Jon Moxley was right; Chris Jericho is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time (Opinion)
In an interview before their much anticipated match for the AEW World Championship (which he would go on to win) Jon Moxley discussed the claims that Chris Jericho is to go down in history as the one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Moxley said of Jericho:
"I think his drive is to be the greatest of all time. I remember him telling me that when we were talking about ideas we had for an angle that we didn't even end up doing because plans changed. He was gone for a while, and he's like yeah, 'I'm gonna call myself the greatest of all time' because The Rock and Stone Cold (Steve Austin) and they hadn't been here how ever long. I've been here for longer been doing it at a higher level for longer (then) all these guys.'
I started thinking back then, and this is like 2015, and I'm like, 'Yeah, you're right.' Like this is one of the greatest of all time. He's done so much else since then that it's insane. I think his drive is to be in that top echelon of the greatest of all time. He's definitely put himself in the conversation."
When you look back at Jericho's extraordinary career, it is hard to argue against that opinion. Over the last 30 years, he has excelled in the biggest companies in the history of sports entertainment including ECW, WCW, WWE and now AEW,- not to mention his vast work for many other independent promotions.
His list of honours is quite staggering.
In WWE he is a six time world champion, including becoming the first ever Undisputed Champion in the company's long history. He has held the Intercontinental title on nine occasions, and the United States Championship twice.
He also has an impressive seven tag team title reigns under his belt, including unifying the titles as one half of 'Jeri-Show' alongside the Big Show.
Before his time in the WWE, Jericho had originally made his name on ECW, where he held the Television championship, and in WCW where he was a four time Cruserweight Champion. He is currently plying his trade in All Elite Wrestling, and was the company's inaugural world champion, holding the belt for 182 days.
His incredible in-ring ability has also been recognised with a number of awards. He is a three time winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Wrestler of the Year (including a latest win in 2019). Pro Wrestling Illustrated awarded him Feud of the Year, with Shawn Michaels in 2008, which also saw them win Feud of the Decade. They also voted him Most Hated Wrestler of the Year in 2002 and 2008, and ranked him number two in the PWI 500 in 2009.
It's a roll call of honours that very few superstars can match, and one that rightly means he has a valid claim as the greatest wrestler to grace the squared circle.