5 reasons why Chris Jericho may be the smartest person in wrestling today
As he made his professional debut in 1990, Chris Jericho has been a professional wrestler for close to three decades. Rarely does a week go by in which Jericho has not made major headlines. This is not only due to Jericho's successes in the ring, but due to his many projects outside of the ring, as Jericho has found acclaim as a singer, podcaster, actor, television host, businessman, and author.
While there are wrestlers who have achieved more success in terms of mainstream recognition -- Hulk Hogan, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin being a few of those examples -- almost no one comes to mind when you think about wrestling performers who have had success on a long-term basis as Chris Jericho has. Simply put, there is a lot of that can be learned from Jericho who may be the smartest person working in professional wrestling today.
Below and on the following pages are five examples of how and why Chris Jericho is on his own level both in and out of the wrestling world.
#1 Multi-Generational Appeal
Whether or not his career longevity has anything to do with it, Chris Jericho has multi-generational appeal. Wrestling fans today know and respect him, as do some of the "lapsed" fans who lost interest in wrestling after the Monday Night Wars, as do fans of the indies from the early 1990s. To draw a musical parallel, Jericho can be compared to The Pixies in starting off independent, being influential to a global scale, and maintaining long-term success as a free agent.
Jericho also appears to have success within the industry itself, thanks to successful long-term relationships. He is tied in with Diamond Dallas Page and DDP YOGA, while also fine with New Japan Pro-Wrestling -- whose bookers he knows from the early days of his career -- and also accepted by the ALL IN crew. Meanwhile, the upcoming Chris Jericho Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager cruise manages to include Ring Of Honor talent, Impact Wrestling roster members, WWE and WCW legends, and various independent wrestling staples. His Talk Is Jericho podcast also regularly includes WWE talent, past and present.
WWE -- which did have Jericho on for its RAW 25 show earlier this year -- carries the tagline of "then, now, forever," yet Chris Jericho clearly personifies that branding with how he does business.