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Chris Jericho has done it all in the wrestling business: record-breaking reigns as WWE Intercontinental Champion, multiple world title runs and performances all over the world. He's wrestled for WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and now applies his craft at All Elite Wrestling.
There is no doubt Chris Jericho is one of the greatest performers of all-time. He will one day rightly take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame. Surprisingly, there are still some elite names in WWE that Chris Jericho never faced during his tenure.
That being said, let's take a look at five WWE legends Chris Jericho surprisingly never wrestled.
#5. Chris Jericho has never faced Owen Hart
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Two of Canada's finest wrestling exports have surprisingly never competed against one another. Jericho is a huge fan of Owen Hart and one day wanted to become just like him. Jericho even indicated that he left WCW to face Owen Hart in WWE in 1999. On his 'Saturday Night Special' live chat in July 2020, Jericho said:
"If you asked me when I left WCW to go to WWE, what my top 10 reasons were for leaving, probably number 10 or 9, not the main reason but one of the reasons was that I hopefully get a chance to wrestle Owen Hart and that never happened," Chris Jericho said. (h/t Republic World)
It would no doubt have been a timeless classic and it would also have meant an incredible amount to Chris Jericho. Hart was a star he had admired throughout his wrestling career up to that point. Only a small handful get the opportunity to face their idols.
Jericho discussed his rare meetings with Owen Hart on his Talk is Jericho podcast:
"I only ever met him twice. Once in an airport. Never ran into him in New Japan because you figure he was in WWE from 88 or whatever it was, he was in Mexico, UWA, which I never was there at the same time…never ran into him in New Japan. So I saw him once at an airport because I lived in Calgary obviously as did the guys, and one great memory I have is I got to fly from Calgary to Los Angeles…I was on my way to go to Japan, he was on his way for a PPV…and we sat together for the whole flight. I remember we had a great conversation. Talked for the three hours and I think both of us kinda wanted to go to sleep but we had a great conversation," Chris Jericho said. (h/t 411 Mania)
We'll never find out how a Chris Jericho vs. Owen Hart match would have gone down. If it were to have happened, it would almost certainly have stolen the show.
#4. Chris Jericho never faced The Honky Tonk Man
Chris Jericho vs. The Honky Tonk Man.
Longest reigning Intercontinental Champion ever vs. Most reigns as Intercontinental Champion ever.
The match immediately writes itself. Of course, Honky is now retired, but there were a few occasions that they may have crossed paths. As a heel during his Intercontinental Championship reign, The Honky Tonk Man made a big impression on the WWE Universe:
"My whole approach to the character was very simplistic. I had little key terms and pieces of verbiage that I knew would touch people, that I knew would hit the spot and make them explode. When I had the Intercontinental belt, I would go on TV and say, ‘Here I am, Mean Gene. I still have it, I still have the belt. I can’t be beat; no one can beat me. I’m the greatest of all-time!" Honky Tonk Man said. (h/t Whatculture)
A face Chris Jericho facing the hated guitar-playing Elvis impersonator to find out who really is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time? Yes, we would have loved to have seen it.
#3. Chris Jericho never faced Vader
Just like Chris Jericho, Big Van Vader performed all around the world for many promotions. Vader wrestled for WWE, WCW and for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. A match between the two would have been epic considering the mesh of styles that Jericho and Vader would bring to the match.
Vader is known for his large size and crushing his opponents, whereas Chris Jericho brings a more athletic ground-based approach to his matches. It would have been a David vs. Goliath match in a sense, but it would have also been a clash of two well-travelled experienced talents.
Vader discussed his pro-wrestling style with PWMania in 2014:
"My style is best suited in Japan. I’ve always been accused of being too stiff in other countries. In Europe and Mexico, my style’s fine. In WCW, it was borderline and in WWF, it was considered too stiff. It became apparent to me that I needed to work a certain way in one company and another way in another company. That all goes back to my point of having to adapt to your environment." Vader said (h/t PWMania)
Would Chris Jericho have been able to topple one of the greatest super-heavyweights of all-time? We'll never know, but we can only imagine what a war the two would have had in the ring.
#2. Chris Jericho has never faced Bret Hart
Chris Jericho always wanted to face Owen Hart, but he also wanted to face Bret Hart in the ring too. It would have been another masterpiece between two of the greatest Canadian wrestlers we've ever seen.
Chris Jericho spoke on his Saturday Night Special show about a potential feud with 'The Hitman':
"I never got to wrestle Bret. We were in WCW for a while, but I was never at that level where they would put me in the ring with him, at least in their mind. In my mind, I was totally at that level, but whatevs," Chris Jericho said (h/t Essentially Sports)
On Monday Night RAW in August 2010, Chris Jericho and Edge teamed up to face the team of Bret Hart and John Cena. This was during the infamous Nexus storyline. Whilst the match ended in a no contest due to Nexus interference, it wasn't classed as an official match.
Who would have submitted first? Jericho to the Sharpshooter, or Bret to the Walls of Jericho? It would have been a fascinating match, which I'm sure we would have wanted to rewatch many times over.
#1. Chris Jericho has never faced Sting
A Chris Jericho match that has never happened, even during both Jericho's and Sting's time in WCW. It would be a dream match for the ages. It would also recognize some of the last remaining superstars of their generation.
Of course, there is still time for these two legends to lock horns. They are both under AEW contracts. Sting has been somewhat active in the ring, and Jericho is still performing to a high standard.
Chris Jericho discussed the possibility of the match happening in AEW with the New York Post:
"So Jericho versus Sting for a one-time dream match, I think it would work. I don’t want it to be like WCW in ’96 where it’s Piper versus Hogan, Piper versus Savage where it’s just kind of like the same thing. I think Painmaker versus Sting, some kind of a match where the bats are involved, I think that would draw. So the answer would be yes, I’d love to do it. Once again, if the story is right I think the pieces are right there," Chris Jericho said.
It would tick another opponent off for both superstars, but right now there is zero chance of it happening in a WWE ring. They could have potentially made it happen when Sting was in WWE, but it just wasn't meant to be.
