“You've still got it!” – Looking at one of the best years in Chris Jericho’s career

In the wake of Chris Jericho’s tweet announcing his departure from WWE to focus on Fozzy tour dates, one has to take a look at 2013 as being one of the best of Y2J’s prolific career. Since the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla made his return to wrestling for 47 minutes at this year’s Royal Rumble match, Jericho hasn’t had a sub-par outing. Some may not be surprised by this: after all, he is one of the most accomplished competitors in pro wrestling history and is a sure fire future Hall of Famer. But what is so striking is the consistency with which he’s performing.

His most recent outing on Raw against the returning Rob Van Dam was nothing short of a pay-per-view quality affair. Two veterans of the squared circle showing their worth but once again, Y2J was involved in a beautifully crafted piece of drama.

And when it comes down to drama, WWE Payback springs to mind. An exceptionally strong event for WWE overall, Jericho and CM Punk undoubtedly stole the spotlight and put on an instant classic that would easily qualify for a match of the year candidate. Over 21 minutes, he and the Second City Saint fought tooth and nail for the right to be called ‘The Best in the World’. It was essentially the classic story of two egotistical superstars looking to attain bragging rights and was the perfect climax to their series of matches.

Jericho has also used his wealth of experience and knowledge to help elevate talent in various feuds over the past 7 months. His constantly good matches and professionalism proves that he is still a relevant star in the business and has a lot to contribute to the product.

Maybe the superstar who has benefited the most from Y2J’s latest return after a 6 month hiatus following the Raw after SummerSlam 2012 is Fandango. Their rivalry earlier in the year allowed the repackaged Johnny Curtis to get his foot in the door, with the highlight of the feud being a WrestleMania showdown between the two. Let’s face it: we all had doubts as to what would happen when they put an overly camp, hammed-up ballroom/Latin dancer in with the first ever Undisputed Champion at the biggest show on the wrestling calendar. But I, for one, was taken aback and impressed. Despite Fandango being given scope to shine, it was once again Jericho who really went as the unsung hero of the piece.

Mix those main players in with other TV battles Jericho has fought his way through since his January return (including an exceptional showdown with Bray Wyatt on NXT), and its been a great few months for the record-setting 9 time Intercontinental Champion.

When it’s all said and done, it’s only a matter of time before we see the master of the Walls of Jericho back in a WWE ring (expect to see him later on in the year or early in 2014 ready for WrestleMania XXX) but until that time, he’s given us a great half a year of content to look back on. If anything, it will do nothing more than solidify just how good Chris Jericho is, even if he is a ‘part-timer’.