Now, to start Round 2,
Team Malfunction Junction chooses in the
1991-2000 Category...
From Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Lion Heart...Y2J...
Chris Jericho.
Born in 1970 in New York State, where his father (Ted Irvine) was a professional hockey player for the New York Rangers, Chris Irvine grew up on the mean streets of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
At the age of 19, Irvine moved to Calgary, where he began training with the Hart Brothers. Irvine took the ring name Chris Jericho, and started wrestling in front of small crowds throughout Western Canada. During his early career, Jericho worked in promotions in Mexico and Japan, as well as smaller regional promotions in North America.
In 1996, Jericho caught the eye of Mick Foley, who recommended Jericho to Paul Heyman, owner of the upstart Extreme Championship Wrestling. Jericho's time in ECW was short-lived because WCW quickly came calling, with Ted Turner's open cheque book.
Jericho debuted in WCW in August 1996, and quickly caught the audience's eye, becoming a force in the Cruiserweight Division. Jericho had many memorable feuds in his early years with WCW, most notably one with Dean Malenko, who was billed as "The Man of 1000 Holds". To goad Malenko, Jericho claimed to be "The Man of 1004 Holds"...and would recite some of his many holds, most of which were arm bars, the rest of which were mostly made up...
"The Saskatchewan Spinning Nerve Hold"
Eventually, Jericho went on to hold the WCW Cruiserweight belt 4 times, and the Television Title once.
In early 1999, Jericho was heavily courted by the WWF, and he eventually signed a long-term contract to work with the McMahons. Jericho's debut was promoted through the use of a digital countdown clock that promised the beginning of the New Millennium. On August 9, 1999, Jericho had probably one of the most memorable debuts in WWF history, interrupting a promo being given by The Rock...
"It doesn't matter what your name is!"
On December 9, 2001, Jericho did something no one expected him to do at the time, and in one night, defeated The Rock for the World Championship Title (the former WCW belt), and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Title to become the First "Undisputed" World Champion. At Wrestlemania 18 on St Patrick's Day, 2002 in Toronto (I was there), Jericho lost the Undisputed title to Triple H.
A confrontation between a couple of Winnipeg boys...
Jericho has held virtually every major WWF/WWE Title during his career, including the Intercontinental Title a record eight times. He was also named the WWE Wrestler of the Year at the 2008 Slammy Awards in December.
Here are all of the titles Jericho has held...
- ECW Television Championship (1 Time)
- WCW Television Championship (1 Time)
- WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 Times)
- WCW Championship (2 Times)
- European Championship (1 Time)
- World Tag Team Championship (3 Times)
- Intercontinental Championship (8 Times)
- WWE Championship (1 Time)
- Undisputed World Championship (1 Time)
- World Heavyweight Championship (2 Times)