Chris Jericho has put his name into the conversation of all-time great wrestlers. The signing with AEW is already adding a huge positive with his name value bringing in some casual fans ahead of the promotion starting their television show on TNT. Jericho has done just about everything possible in the wrestling industry to earn this status of a superstar. The runs in WWE and WCW specifically stand out to those that have followed his career.
Jericho’s best work came in WWE with quite a few legendary rivalries that created amazing television. These programs are the ones that made him a top name with countless amazing memories throughout the years. WCW did not use Jericho as well, but he still delivered some great work in the mid-card. We will look at Jericho’s time in both companies with his five most significant feuds in WWE along with another five from WCW.
10 WWE: The Rock
The best feud during the Invasion storyline featured two WWE wrestlers opposing each other. Chris Jericho had his first real taste of the world title picture when feuding with The Rock over the WCW Championship despite both men working for WWE.
A tremendous couple of matches would see Jericho get elevated into a legitimate top role for the first time in WCW. Jericho often lists The Rock as one of his favorite opponents and one of the best in-ring performers on his Talk is Jericho podcast.
9 WCW: Rey Mysterio
The matches between Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho in WCW often stole the show whenever they had enough time in the ring. One of the first major programs for Jericho as a heel allowed him to have classic matches against Mysterio
Jericho started to gain more momentum as a heel after feuding with Rey. The promos and heel work in the ring would give him more heat now that the fans were seeing him compete against a beloved face. Both guys would achieve bigger success in WWE, but they had some must-see matches in the WCW days.
8 WWE: Triple H
The first major rival for Chris Jericho at a higher level in WWE was Triple H. WWE experimented with the potential of Jericho as a top face by having him engage in a feud with Triple H at various points in his first few years.
Jericho’s comedic promos often ran down Stephanie McMahon which led to the matches with Triple H. The two wrestlers did not like each other backstage, but they worked together to deliver great matches. Jericho’s WWE Championship win over Triple H was an iconic moment in Raw history even though the decision was reversed.
7 WCW: Saturn
One of the most underrated feuds in WCW featured Chris Jericho and Perry Saturn trying their best to stand out in the early portion of 1999. This was Jericho’s final storyline in WCW as things got personal between him and Saturn.
A match stipulation between the two culminated in Saturn having to wear a dress after taking the loss. Their matches were entertaining in a time when WCW was starting to fall apart. Jericho realized management didn’t care about his future, so he left for WWE after the program with Saturn.
6 WWE: Kevin Owens
The time spent with Kevin Owens in 2016-2017 showed that Chris Jericho could still hang with the top stars of today in his older age. Owens and Jericho became a duo right when Owens won the Universal Championship as Jericho often helped him retain.
The chemistry between Owens and Jericho was off the charts with comedic moments stealing the show on Raw every week. Owens turning on Jericho during the Festival of Friendship segment became an iconic moment in Raw history. The only disappointment in this rivalry was the lack of importance in their WrestleMania 33 match since WWE decided to make Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg the top Raw feud.
5 WCW: Juventud Guerrera
Juventud Guerrera was one of the most underrated wrestlers in WCW during the Monday Night Wars. Unlike some of the other luchadors like Rey Mysterio and Ultimo Dragon, Guerrera never got the spotlight as much to showcase his skills without a ceiling.
The best work of Guerrera in WCW would see him face off with Chris Jericho in the cruiserweight division. Their rivalry culminated with Guerrera unmasking after losing a title shot to Jericho as part of the stipulation. Jericho forcing Guerrera to lose his mask added more credibility to his name as a rising star.
4 WWE: Rey Mysterio
The rivalry between Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho finds its way on the list again. Both wrestlers would take their feud to the next level in WWE come 2009 when they were bigger stars and better overall performers.
Jericho and Mysterio battled it out for the Intercontinental Championship on three different PPVs. It culminated in a title vs mask match where Mysterio would win the title. Jericho was hellbent on forcing Mysterio to unmask and it set the tone for a tremendous storyline.
3 WCW: Goldberg
Chris Jericho’s rivalry with Goldberg was viewed a huge disappointment for WCW, but it certainly helped Jericho’s career moving forward. The feud started from Jericho’s idea of cutting promos calling out Goldberg of being afraid of him.
Jericho’s promos were hilarious and started to make fans look at him as a bigger star. However, that would end when Goldberg destroyed him in a segment and refused to even have a match together. Goldberg viewed Jericho as a lower tier star, but the promos helped Jericho become a bigger name and influenced his decision to join WCW.
2 WWE: Shawn Michaels
The best WWE feud of Chris Jericho’s career came in 2008 against Shawn Michaels. An interesting start featured Michaels faking an injury in a match to fool Jericho as the special guest referee. Upon realizing the phony nature of Michaels at times, Jericho snapped to attack Michaels leading to his heel turn.
This new heel character moved Jericho from a top mid-carder to a main eventer. Jericho did dastardly actions like smashing Michaels’ face into a screen and hitting Michaels’ wife. Both men left it all in the ring in their great matches with a Ladder Match allowing Jericho to win the feud during his World Championship reign.
1 WCW: Dean Malenko
The feud between Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko might be the most underrated storyline in WCW history watching it back today. Neither man had strong booking from the WCW creative team, but they consistently had superb matches together in the cruiserweight division.
Jericho started to build his heel character by constantly humiliating the Malenko family after he scored a huge victory over Dean. Following an absence while Jericho continued to ruin him down, Malenko won a battle royal while dressed as a luchador to earn a title shot. The crowd reacted with loud cheers when Malenko unmasked and defeated Jericho for the ultimate revenge.