The biggest buzz in the wrestling world today is the return of Chris Jericho to the WWE. Now is as good a time as ever to look back at the first run in the WWE that Chris Jericho had and count down his ten best matches in the WWE.
10. Chris Jericho vs. The Rock; Autin (Vengeance 2001)
I’m kind of cheating on this one since this is actually two separate matches but they belong together. In 2001 at Vengeance the WWE held a four man miniature tournament to unify the WWE title and WCW title and crown the first ever WWE Undisputed Champion. It was a surprise when Chris Jericho upset the Rock in the first round and an even bigger surprise when in the very next match he also upset Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWE Undisputed Championship.
9. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian – TLC Match (Smackdown May 24th, 2001)
In 2001 Jericho and Benoit combined for the best tag team named Chris in wrestling history. Jericho and Benoit are both awesome wrestlers so when you throw them in with three tag teams that put on classic TLC matches already in the WWE then you’re sure to get another classic.
8. Chris Jericho, The Rock, Kane, The Undertaker, Big Show vs. Shane McMahon, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Booker T (Survivor Series 2001)
The invasion angle was one of the WWE’s biggest flops but the final deciding match in the feud was possibly the best Survivor Series the WWE ever had. Chris Jericho also made his full fledged heel turn by nearly costing the Rock, and the WWE, the match.
7. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 2000)
In 2000 Kurt Angle was on the quick rise and won the WWE Intercontinental title and WWE European Title. At WrestleMania Angle had to defend the titles against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a triangle elimination match. The wrestler that got the first pinfall would get the WWE Intercontinental Title and the wrestler that got the second pinfall would get the WWE European Title. Chris Jericho pinned Benoit to win the WWE Intercontinental Title and then Benoit pinned him to become the WWE European Champion.
6. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Christian vs. Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin – Money in the Bank (WrestleMania 21)
At WrestleMania 21 there was a six man ladder match and the winner would get a WWE World Title shot any time they wanted in the next year. Other than the TLC matches the tag teams had it was very rare for ladder matches involving more than two people to actually be good so it was quite an achievement to have a good ladder match with so many wrestlers.
5. Chris Jericho vs. Edge – Cage Match (Smackdown July 25th, 2002)
When the brand split first happened in the WWE there were two feuds that were clearly the best feuds on their brand. While Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero were feuding on Raw Chris Jericho and Edge were tearing up Smackdown. The Cage Match between Chris Jericho and Edge was actually the first ever cage match on Smackdown and it ended their feud.
4. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit – Two out of Three Falls (Summerslam 2000)
Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit matches were almost always a classic so any time the WWE didn’t have anything for them to do they knew they could just throw the two together and that would easily fill a chunk of their Pay Per View. At Summerslam 2000 they must have needed a bigger chunk to fill than usual because they let Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit wrestle three falls. The fans certainly didn’t mind.
3. Chris Jericho vs. Triple H (Monday Night Raw April 17, 2000)
When Chris Jericho made his first face run in the WWE he was over like crazy. Chris Jericho was getting pops that rivaled The Rock and Stone Cold. So when Chris Jericho pinned the World Champion and most hated man in the company, Triple H, the fans popped unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately Triple H had the decision reversed and Chris Jericho didn’t win his first World Title until the next year.
2. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit – Ladder Match (Royal Rumble 2001)
Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit wrestled singles matches, tag team matches, triangle matches, 2 out of 3 falls matches and submission matches but none of their matches were better than when the two of them climbed that ladder and fought several feet off the ground. The Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit Ladder Match is also right up there with the TLC Matches and the Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels Ladder Matches.
1. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin Triple H (Monday Night Raw May 21st, 2001)
There have been a lot of great tag teams throughout the years and singles wrestlers thrown together usually aren’t nearly as good but the tag team match that pit Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit against Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H might be the best tag team match I’ve ever seen. Triple H and Steve Austin were the ultimate heels at the time and Jericho and Benoit were the fan favorites but I think the fans knew the chances of them winning were unlikely. The match itself was incredible and the Canadian Chrises pulled off the upset of the century.
