Real Name:
Christopher Irvine
Nickname: Y2J, King Of The World.
Birthdate: 9/11/70
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 231 lbs
Signature Moves: Walls Of Jericho
Biography
When the year 2000 was making its way upon us,
everyone in the civilized world worried about the Y2K problem, but their worries
were for naught because 1999 turned into 2000 without a hitch. The wrestling
world wasn't so lucky, especially all the grapplers in the WWF who were hearing
rumors about a Y2J problem - namely, Chris Jericho - coming to their federation.
The monsters of the ring were worried that this up-and-coming wrestler might be
making his way into their backyard and would try to steal some of their glory.
Well, on August 19, 1999, their worst nightmare came true when Jericho made his
debut in a Chicago RAW event in the All-state Arena. The self-proclaimed
savior of the federation made a most memorable entrance not only by coming into
the ring in rock star-like fashion with loud blaring music and a pyrotechnic
show, but by also engaging in a sparring match with one of the league's most
prominent stars, The Rock. Although the sparring match was verbal rather than
physical, the "millennium man" more than held his own against The Rock, who is
known to be a master on the mic. The new kid on the block had spoken, and was
definitely heard!
Jericho made his way into many families' homes on that unforgettable evening,
and more important, he enlisted many new Jerichoholics to his already
uncountable list. His "Breaking Down the Walls" entrance music has now become
one of the most recognizable and popular themes in the sports entertainment
business, and he's only just begun.
"I see complete world domination for 'Y2J' in the federation," he recently
claimed in an interview with RAW magazine, "because there's nobody who
can stop me from doing that. There is a lot of great talent here and I want to
fit in with everybody. I'm looking forward to having a long and illustrious
career here and conquering every superstar to prove that 'Y2J' definitely will
save the World Wrestling Federation."
Those are big words from a guy who only stands six feet tall and climbs into the
ring with coworkers who average six-foot five, but you're not talking about any
ordinary wrestler here. Jericho was not only born in rough and tough New York,
he is also the son of a former New York Rangers hockey player, Ted Irving, who
happened to be his team's enforcer during his career. So you can honestly call
him a chip off the old block - both father and son wouldn't think twice about
chipping blocks off anyone who stood in their way.
While he may have had the upbringing and talent to go far in the wrestling
business, his road to the WWF was no easy one. Although he was born in the Big
Apple, he didn't stay there for very long. The main part of his childhood was
spent in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where his dad was born and raised. "My dad was from
Winnipeg and he used to play for the Rangers. I was born during the season [in
New York] and in the off-season we lived in Winnipeg," explained Jericho.
Many people wonder why Jericho, born Chris Irving, who grew up in Canada and is
the son of a former pro player, decided to strap on a pair of wrestling boots as
opposed to lacing up a pair of ice skates. But from early on, he knew his future
was lay.
"I've played hockey all my life, [but] I wasn't good enough to play professional
because I quit hockey when I was 16 to start training for wrestling," he said.
"I decided I wanted to do that more. I still play hockey to this day."
As a matter of fact, the WWF grappler took part in a celebrity hockey event
called Super Skate last winter [and this past winter as well] in Madison Square
Garden, the site not only of his dad's former home rink, but also his current
stomping ground when the federation is in New York. "Y2J" would not only score a
pretty goal on this night, but in typical wrestling (or should I say Irving
fashion) he started a bench-clearing brawl. It just goes to show you that,
skates and all, you can take a wrestler out of the ring, but you can't take the
ring out of the wrestler. Just like that infamous night in Chicago, Jericho
likes to leave his mark wherever he goes.
And believe me, this young grappler has been all over the wrestling circuit and
has left his mark worldwide. The standout athlete and student watched AWA
wrestling from the age of ten; his dad would take him to see it at the Winnipeg
Arena each month. The AWA then was replaced by the WWF in his area, but that
didn't stop him from going to the arena for his wrestling fix. A few years
later, when in high school, he caught Stampede wrestling and even managed to see
some Ultimate Wrestling Federation during his spare time. During his teen years,
he honed his athletic skills not only on the rinks playing hockey, but also in
another water-based sport - polo.
Irving said "The only other sport I played in high school [besides hockey] was
water polo because my friend and I wanted to try out for some kind of sport and
all my school had was basketball, volleyball and water polo. I was too short to
play basketball and I didn't like volleyball, so we tried water polo. It's
actually one of the hardest sports I have ever played."
But even as he played and excelled in both of these sports, his mind still
remained on making it into the pro rings. Irving was glued to his seat watching
Hulk Hogan and Owen Hart and many other wrestling greats ply their trade. As a
matter of fact, he didn't care if he was watching AWA, WWF, Stampede or the old
UWF, as long as it was pro wrestling. He was caught - hook, and sinker!
"I always loved Hulk Hogan. I was the perfect fan," he explained. "I loved all
the good guys and hated all the bad guys. I would do crazy cheers for all of
them and boo the bad guys and get in their faces when they came into the ring."
But wrestling wasn't the only hobby for this Canadian teenager. He also loved
music, especially heavy metal, and was into bands like Metallica, Twisted
Sister, Iron Maiden and Quiet Riot. The young Jericho was even able to convince
his mom to buy him a bass guitar - even though he had no idea how to play it.
After several long years of practicing, he became a natural and was ready to
rock! He went through several different bands - Fatal Axadent, Destiny,
Primitive Means and Mr. Filthy - before he found the right mix.
The mix for his band consisted of Jericho and two of his childhood buddies, K.S.
Ashoff and Warren Rumpel, and they called themselves Scimitar. Irving on stage
then was just like the wrestler of today - he manned the mic and loved
performing in front of crowds. Ashoff, who is one of his oldest friends, also
liked to sing and play the guitar, while Rumpel played drums.
Although Rumpel may not have been Irving's first choice to man the skins, he was
given the job for two reasons - he had a paper route and thus could afford to
own a set, and he had a huge, unoccupied basement where the band could practice
until five-thirty each night.
They practiced and polished their skills until they felt they were ready for the
big time - their high school Battle of the Bands! The threesome envisioned
rocking the teen nightclub, Flipside, like no other band before them. They saw
Scimitar not only running away with the contest and sending their classmates
into a frenzy, but also being offered a major record deal afterward.
Well, the band went on third that night, and boy, did they leave an impression!
They were slated to play two songs, one cover and one original. They chose
Megadeth's "Peace Sells" as the cover and their own "City Nights" as their
original. When it was time to rock and the MC called for Scimitar to jam, they
came running on stage. They plugged in their instruments - or did they? - and
were ready to rumble. Their fans (friends) roared upon their entrance and the
trio went right to work. They sounded great for about fifteen seconds, then the
sound went dead and you could just about hear everyone breathing.
But a couple of moments later, the power was restored and Scimitar was back in
business. They nailed their two songs and had fun doing it. Although they lost
out in the next round and parted ways soon after, it was a most memorable
experience for Jericho. He not only currently still performs from time to time,
he also has a monthly column, "Metal Is Jericho," in hard rock's premier music
magazine, Metal Edge.
But enough about the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah's music background. Let's get
back to his rockin' of opponents between the ropes. Upon graduating from college
with a journalism degree, he decided to go all out after his dream of becoming a
pro wrestler.
The first step he took was to pick up and move from Winnipeg to Calgary so he
could enroll in the wrestling school known as The Dungeon, run by the famous Stu
Hart in his basement. He trained there with several up-and-comers such as Chris
Benoit, the late Brian Pillman and one of Hart's sons, Bruce. They trained long
and hard for three months, from June to September 1990. Irving made his pro
debut only one month later on October 2, 1990.
Using the name "Chris Jericho," he worked the independent circuits in 1991 and
1992 and often teamed with Lance Storm in his indie travels. It wasn't long
before he would get his first taste of a championship, as he would strap on the
gold in January 1992 when he won the Canadian Middleweight belt.
From there he moved onto Bay Area Wrestling, which took place on the west coast
in San Francisco in August. He stayed on the West Coast for three months until
he once again packed his trunks and headed for the border. He now found himself
working in Monterey, Mexico, where he formed a new identity, wrestling under the
name "Corazon de Leon." The name, which means "lionheart," fit his style of
wrestling because he not only wrestled with the heart and ferociousness of a
lion, but he also adopted the high-flying quickness of the luche libre style in
Mexico.
In January 1993, he left sunny Mexico and headed back north to Canada. This time
he wanted to see if he had what it took to compete in a higher weight class. Not
surprisingly, he was crowned the Canadian Heavyweight Champion. He took on Biff
Wellington and made his countrymen proud, stripping the champ of his belt on
January 29.
Three months later, the vagabond wrestler once again packed his belongings and
headed back down south to Mexico. This time he debuted for the EMLL wrestling
organization in Mexico City. Again Lionheart would strike gold, but this time he
had to share in the glory, because a wrestler by the name of El Dandy and he won
the WWA Tag-Team belt. They would defeat Texano and Silver King on July 21,
1993, for the right to be called champs.
Looking for a new challenge and challengers, the Lionheart decided to test his
skills overseas in hamburg, Germany for the CWA. He only stayed in Germany
briefly before he returned to his old stomping ground, Mexico City, where he
proceeded to stomp on any and all who wanted to challenge him. It didn't take
him long to earn another golden strap - this time, he won the NWA Middleweight
belt from Mano Negra on December 4, 1993. One month later, feeling homesick, he
hopped another plane to Canada and took on Steve Rivers in Calgary for the
Middleweight Canadian belt, which he of course won.
Having already wrestled in Canada, Mexico and Germany, Jericho again decided he
wanted to try something new and boarded a plane to Japan, where he would make
his debut for WAR on February 24, 1994.
When Jericho is asked about his travels and his work in different countries, he
seems to prefer Japan the most. He likes the people, the country and the
federations and their style of wrestling.
"Japan's a great place," he said. "It's my favorite place [in the world] to
work."
In March 1994, he hooked up with the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW)
organization, which is located in Tennessee, and stayed with the federation for
a year. While he grappled in SMW, he met up once again with one of his former
tag mates, Lance Storm, and they formed another partnership, calling themselves
The Thrillseekers. This would prove to be a busy month for the young wrestler,
as he would wrestle in three different countries. Not only did he step between
the ropes in the United States in Tennessee, he also made his way to Mexico,
where he won the Junior Heavyweight Tournament from Negro Casas in Mexico City;
and to Japan, where he lost in the finals of the WAR International Junior
Heavyweight Tournament to Gedo.
But this reign wouldn't last long for Gedo - Jericho defeated him three months
later in Japan and was declared the International Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Jericho would have to defend his title one month later on July 7, 1995. In an
intense battle, he faced and beat Ultimo Dragon on this night in Japan and
retained his title belt. Five months later, having earned all the gold and
experience, Jericho decided to enter the prestigious wrestling tournament, the
Super J. Cup. Although he only advanced into the second round, he made an
impressive showing in his loss to the Wild Pegasus, Chris Benoit.
His next stop would be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he hooked on with
Extreme Championship Wrestling and made his debut on February 2, 1996. From here
on in he would split his time between ECW and Japan, as he wrestled for
championships almost each time out. Twenty-one days after his debut in Philly,
he'd be teamed up with one of his former foes, Gedo, in Japan, where they won
the WAR International Junior Heavy Tag Team belts. Three nights later the champs
would have to defend their crown against Jushin Liger and Takaiwa, and they
would do so in stunning fashion, as they worked the match like a well-oiled
machine.
In June 1996, Jericho took part in the Antonio Inoki World Peace Festival in Los
Angeles, where he would wrestle against Bam Bam Bigelow and Konnan. At the end
of the month he captured his first ECW belt, the TV title, against Pitbull
number two.
Lionheart was now on the verge of wrestling with the big boys. He was spotted by
a WCW scout who offered him the chance to come and wrestle for them. He
immediately signed on the dotted line. When asked if he was happy about coming
to work for one of the Big Two as opposed to wrestling for smaller indies, he
had this to say: "Are you kidding? What idiot would say no to an exclusive
contract with a group as huge as WCW? Here was my big chance, and I wasn't gonna
blow it."
And he didn't. He made his debut with the federation on August 20, 1996, and
never looked back. Twenty-six days later he was wrestling Chris Benoit on a WCW
Pay-Per-View and four months later he would be given a new title as WCW Newcomer
of the Year. Not bad for a former polo player, huh?
"I'm honored to be accepted by the WCW," he stated. "Many of its big name
wrestlers were my favorites when I was growing up and now I'm in the ring
wrestling with them. But more than that, I intend to give it my best, to make a
name for myself and climb the ladder quickly but honestly. Wrestling is the
greatest sport and I care about it in general and my reputation in particular.
I'm going to always give it 110 percent and I hope the fans will be behind me."
While he always wanted to wrestle in one of the Big Two, the timing of his
arrival in the WCW was a bad one for Jericho's career. He came onto the scene
about the same time that a pack of superstar veterans arrived from the WWF. So
although his skills were becoming polished in the ring, he wa still unsatisfied,
because his character wasn't going over well with the fans. The crowd's response
to Jericho seemed to be lukewarm at best.
It wasn't until he reacted badly in the ring to an unexpected loss that he got a
response from the crowd. Jericho got the people's attention when he began
breaking things, pounding his fists, cursing and throwing a tantrum. He then
proceeded to storm off the set of a Nitro taping. He would apologize in the
following week, claiming that it would never ever happen again. That wasn't to
be the case, however - he snapped in the same manner after another defeat.
The new approach allowed him to achieve what every wrestler works for - a
response from the crowd. Although the boos at one time outweighed the cheers,
Jericho didn't care. The fact that he was being noticed was all that mattered to
him. He has his following, whom he dubbed "Jerichoholics," and he also had a
following who would just love to get on him once he entered the arena.
Of this change, he noted, "I remember the old sports writer of years ago who
said 'In professional contact sports, nice guys always finish last.' Well, I
learned that eventually, though it took me a while. I've been kicked around and
abused by some of the big names of the WCW and I was getting a little tired of
being abused. So, I changed my ways and I decided to create a different
attitude. If that's how I want to wrestle, then I have that right."
As for the fans who were still in his corner, he had this to say: "I call them
Jerichoholics because they are addicted to me - they worship, admire and respect
me - so many of them would never turn on me 'cause I'm too important to them.
But a lot of fans don't like me anymore. They boo me and carry these big
insulting signs at the arenas, but it doesn't bother me. I'm making big bucks
and climbing to the top and that's what's important."
Even though he would garner six different championship titles while working for
the WCW, the politics in the federation were beginning to wear on him both as a
performer and as a person. He felt his talent was being held down and that he
wasn't being given a fair shot to be a prime-time player.
"Everywhere I'd ever worked I'd always been kind of like a 'main event' guy and
one of the focal points and always involved," he explained. "In WCW I haven't
been involved as much as I would like to be. I mean there's no secret about
that. And there's a lot of guys here and a lot of depth, but still I think
there's more of a spot for me than I've been given."
When he first came on the scene, Jericho was just happy to be in the same arena
as the big boys, but after putting in his time, he no longer accepted just being
in the same building. He now wanted a piece of the big boys in the ring!
"Just like WCW says - 'Where the big boys play' - and that's who I want to fight
with; not these little chumps with no size or strength. I like tough
competition. I'm not afraid of it and I'm always eager to take on any and all
challengers. That's why Chris Jericho has gone so far in wrestling 'cause I'm
ready for anything."
Just when it looked like The Lionheart was going to get his wish to grapple with
the big boys, Goldberg in particular, the federation soured on the idea. They
started a minifeud between Goldberg and Jericho, which looked like it would
eventually lead to a featured match, but the angle was scrapped.
"That was something where WCW gave me this stupid little angle and I made it
into something good," Jericho explained. "But Goldberg hated it. He hated the
whole angle." As to why Goldberg hated the angle, Jericho explained: "He said,
'I don't do comedy; I'm a real character.' I told him [that] comedy or not, this
is what wrestling is about: getting heat and getting people interested in the
match...I guess Goldberg really didn't understand the business then. Meanwhile,
[Eric] Bischoff kept trying to end it with a two-minute squash match on Nitro,
but I refused to do that. I told him that if we were going to have a match, it
had to be on Pay-Per-View. I told him that people would pay to see it; I knew it
would draw money."
But the WCW matchmakers and Goldberg didn't agree with the young wrestler, and
the angle was never pursued again.
"That's when I realized WCW had a lot of problems," Jericho said. "Here was a
money-making thing and they saw it, but they didn't acknowledge it. It was
stupid and really soured me on the whole company."
Well, he tried to stay focused and continue progressing, but Eric Bischoff (with
the aid from several jealous veterans) couldn't come to terms with Jericho. When
Jericho's contract expired, he became a free agent. It was now inevitable that
the Lionheart would wind up in the World Wrestling Federation.
When he finally got signed on to work in the WWF, Jericho felt like he was
reborn - like a monkey had been taken off his professional back. He now felt
like he could fully use his talents to the max. All those years of training and
traveling would finally pay off.
"I can honestly say - and I'm not a butt-kisser - but this is definitely the big
time," he said in the November issue of RAW magazine. "This is the best
company I've ever worked for besides maybe New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is
very similar as far as organization and direction. I've been in the company for
only a few weeks and there are already T-shirt designs on the board. It took me
two and a half years to design and get my own T-shirt created in WCW. it's not
supposed to be that way. This is a company and we're all here to do the same
thing, which ends up making it a successful business for everybody...."
He also saw a difference right away in the in-ring personalities in the WWF as
compared to the WCW. "Very different. Here, everybody from top to bottom
basically hangs out with everybody," he explained. "This is the wrestling
business and I'm sure there are egos, but they are a lot smaller here. You know
who the boss is and we know who to answer to when something goes wrong."
Well, so far the WWF's self-proclaimed new party host hasn't done anything
wrong. Although his WWF debut went over big with the fans and federation, don't
think he wasn't nervous that night in Chicago.
"I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't nervous, but I was nervous in a way that
I knew it was my time to shine. This was it, my time had finally come and I
deserved it," Jericho said. "Not because I'm some kind of extraordinary talent
or anything, but because I've been working my butt off for nine years to get
there and I was ready for it. It was a huge entrance and a huge amount of hype,
but I knew I could live up to it and people wouldn't be disappointed. I don't
think I've disappointed so far."
He's certainly right about that. From his debut onward, Jericho has not
disappointed anyone, but has displayed toughness and agility in the ring, and
has also been a master on the microphone. On any given occasion, this young
grappler can either stir up trouble in the ring with his opponents or send the
crowd into a frenzy with his mic magic. "The thing I like most about the World
Wrestling Federation is that every guy who goes through the curtain has a
character the people know and a reason to be on television which people know
about. So, it makes it much easier to get reactions," he said.
But you can't get reactions if you don't have the talent, and Chris Jericho
definitely has the talent. It only took the blond bruiser four months to win his
first WWF title, which he did December 12, 1999 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, when
he defeated Chyna for the Intercontinental strap.
Big things are in store for this small (by WWF standards) grappler as he is
ready to carry the federation on his chiseled back. He came to the WWF with the
intention not only of making a name for himself, but also saving the federation
from itself.
The rockin' wrestler has dreams of someday wearing the Heavyweight Championship
belt. Jericho's dreams should someday become a reality, because he has the
talent, smarts and personality to be a WWF champion - now all he needs is the
chance and a willing opponent!
"All hail the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah....as things will never eeeeeeever be
the same again!"
