myself, but it would be foolish to say that he doesn't belong in the conversation.

[EyeofTyr]

There's something to be said for hitting that point in a character's shelf life where it peaks for a successful & long running careered wrestler. Undertaker, Foley, Austin, Rock, HBK, even Cena and a list of many others all hit a point where their characters really stopped evolving. Sure, there would be minor changes here and there but overall the character was set in stone. Because of this, those characters reached a status of reverence for a lot of fans & people.

Jericho never lets that happen. He never lets nostalgia take hold of his character. He mutilates it, cannibalizes it, evolves it, mutates it, and has it ever spiraling up on high's and down on low's, transforming his appearance in usually dramatic ways along the way. For some like myself, they love it. But it's unfortunately this very trait of his that keeps some fans from putting him into consideration for GOAT because his character never has hit that point the others mentioned have, it has never hit what feels like the twilight of it. He thumbs his nose at your nostalgia for his earlier incarnations.

Personally? If some of the people that get put into the talk like HBK or HHH or even Undertaker get put in, Jericho fits the criteria as well. Some may like to rose tinted glasses it, but some of the people we put in the category of GOAT were never that big of draws which is usually the other big thing people hold against Jericho too. 

[GuyOfOwnage]

There are just way too many factors to determine a greatest of all-time. I could give you top mic workers of all-time, I could give you best technicians, those sorts of things, but there are just too many factors for an overall greatest of all-time.

[Hit Girl]

Nope. Sorry, but he isn't.

[mcstoklasa]

Steve Austin

[Citizen Snips]

Mar 3, 2018 22:59:29 GMT -5 Amazing Kitsune said:

How does he do on the "Did he draw money?" argument?

Sold a metric ton of merchandise from 1999-2001 but none of his runs ever kickstarted the fabled "new boom period".

There's also been several stretches of his career where he was over but clearly stale. 2003-2005 were pretty bleh, his first return until his heel turn on HBK, his random "cool dad" returns until he teamed with Owens and created The List were showing diminishing returns. He wasn't getting Conway pops during these times, but it seemed like he'd get a big reaction on his return and then immediately wear out his welcome.

He also has next to no "household name" value, which is usually a key factor in the GOAT rankings.

He's certainly had an amazing career and is one of my personal faves, but I wouldn't knock Stone Cold or Andre off the WWE Mount Rushmore for him.

[Deleted]

Jericho's good but from 2012 - 2015 his character was a mediocre rehash of stuff he'd done before; it's just easy to forget that since his stuff before and after that period was so high quality. And in-ring wise, at his peak he was excellent, but I'd say Jericho hasn't done anything beyond "alright" since his 2012 return, though I admittedly haven't yet seen the Omega match.

[Jobes]

Mar 4, 2018 0:40:34 GMT -5 @tacticalsneakman said:

Jericho's good but from 2012 - 2015 his character was a mediocre rehash of stuff he'd done before; it's just easy to forget that since his stuff before and after that period was so high quality. And in-ring wise, at his peak he was excellent, but I'd say Jericho hasn't done anything beyond "alright" since his 2012 return, though I admittedly haven't yet seen the Omega match.

His run with Owens was the best thing in wrestling at the time.

[KofiMania]

Greatest what though? In-ring? I'd certainly put HBK ahead of him. Star? Certainly not. He never hit the peaks of Austin, Rock, Hogan. All-around performer/character? Might be up there as far as that goes.

[BRAINFADE]

I always find it difficult to call any wrestler the definitive "Greatest Of All Time" due to how subjective wrestling is. But I will say that Chris Jericho is a guy that I've always held in high regard. His body of work over a near thirty year career- both in ring and character- places him easily in my top 20. And after the incredible work he did with Omega, leading up to and including the blinder of a match they had at Wrestle Kingdom, he may have pushed himself into my top 10. To have the quality of match that he did at the age of 47 was astounding.

And for anybody who brought up the "did he draw money?" point: He was in the double main event for the biggest attended Toyko Dome show New Japan has drawn in decades. And perhaps more importantly, NJPW World subscriptions had something like an 80% increase outside of Japan for Wrestle Kingdom. If that doesn't prove that Chris Jericho can draw money, I don't know what will.

[Deleted]

Mar 4, 2018 1:17:15 GMT -5 Jobes said:

His run with Owens was the best thing in wrestling at the time.

That's after the three year down period I mentioned. 2016-present Jericho has largely been very entertaining, his run with Owens in particular.

[Fade]

Mar 4, 2018 1:20:38 GMT -5 KofiMania said:

Greatest what though? In-ring? I'd certainly put HBK ahead of him. Star? Certainly not. He never hit the peaks of Austin, Rock, Hogan. All-around performer/character? Might be up there as far as that goes.

Yeah, what i came in to say. There's an argument to be had as an "all-around" performer.

[Tiger Millionaire]

He's not the GOAT, but if you were starting a promotion from the ground up, you'd want to have him on your roster.

[Mozenrath]

I'd say he's definitely up there, but I wouldn't put any one person as greatest, in the same way I wouldn't say one video game or movie was the best. What are you in the mood for? Sometimes you want brawling, sometimes you want a technical matchup, sometimes you want tags, etc.

Jericho's definitely up there for versatility, for not overstaying his welcome or degrading too bad in the ring, etc. He's pretty much the Madonna of WWE, he's done a bit of everything and keeps changing it up. (And I say that as someone who isn't that into Madonna)