The 5 greatest rivalries of Chris Jericho's career

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.

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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.