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Chris Jericho has had a legendary career spanning multiple promotions over the past 30 years. Whether it be WWE, WCW, ECW, NJPW or AEW, Le Champion has been at the forefront of rivalries that are the most memorable in the history of the business.
Chris Jericho mixed it up with legends, Hall of Famers and rising stars, giving them all iconic feuds that stand among the best. There have been some over championship gold or deeply personal issues. Some of these rivalries have even crossed over among the many promotions that he has been with as well.
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The Demo God continues to be featured as a top star to this day for All Elite Wrestling. He recently culminated a year-long storyline with MJF that just missed the cut on the list. In this article, let's take a look at the five greatest rivalries of Chris Jericho's career.
Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE
5) Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko
Chris Jericho gained a lot of experience across the world from Canada to Mexico to Japan. He finally arrived in the United States as part of Smokey Mountain Wrestling before eventually moving over to Extreme Championship Wrestling. Jericho's biggest break came when he signed with WCW and became an integral part of the Cruiserweight division.
Chris Jericho won the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time in the summer of 1997 and again a couple of months later, but he lost the strap very soon after both times. This led to a crucial heel turn for him in 1998 when he won the title for the third time against Rey Mysterio. Following a feud with Juventud Guerrera, he crossed paths with Dean Malenko.
Jericho constantly claimed to be a better wrestler than the Man of 1,000 Holds despite ducking the opportunity to face him. Chris Jericho cut one of his most memorable promos ever where he claimed to be "The Man of 1,004 Holds" and listed every move on an episode of Nitro. He named many holds that don't exist as well as armbar multiple times.
Chris Jericho defeated Dean Malenko at Uncensored 1998, which led to Malenko taking a leave of absence. During this sabbitical, Jericho insulted his rival at every turn. At Slamboree 1998, there was a Cruiserweight battle royal that was won by the mysterious Ciclope. To the shock of Jericho, Ciclope was unmasked to reveal himself as Dean Malenko to a massive pop.
Malenko went on to defeat Chris Jericho to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. This led to Jericho claiming a conspiracy to get the title off of him, which eventually led to Malenko relinquishing the gold. Jericho won the title back at the Great American Bash when Malenko got himself disqualified. For all the awesome moments created, this has to be among Jericho's best feuds.
4) Chris Jericho vs. Christian
Chris Jericho and Christian formed a hilarious tag team that was a highlight of Monday Night Raw from 2002-04. The two men provided consistent entertaining segments and displayed a remarkable chemistry together. At the tail end of 2003, Jericho developed a crush on Trish Stratus that took his attention away from Christian or so it seemed.
It was revealed that Jericho and Christian formed a bet over a Canadian dollar to see who could get either Trish or Lita first. However, this bet formed a genuine attraction between Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus. Christian became jealous and turned on Jericho, leading to a clash at WrestleMania XX. At the pay-per-view, Christian defeated his former partner with the help of Trish who turned on Jericho.
After this showdown at the Showcase of Immortals, their rivalry continued afterwards with Jericho beating Christian and Trish in a handicap match at Backlash. Chris Jericho scored one more major win over Christian, beating him to win the Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match at Unforgiven 2004.
3) Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
As previously mentioned, Chris Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio to win his third WCW Cruiseriweight Championship at Souled Out 1998. He officially turned heel by taking Mysterio attacking his knee with a toolbox. Rey returned months later and beat Jericho for the gold at Bash At The Beach. However, Jericho regained the title the next night on Nitro.
Their matches were good in WCW, but they took things to the next level years later in WWE. The two men put on a stellar feud in 2009 over the Intercontinental Championship. Mysterio beat Jericho at Judgment Day, but Jericho won the title the following month at Extreme Rules when he unmasked Mysterio. At The Bash, Mysterio defeated Jericho in a fantastic title vs mask encounter to end the feud.
2) Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit
Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit mixed it up a few times before both men were signed to WWE, notably in WCW. However, their rivalry became more prominent in WWE. Jericho signed with the company first before Benoit arrived just a few months later. Almost immediately, they would square off early and often.
The two men were in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 2000 for both the Intercontinental and European Championships with each man taking one title for themselves. Later that same year, they faced at SummerSlam in a two out of three falls match with Benoit winning and then feuding over the Intercontinental Title.
Their most famous clash was a Ladder Match for the IC Title at Royal Rumble 2001. It was a hard-hitting, physically intense contest with Chris Jericho defeating Chris Benoit to win the gold. They then formed an unlikely duo and defeated the Two-Man Power Trip of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for the Tag Team Championships. They had success against each other or facing one another.
1) Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
When Shawn Michaels returned to WWE in 2002, it opened the door for an entire roster of superstars who grew up watching "The Heartbreak Kid" to have a dream match with one of the all-time greats. On the road to WrestleMania 19, it was Chris Jericho who revealed that he based his early wrestling career on Michaels and wanted to be just like him.
This led to months of animosity between the two men, culminating in a first-time matchup between Jericho and Michaels. They put on a showstealer that was tremendous. Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels would often find themselves on opposite ends of tag team and in multi-man bouts following this before they reignited their feud in 2008.
Following HBK ending Ric Flair's career at WrestleMania 24, Batista took exception to what Michaels did and kickstarted a rivalry that Chris Jericho found himself in the middle of. Jericho was the special referee who witnessed HBK cheat to beat "The Animal" at Backlash. Michaels faced and defeated Jericho the following month at Judgment Day.
Following this, Jericho turned heel in a memorable Highlight Reel where he threw Michaels head-first into the Jeri-Tron 3000. Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels at Great American Bash in a brutal bout where he bloodied his rival. This led to HBK questioning if he should continue his career, but Jericho interrupted and punched Shawn's wife in the face at SummerSlam, changing everything.
Shawn Michaels returned at Unforgiven to beat Chris Jericho in a non-sanctioned bout, but Jericho went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship later that same night. This set the stage for an amazing Ladder Match at No Mercy where Jericho beat Michaels in dramatic fashion. For all the twists and turns, Shawn Michaels has to be the greatest rivalry of Chris Jericho's career.
