30 Years of Chris Jericho: His greatest moments ever

#19 Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko feud

Chris Jericho's unforgettable WCW feud (Pic Source: WWE)

During the mid-1990s to late 1990s, most fans would probably say that it all about the nWo, and rarely was there enough focus on the rest of the WCW roster. Nevertheless, WCW had a fantastic set of young talent like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and several others languishing on the mid-card.

While WCW never really paid enough attention to their non-main-event stories, it was hard to deny that Jericho was one of the WCW roster's bright spots. His ability to captivate audiences and a sheer creative streak on display, especially with his feud with Dean Malenko.

#OnThisDay in 1998: WCW Nitro: Dean Malenko Clotheslines Chris Jericho in to a small skip. pic.twitter.com/Dx1Nrh6WYD

— Allan (@allan_cheapshot) June 15, 2017

Dean Malenko had met Jericho in Japan but once he got to him, everything clicked. He said:

"I saw Chris a couple times when I was working for All Japan, I got the opportunity to watch the New Japan stuff on TV. I ran into him one time, him and Brad Armstrong were together at a train station, we were going to another arena. We knew each other from that standpoint but didn’t really get to spend some time, but once we did, just like Eddie we clicked from the very beginning."

Imagine if Chris Jericho never left WCW, history might have turned out a little different.

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#18 Chris Jericho's WWE Debut

And he did it right across from The Rock (Pic Source: WWE)

With WCW finally behind him, Chris Jericho had finally landed in WWE. For weeks, there was a millennium clock being prominently shown on WWE TV and while some fans knew it was Jericho, people in the arena that night popped when he arrived.

#FlashbackFriday On this day in wrestling history 20 years ago, Chris Jericho made his WWE debut by interrupting a promo from The Rock to one heck of an ovation. pic.twitter.com/vnKrHUHMB9

— Daily DDT (@FanSidedDDT) August 9, 2019

While some may say that his WWE debut got upstaged by The Rock, it was still one of the biggest pops in The Attitude Era. In the locker room, Bruce Prichard felt that Jericho held his own that night. He said:

"I thought it was excellent, everybody was talking about it. People got it and they enjoyed it; they remembered it. I think Jericho held his own. He did go back and fourth, and held his own, and didn't sh** the bed. I stand by it. I think Jericho is remembered for that night by a lot of people, and he was able to hang in there and do it. He came right back the next week and did it again."

It will go down in WWE history as one of the fascinating debuts of its time.