Early career (1990–1991) At the age of 19, he entered the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling, where he met
Lance Storm on his first day. He was trained by Ed Langley and local Calgary wrestler Brad Young. Two months after completing training, he was ready to start wrestling on independent shows, making his debut at the Moose Hall in
Ponoka, Alberta, as
"Cowboy" Chris Jericho, on October 2, 1990, in a ten-minute time limit draw against Storm. The pair then worked as a
tag team, initially called Sudden Impact. According to a February 2019 interview with
Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show, Jericho stated that his initial ring name was going to be "
Jack Action", but someone remarked to him that the name was stupid. The person then asked him what his ring name really was and he got nervous and said "
Chris Jericho", taking the name Jericho from an album,
Walls of Jericho, by the German
power metal band
Helloween.
Wrestling and Romance / WAR (1994–1996) In February 1994, Jericho began competing regularly in Japan for
Genichiro Tenryu's
Wrestling and Romance (later known as Wrestle Association "R") (WAR) promotion as "Lion Heart". At the
2nd Anniversary of Revolution in July 1994, he teamed with
Vampiro Casanova and
The Warlord in a loss to
Atsushi Onita,
Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow, and
Genichiro Tenryu. In November 1994,
Último Dragón defeated him for the
NWA World Middleweight Championship, which he had won while wrestling in Mexico. In March 1995, Jericho lost to
Gedo in the final of a tournament to crown the inaugural
WAR International Junior Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Gedo for the championship in June 1995, losing it to Último Dragón the next month at the
WAR 3rd Anniversary Show. In December 1995, Jericho competed in the second
Super J-Cup tournament, defeating Hanzo Nakajima in the first round, but losing to
Wild Pegasus in the second round.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1994) In March 1994, Jericho and Lance Storm began wrestling for
Jim Cornette's
Appalachia-based
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) promotion as the Thrillseekers, a "pretty boy" babyface tag team. Over the following months, they faced teams such as the
Batten Twins, the Masked Infernos, and
Well Dunn (who they vied with in a series of "penalty box" matches). In August 1994 at "The Night of the Legends", the Thrillseekers defeated the
Heavenly Bodies in a
street fight. Prior to the match, Jericho had suffered a
broken arm while practicing a
shooting star press in the ring; following the match, he left SMW.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996) Thanks in part to recommendations by Chris Benoit,
Dave Meltzer and
Perry Saturn, to promoter
Paul Heyman, and after
Mick Foley saw Jericho's match against Último Dragón for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship in July 1995 and gave a tape of the match to Heyman, Jericho began wrestling for the Philadelphia-based
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion in February 1996. In his second appearance, he defeated
Rob Van Dam at the
Big Apple Blizzard Blast. Jericho won the
ECW World Television Championship from
Pitbull #2 in June 1996 at
Hardcore Heaven. At
Heat Wave the following month, Jericho lost the title to
Shane Douglas in a
four-way dance. He made his final appearance at
The Doctor Is In in August 1996, losing to
2 Cold Scorpio. It was during this time that he drew the attention of
World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
World Championship Wrestling (1996–1999) Early appearances (1996–1997) Jericho debuted for WCW on August 20, 1996, by defeating
Mr. JL, which aired on the August 31 episode of
WCW Saturday Night. Jericho's televised debut in WCW occurred on the August 26 episode of
WCW Monday Nitro against
Alex Wright in a match which ended in a no contest. He made his
pay-per-view debut on September 15 against Chris Benoit in a losing effort at
Fall Brawl '96: War Games. The following month, at
Halloween Havoc, Jericho lost to
nWo member
Syxx due to biased officiating by nWo referee
Nick Patrick. This led to a match between Jericho and Patrick at
World War 3, which stipulated that Jericho's one arm would be tied behind his back. Despite the odds stacked against him, Jericho won the match. Later that night, Jericho participated in the
World War 3 match for a future
WCW World Heavyweight Championship match but failed to win the match. Jericho represented WCW against nWo Japan member
Masahiro Chono in a losing effort at the
nWo Souled Out event. At
SuperBrawl VII, Jericho unsuccessfully challenged
Eddie Guerrero for the
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.
Cruiserweight Champion (1997–1998) On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx at a
Saturday Nitro house show in
Los Angeles, California to win the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship, his first championship with WCW. He lost the title to
Alex Wright a month later on
Monday Nitro. He lost a second title match with Wright at
Road Wild before reclaiming the Cruiserweight Championship from Wright in an August 16th match on
Saturday Night. Jericho defended the championship against Eddie Guerrero at
Clash of the Champions XXXV before losing to Guerrero in September at
Fall Brawl, ending his second cruiserweight title run. He won the title again in January with a victory over
Rey Mysterio Jr. at
Souled Out, after which Jericho turned
heel and assaulted Mysterio's knee with a
toolbox. After Jericho repeatedly refusing requests from
Juventud Guerrera for a title match, the two fought a
title versus mask match at
SuperBrawl VIII where Guerrera lost and removed his mask. Following this match, Jericho began a gimmick of collecting and wearing to the ring
trophies from his defeated opponents, such as Guerrera's mask,
Prince Iaukea's Hawaiian dress, and a headband from
Disco Inferno. '' in 1998 Jericho then began a long feud with
Dean Malenko, in which Jericho repeatedly claimed he was a better wrestler than Malenko, but refused to wrestle him. Because of his mastery of technical wrestling, Malenko was known as "The Man of 1,000 Holds", so Jericho claimed to be "The Man of 1,004 Holds"; Jericho mentions in his autobiography that this line originated from an IWA interview he saw as a child, where manager
Floyd Creatchman claimed that
Leo Burke, the first professional wrestler to be known as "The Man of 1,000 Holds", was now known as "The Man of 1,002 Holds", to which Floyd Creatchman stated that "he learned two more". During the March 30, 1998, episode of
Nitro, after defeating
Marty Jannetty, Jericho pulled out a long scroll of paper that purportedly listed each of the 1,004 holds he knew and recited them to the audience. Many of the holds were fictional, and nearly every other hold was an
armbar. On the March 12, 1998, episode of
WCW Thunder, Malenko defeated a wrestler wearing Juventud Guerrera's mask who appeared to be Jericho. However, the masked wrestler was actually
Lenny Lane, whom Jericho bribed to appear in the match. This started a minor feud between Lane and Jericho after Jericho refused to pay Lane. At
Uncensored, Jericho finally wrestled Malenko and defeated him, after which Malenko took a leave of absence from wrestling. Jericho then proceeded to bring with him to the ring a portrait of Malenko that he insulted and demeaned. Just prior to
Slamboree,
J. J. Dillon (referred to by Jericho as "Jo Jo") scheduled a cruiserweight
Battle Royal, the winner of which would immediately have a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship. Jericho accepted on the grounds that whoever he faced would be too tired to win a second match. At Slamboree, Jericho came out to introduce the competitors in an insulting fashion before the match started and then went backstage for coffee. An individual who appeared to be
Ciclope won the battle royal after Juventud Guerrera shook his hand and then eliminated himself. The winner was a returning Malenko in disguise. Following one of the loudest crowd reactions in WCW history, Malenko proceeded to defeat Jericho for the championship. Jericho claimed he was the victim of a carefully planned
conspiracy to get the belt off of him. He at first blamed the WCW locker room, then added Dillon,
Ted Turner, and finally in a vignette, he walked around
Washington, D.C., with the sign "conspiracy victim" and accused President
Bill Clinton of being one of the conspirators after being rejected from a meeting. Eventually, Malenko vacated the title. Jericho ended up defeating Malenko at
The Great American Bash to win the vacant title after Malenko was disqualified after hitting Jericho with a chair. The next night, Malenko was suspended for his actions. At
Bash at the Beach, a returning Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Jericho in a
no disqualification match following interference by the still-suspended Malenko, though Jericho won the title back the following night on
Nitro. Eventually, Jericho decisively lost the title to Guerrera at
Road Wild in a match refereed by Malenko.
World Television Champion (1998–1999) On August 10, 1998, Jericho defeated
Stevie Ray (substituting for
Booker T) to win the
WCW World Television Championship. Soon afterward, Jericho repeatedly called out
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg in an attempt to begin a feud with him, but never actually wrestled him. In early 1999, Jericho began a feud with
Perry Saturn. The feud saw Jericho and Saturn instigating bizarre stipulation matches, such as at
Souled Out, where Jericho defeated Saturn in a "loser must wear a dress" match. At
SuperBrawl IX, Jericho and Saturn wrestled in a "dress" match which Jericho won. Saturn finally defeated Jericho at
Uncensored in a
dog collar match. Jericho alternated between WCW and a number of Japanese tours before he signed a contract with the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on June 30. Jericho's final WCW match came during a
Peoria,
Illinois, house show July 21, where he and Eddie Guerrero lost to
Billy Kidman and
Rey Mysterio Jr. in a tag team match. Fifteen years after Jericho's departure from WCW, his best known entrance music within the company, "One Crazed Anarchist", lent its name to the second single from his band
Fozzy's 2014 album,
Do You Wanna Start a War.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1997, 1998) In January 1997, Jericho made his debut for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), who had a working agreement with WCW, as Super Liger, the masked nemesis of
Jyushin Thunder Liger. According to Jericho, Super Liger's first match against
Koji Kanemoto at
Wrestling World 1997 in the
Tokyo Dome was so poorly received that the gimmick was dropped instantly. Jericho botched several moves in the match and complained he had difficulty seeing through the mask. Jericho subsequently spent the next several months working for NJPW unmasked as Chris Jericho. He frequently teamed with fellow WCW wrestler
Scotty Riggs and with his former opponent Kanemoto, facing wrestlers such as Liger,
El Samurai, and
Norio Honaga. In May 1997, he competed in the
Best of the Super Juniors IV tournament, placing joint second in block B. His stint ended in September 1997 when he was recalled by WCW; his final match, held in the
Nippon Budokan, saw him team with Kanemoto and
Dr. Wagner Jr. in a loss to Liger, El Samurai, and
Wild Pegasus.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1999–2005) Intercontinental Champion (1999–2001) '' in 1999 with
Mr. Hughes, his enforcer during his rivalry with
Ken Shamrock In the weeks before Jericho's debut, a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" appeared on WWF programming. On the home video,
Break Down the Walls, Jericho states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in a post office and
Vince McMahon approved its use as his introduction to the WWF. The clock finally ran out on the August 9 episode of
Raw Is War in
Chicago, Illinois while
The Rock was in the ring cutting a promo on the
Big Show. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed "
Raw Is Jericho" and that he had "come to save the World Wrestling Federation", referring to himself as "Y2J" (a play on the
Y2K bug). The Rock proceeded to verbally mock Jericho for his interruption. Later that month, Jericho would interact with several superstars including in particular interrupting a promo that The Undertaker was involved in. Jericho made his in-ring debut as a heel on August 26, losing a match against
Road Dogg by disqualification on the inaugural episode of
SmackDown! after he performed a
powerbomb on Road Dogg through a table. Jericho's first long-term feud was with
Chyna, for the
WWF Intercontinental Championship. After losing to Chyna at
Survivor Series on November 14, Jericho defeated her to win his first WWF Intercontinental Championship at
Armageddon on December 12. This feud included a controversial decision during a rematch in which two separate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title. As a result, Jericho and Chyna became co-champions, during which Jericho turned face. Jericho attained sole champion status at the
Royal Rumble on January 23, 2000, by defeating Chyna and
Hardcore Holly in a Triple Threat match. Jericho lost the WWF Intercontinental title to then-
European Champion Kurt Angle at
No Way Out on February 27. Jericho competed in a Triple Threat match against
Chris Benoit and Angle at
WrestleMania 2000 on April 2 in a two-falls contest with both of Angle's titles at stake. Jericho won the European Championship by pinning Benoit, after Benoit pinned Jericho to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. This was the first of six pay-per-view matches between the pair within twelve months. Jericho was originally supposed to be in the main event of WrestleMania, but was taken out after
Mick Foley, who was originally asked by writers to be in the match, took his place. Jericho was even advertised on the event's posters promoting the match. Jericho lost the European Championship the next night to
Eddie Guerrero on
Raw is War after Chyna sided with Guerrero. On the April 17 episode of
Raw is War, Jericho upset
Triple H in a
WWF Championship match. Referee
Earl Hebner made a fast count when Jericho pinned Triple H, causing Jericho to win the title. Hebner later reversed the decision due to pressure from Triple H, and WWE does not recognize Jericho's reign as champion. On April 19, Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero at the
Gary Albright Memorial Show organized by
World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW). On the May 4 episode of
SmackDown!, Jericho defeated Benoit to win his third WWF Intercontinental Championship but lost the title back to Benoit four days later on
Raw is War. Jericho's feud with Triple H ended at
Fully Loaded on July 23, when they competed in a
Last Man Standing match. Jericho lost the match to Triple H only by one second, despite the repeated assistance Triple H's wife,
Stephanie, provided him in the match. At the
Royal Rumble on January 21, 2001, Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a
ladder match to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. At
WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, Jericho successfully defended his title in a match against
William Regal, only to lose it four days later to Triple H. At
Judgment Day on May 20, Jericho and Benoit won a tag team turmoil match and earned a shot at
Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for their
WWF Tag Team Championship on
Raw the next night. Benoit and Jericho won the match, in which Triple H legitimately tore his quadriceps, spending the rest of the year injured. Benoit and Jericho each became a WWF Tag Team Champion for the first time. At
King of the Ring on June 24, both Benoit and Jericho competed in a triple threat match for Austin's WWF Championship, in which Booker T interfered as the catalyst for
The Invasion angle. Despite Booker T's interference, Austin retained the title.
Undisputed WWF Champion (2001–2002) In the following months, Jericho became a major force in
The Invasion storyline in which WCW and ECW joined forces to overtake the WWF. Jericho remained on the side of the WWF despite previously competing in WCW and ECW. However, Jericho began showing jealousy toward fellow WWF member The Rock. They faced each other in a match at
No Mercy on October 21 for the
WCW Championship after Jericho defeated
Rob Van Dam in a number one contenders match on the October 11 episode of
SmackDown!. Jericho won the WCW Championship at No Mercy when he pinned The Rock after debuting a new finisher, the
Breakdown, onto a steel chair, winning his first world title in the process. One night later, the two put their differences aside and won the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Dudley Boyz. At
Vengeance on December 9, Jericho defeated both The Rock for the World Championship (formerly the WCW Championship) and Stone Cold Steve Austin for his first WWF Championship on the same night to become the first wrestler to hold both championships at the same time, which made him the first-ever
Undisputed WWF Champion, as well as the fourth
Grand Slam winner under the
original format. and at
No Way Out on February 17 against Austin. Jericho later lost the title to Royal Rumble winner Triple H in the main event of
WrestleMania X8 on March 17. Jericho was later drafted to the
SmackDown! brand in the inaugural
WWF draft lottery. He would then appear at
Backlash on April 21, interfering in Triple H's Undisputed WWF Championship match against
Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He was quickly dumped out the ring, but Triple H would go on to lose the match. This would lead to a
Hell in a Cell match at
Judgment Day on May 19, where Triple H would emerge victorious. Jericho would then compete in the
2002 King of the Ring tournament, defeating
Edge and
The Big Valbowski to advance to the semi-finals, where he was defeated by Rob Van Dam at King of the Ring on June 23. In July, he began a feud with the debuting
John Cena, losing to him at
Vengeance on July 21.
Teaming and feuding with Christian (2002–2004) '' After his feud with Cena ended, Jericho moved to the
Raw brand on the July 29 episode of
Raw, unwilling to work for SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon. Upon his arrival to the brand, he initiated a feud with
Ric Flair, leading to a match at
SummerSlam on August 25, which Jericho lost. On the September 16 episode of
Raw, he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time from
Rob Van Dam, before losing the title to Kane two weeks later on
Raw. He then later formed a tag team with
Christian, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship by defeating Kane and
The Hurricane on the October 14 episode of
Raw. Christian and Jericho lost the titles to Booker T and Goldust in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, and William Regal and Lance Storm at
Armageddon on December 15. after their match at
WrestleMania XIX (2003) On the January 13, 2003 episode of
Raw, Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, Rob Van Dam, and
Batista to select his entry number for the
Royal Rumble match on January 19. He chose number two in order to start the match with
Shawn Michaels, who had challenged him to prove Jericho's claims that he was better than Michaels. After Michaels's entrance, Jericho entered as the second participant. Christian, in Jericho's attire, appeared while the real Jericho attacked Shawn from behind. He eliminated Michaels shortly afterward, but Michaels got his revenge later in the match by causing Test to eliminate Jericho. Jericho spent the most time of any other wrestler in that same Royal Rumble. Jericho simultaneously feuded with Test, Michaels, and
Jeff Hardy, defeating Hardy at
No Way Out on February 23. Jericho and Michaels fought again at
WrestleMania XIX on March 30, which Michaels won. Jericho, however, attacked Michaels with a
low blow after the match following an embrace. After this match, Jericho entered a rivalry with Goldberg, which was fueled by Goldberg's refusal to fight Jericho in WCW. During Jericho's first episode of the
Highlight Reel, an interview segment, where Goldberg was the guest, he complained that no one wanted Goldberg in WWE and continued to insult him in the following weeks. On the May 12 episode of
Raw, a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg with a
limousine. A week later, Co-Raw General Manager,
Stone Cold Steve Austin, interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was driving the car. One of the interrogates was
Lance Storm, who admitted that he was the assailant. Austin forced Storm into a match with Goldberg, who defeated Storm. After the match, Goldberg forced Storm to admit that Jericho was the superstar who conspired Storm into running him over. On the May 26 episode of
Raw, Goldberg was once again a guest on the
Highlight Reel. Jericho expressed jealousy towards Goldberg's success in WCW and felt that since joining WWE, he had achieved everything he had ever wanted in his career and all that was left was to defeat Goldberg and challenged him to a match. At
Bad Blood on June 15, Goldberg settled the score with Jericho and defeated him. On the October 27 episode of
Raw, Jericho won his sixth WWE Intercontinental Championship when he defeated
Rob Van Dam. He lost the title back to Van Dam immediately after in a steel cage match. Later in 2003, Jericho started a romance with
Trish Stratus while his tag team partner Christian began one with
Lita. This, however, turned out to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective paramour first, with a
Canadian dollar at stake. Stratus overheard this and ended her relationship with Jericho, who seemingly felt bad for using Stratus. After he saved her from an attack by
Kane, Stratus agreed that the two of them could just be "friends", thus turning Jericho face for the first time since 2001. After Christian put Stratus in the
Walls of Jericho while competing against her in a match, Jericho sought revenge on Christian, which led to a match at
WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004. Christian defeated Jericho after Stratus ran down and "inadvertently" struck Jericho (thinking it was Christian) and Christian got the roll-up. After the match, Stratus turned on Jericho and revealed that she and Christian were a couple. This revelation led to a handicap match at
Backlash on April 18 that Jericho won. Jericho won his record-breaking seventh WWE Intercontinental Championship at
Unforgiven on September 12 in a ladder match against Christian, breaking the previous record held by
Jeff Jarrett from 1999. Jericho's seventh reign was short lived, as he lost it at
Taboo Tuesday on October 19 to
Shelton Benjamin.
World championship pursuits and departure (2004–2005) Jericho teamed up with
Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, and
Maven to take on Triple H, Batista, Edge, and
Gene Snitsky at
Survivor Series on November 14. The match stipulated that each member of the winning team would be the general manager of Raw over the next four weeks. Jericho's team won, and took turns as general manager. During Jericho's turn as general manager, the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated because a
Triple Threat match for the title between Triple H, Benoit and Edge a week earlier ended in a draw. At
New Year's Revolution on January 9, 2005, Jericho competed in the
Elimination Chamber against Triple H, Chris Benoit, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho began the match with Benoit and eliminated Edge, but was eliminated by Batista. Triple H went on to win. At
WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Jericho participated in the first ever
Money in the Bank ladder match. Jericho suggested the match concept, and he competed in the match against Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Kane, Christian, and Edge. Jericho lost the match when Edge claimed the briefcase. At
Backlash on May 1, Jericho challenged Shelton Benjamin for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but lost the match. Jericho lost to Lance Storm at
ECW One Night Stand on June 12. Jericho used his old "Lionheart" gimmick, instead of his more well known "Y2J" gimmick. Jericho lost the match after Jason and
Justin Credible hit Jericho with a
Singapore cane, which allowed Storm to win the match. The next night on
Raw, Jericho turned heel by betraying WWE Champion
John Cena after defeating Christian and Tyson Tomko in a tag team match. Jericho lost a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at
Vengeance on June 26 which also involved Christian and Cena. The feud continued throughout the summer and Jericho lost to Cena in a WWE Championship match at
SummerSlam on August 21. The next night on the August 22 episode of
Raw, Jericho faced Cena for the WWE Championship again in a rematch, this time in a "
You're fired" match. Jericho's WWE contract expired on August 25.
Return to WWE (2007–2010) Feud with Shawn Michaels (2007–2008) in March 2008 After a two-year hiatus, WWE promoted Jericho's return starting on the September 24, 2007, episode of
Raw with a
viral marketing campaign using a series of 15-second
cryptic binary code videos, similar to the
matrix digital rain used in
The Matrix series. The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. Jericho made his return to WWE television as a
face on the November 19, 2007, episode of
Raw when he interrupted
Randy Orton during Orton's orchestrated "passing of the torch" ceremony. Jericho stated his intentions to reclaim the WWE Championship in order to "save" WWE fans from Orton. At
Armageddon on December 16, he competed in a WWE Championship match against Orton, defeating him by
disqualification when
SmackDown! color commentator
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) interfered in the match, but Orton retained the title. He began a feud with JBL and met him at the
Royal Rumble on January 27, 2008. Jericho was disqualified after hitting JBL with a steel chair. On the March 10 episode of
Raw, Jericho captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship for a record eighth time when he defeated
Jeff Hardy. In April, Jericho became involved in the ongoing feud between
Shawn Michaels and
Batista when he suggested that Michaels enjoyed retiring Ric Flair, causing Michaels to attack him. Jericho thus asked to be inserted into the match between Batista and Michaels at
Backlash on April 27, but instead, he was appointed as the special guest referee. During the match at Backlash, Michaels feigned a knee injury so that Jericho would give him time to recover and lured Batista in for Sweet Chin Music for the win. After Backlash, Jericho accused Michaels of cheating, but Michaels continued to play up an injury. When Jericho was finally convinced and he apologized to Michaels for not believing him, Michaels then admitted to Jericho that he had faked his injury and he attacked Jericho with Sweet Chin Music. After losing to Michaels at
Judgment Day on May 18, Jericho initiated a handshake after the match. On the June 9 episode of
Raw, Jericho hosted his talk show segment,
The Highlight Reel, interviewing Michaels. Jericho pointed out that Michaels was still cheered by the fans despite Michaels's deceit and attack on Jericho during the previous months, whereas Jericho was booed when he tried to do the right thing. Jericho then assaulted Michaels with a low blow and sent Michaels through the "Jeritron 6000" television, damaging the eye of Michaels, and turning
heel in the process. This began what was named by both
Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter the "Feud of the Year". At
Night of Champions on June 29, Jericho lost the Intercontinental Championship to
Kofi Kingston after a distraction by Michaels. In June, Jericho took on
Lance Cade as a protégé.
World Heavyweight Champion (2008–2009) . Their rivalry was named "
Feud of the Year" by both
Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Afterward, Jericho developed a suit-wearing persona inspired by
Javier Bardem's character
Anton Chigurh from the 2007 film
No Country for Old Men and wrestler
Nick Bockwinkel. Jericho and Michaels met at
The Great American Bash on July 20, which Jericho won after attacking the cut on Michaels's eye. At
SummerSlam on August 17, Michaels said that his eye damage would force him to retire and insulted Jericho by saying he would never achieve Michaels's success. Jericho tried to attack Michaels, but Michaels ducked, so Jericho punched Michaels's wife, Rebecca, instead. As a result, they fought in an
unsanctioned match at
Unforgiven on September 7, which Jericho lost by referee stoppage. Later that night, Jericho entered the
Championship Scramble match as a late replacement for the defending champion
CM Punk and subsequently won the
World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Batista, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Kane, and
Rey Mysterio. It was announced that Michaels would challenge Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match at
No Mercy on October 5, which Jericho won. At
Cyber Sunday on October 26, Jericho lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista, but later won it back eight days later on November 3 on the 800th episode of
Raw in a steel cage match. Jericho defeated Michaels in a Last Man Standing match on the November 10 episode of
Raw after interference from JBL. Jericho lost the World Heavyweight Championship at
Survivor Series on November 23 to the returning John Cena. On the December 8 episode of
Raw, Jericho was awarded the
Slammy Award for
2008 Superstar of the Year award. Six days later, he lost his rematch with John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at
Armageddon on December 14. At the
Royal Rumble on January 25, 2009, Jericho participated in the Royal Rumble match, but he was eliminated by the Undertaker. On February 15 at
No Way Out, he competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but he failed to win as he was eliminated by
Rey Mysterio. Following this, Jericho began a rivalry with veteran wrestlers
Ric Flair,
Ricky Steamboat,
Jimmy Snuka and
Roddy Piper, as well as actor
Mickey Rourke. Jericho was originally arranged to face Rourke at
WrestleMania 25 on April 5, but Rourke later pulled out of the event. Instead, Jericho defeated Piper, Snuka and Steamboat in a 3-on-1 elimination handicap match at WrestleMania, but was knocked out by Rourke after the match. On the April 13 episode of
Raw, Jericho was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the
2009 WWE draft. Jericho then faced Steamboat in a singles match at
Backlash on April 26, where Jericho was victorious. In May, Jericho started a feud with Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, leading to a match at
Judgment Day on May 17, which Jericho lost. However, Jericho defeated Mysterio in a No Holds Barred Match at
Extreme Rules on June 7 to win his ninth Intercontinental Championship, breaking his own record again. At
The Bash on June 28, Jericho lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Mysterio in a
mask vs. title match.
Jeri-Show and feud with Edge (2009–2010) as the
Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Later in the event, Jericho and his partner
Edge won the
Unified WWE Tag Team Championship as surprise entrants in a triple threat tag team match. As a result of this win, Jericho became the first wrestler to win every (original) Grand Slam eligible championship. Shortly thereafter Edge suffered an injury and Jericho revealed a clause in his contract to allow Edge to be replaced and Jericho's reign to continue uninterrupted. At
Night of Champions on July 26, Jericho introduced Big Show as his new tag team partner, creating a team that would come to called
Jeri-Show. The duo defeated
Cody Rhodes and
Ted DiBiase to retain the championship. Jeri-Show successfully defended the title against
Cryme Tyme at
SummerSlam on August 23,
MVP and
Mark Henry at
Breaking Point on September 13 and
Rey Mysterio and
Batista at
Hell in a Cell on October 4. At
Survivor Series on November 22, both Jericho and Big Show took part in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but the Undertaker successfully retained the title. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, Jeri-Show lost the tag titles to
D-Generation X (DX) (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. As a member of the SmackDown brand, Jericho could only appear on
Raw as a champion and DX intentionally disqualified themselves in a rematch to force Jericho off the show. On the January 4, 2010, episode of
Raw, DX defeated Jeri-Show to retain the championship once again, marking the end of Jeri-Show. Jericho entered the
2010 Royal Rumble match on January 31, but was eliminated by the returning Edge, his former tag team partner, who went on to win the match. At
Elimination Chamber on February 21, Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, defeating The Undertaker,
John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and
R-Truth following interference from Shawn Michaels. The next night on
Raw, Edge used his Royal Rumble win to challenge Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at
WrestleMania XXVI on March 28. Jericho defeated Edge at WrestleMania to retain the title, but lost the championship to
Jack Swagger on the following episode of
SmackDown, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Jericho then failed to regain the title from Swagger in a triple-threat match also involving Edge on the April 16 episode of
SmackDown. Jericho and Edge continued their feud leading into
Extreme Rules on April 25, where Jericho was defeated in a steel cage match. Jericho was drafted to the Raw brand in the
2010 WWE draft. He formed a brief tag team with
The Miz and unsuccessfully challenged
The Hart Dynasty for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at
Over the Limit on May 23. A month later, Jericho lost to
Evan Bourne at
Fatal 4-Way on June 20, but won a rematch during the following night on
Raw, where he put his career on the line. On the July 19 episode of
Raw, after being assaulted by
The Nexus, Jericho teamed with rivals Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth,
Daniel Bryan and
Bret Hart in a team led by John Cena to face The Nexus at
SummerSlam on August 15. Jericho and Cena bickered over leadership of the team, which led to him and Edge attacking Cena during the SummerSlam match that they won. Jericho was punished for not showing solidarity against The Nexus, when he was removed from a Six-Pack Challenge for
Sheamus's WWE Championship at
Night of Champions on September 19. Although he re-earned his place in the match after defeating The Hart Dynasty in a handicap steel cage match, he was the first man eliminated from the match at Night of Champions. On the September 27 episode of
Raw, Jericho faced
Randy Orton who punted him in the head. This was used to explain Jericho's departure from WWE.
Second return to WWE (2011–2018, 2022) Feud with CM Punk (2011–2012) shortly before his match against
CM Punk Beginning in November 2011, WWE aired cryptic vignettes that promoted a wrestler's return, making his appearance on January 2, 2012, episode of
Raw SuperShow. He participated in the Royal Rumble match at the
Royal Rumble on January 29, where he was eliminated last by Sheamus. Leading to
WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1, Jericho feuded with WWE Champion CM Punk over the moniker "the Best in the World". In a bid to psychologically unsettle Punk, Jericho revealed that Punk's father was an alcoholic and Punk's sister was a drug addict, which contradicted Punk's
straight edge philosophy. Jericho faced Punk for the title at WrestleMania and
Extreme Rules on April 29 in a Chicago Street Fight, but Punk won both matches.
Championship pursuits (2012–2013) On May 24 at a WWE live event in
Brazil, Jericho wrestled a match against CM Punk, during which Jericho kicked a
Brazilian flag, causing local police to intervene and threaten Jericho with arrest. Jericho issued an apology to the audience, enabling the event to resume. The following day, WWE suspended Jericho for 30 days while apologizing to the people and government of Brazil. Jericho returned on the June 25 episode of
Raw SuperShow, and his absence was explained by a European tour with his band Fozzy which happened to coincide with his suspension. After losing the WWE Championship
Money in the Bank ladder match on July 15, Jericho feuded with the newly crowned Mr. Money in the Bank, Dolph Ziggler, turning face for the first time since 2008. Despite Jericho defeating Ziggler at
SummerSlam on August 19, he lost to Ziggler the following night on
Raw, and, as a result, Ziggler retained his Money in the Bank contract and Jericho was terminated from WWE. This was used to write him off so he could tour with Fozzy for the remainder of the year. On January 27, 2013, Jericho returned after a five-month hiatus entering the
Royal Rumble match as the second entrant. Jericho lasted over 47 minutes before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. On the March 18 episode of
Raw, The Miz and Jericho faced Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship, but Barrett retained his title. Jericho asked Vince McMahon to face Barrett and win his 10th Intercontinental title at
WrestleMania 29 on April 7, but he was booked in a feud with
Fandango, losing to Fandango at WrestleMania, but Jericho won a rematch at
Extreme Rules on May 19. He then faced the returning CM Punk at
Payback on June 16, where he was defeated. Jericho then began feuding with Ryback, which led to a singles match on July 14 at
Money in the Bank, where Ryback emerged victorious. On the July 19 episode of
SmackDown, Jericho unsuccessfully challenged
Curtis Axel for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and was afterwards attacked by Ryback. This was done to write Jericho off television as he was taking a temporary hiatus to tour with Fozzy for the remainder of the year and possibly January and February. In a November interview for WWE.com, Jericho said that he would not be a full-time wrestler due to his musical and acting ventures.
Various sporadic feuds (2014–2016) After an eleven-month hiatus, Jericho returned on the June 30, 2014, episode of
Raw and attacked
The Miz, who had also returned minutes earlier, before being attacked in turn by
The Wyatt Family. Across the following month Jericho fought three matches against
Bray Wyatt, winning the first at
Battleground before losing a second match at
SummerSlam and a third on
Raw three weeks later. Jericho then feuded with Randy Orton, who defeated him at
Night of Champions on September 21. After exclusively wrestling at live events through October and November, Jericho returned to
Raw on December 15, where he was attacked by
Brock Lesnar during his match with
Paul Heyman. In January 2015, Jericho said that he signed an exclusive WWE contract, under which he would compete at 16 house shows only. He later signed a similar contract once the former expired and competed at house shows throughout the rest of the year. In May, Jericho was one of the hosts of
Tough Enough sixth season. Jericho also hosted two
Live! With Chris Jericho specials on the
WWE Network during the year. Jericho returned to television again
The Beast in the East on July 4, defeating
Neville. At
Night of Champions on September 20, Jericho lost to the Wyatt Family alongside
Roman Reigns and
Dean Ambrose, and lost a title match against Intercontinental Champion
Kevin Owens at
Live from Madison Square Garden on October 3. At the
Royal Rumble on January 24, 2016, Jericho participated in the
Royal Rumble match as the sixth entrant, eliminated by
Dean Ambrose, and lost a match to
AJ Styles on
Raw the following night. Jericho and Styles fought two more matches, with Jericho winning the second and Styles the third, before the two formed the tag team
Y2AJ on February 22. The team soon separated, as Jericho attacked Styles on March 7 after the team lost a match. Jericho declared that he was sick of the fans chanting for Styles instead of him and turned
heel. Jericho would then defeat Styles in a match at
WrestleMania 32 on April 3, and be pinned by him in a four-way match on
Raw the following night. The following week on
Raw,
Dean Ambrose interrupted
The Highlight Reel, handing Jericho a note from
Shane McMahon replacing the show with
The Ambrose Asylum, igniting a feud between the two. During this time, Jericho tweaked his gimmick. He became arrogant and childish while wearing expensive scarfs and calling everyone who appeased him "stupid idiots". At
Payback on May 1, Jericho faced Ambrose in a losing effort. After attacking one another and Ambrose destroying Jericho's light-up ring jacket, Jericho was challenged by Ambrose to an
Asylum match at
Extreme Rules on May 22, where Ambrose again defeated Jericho after Jericho was thrown in a pile of thumbtacks. On the May 23 episode of
Raw, Jericho defeated
Apollo Crews to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match at the
Money in the Bank pay-per-view on June 19, where Jericho was unsuccessful as the match was won by Ambrose. On July 19 at the
2016 WWE draft, Jericho was drafted to the Raw brand. At
Battleground on July 24, Jericho hosted a
Highlight Reel segment with the returning
Randy Orton, where he took an
RKO from Orton after he insulted him. The next night on
Raw, Jericho competed in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for the newly created
WWE Universal Championship at
SummerSlam on August 21, but he was unsuccessful, as
Roman Reigns won the match.
The List of Jericho (2016–2017) At SummerSlam, Jericho and Kevin Owens defeated
Enzo and Cass. Both wrestlers began an alliance, allowing Owens to win the
WWE Universal Championship. Jericho also started a new character, where he began a list called "The List of Jericho", where he wrote down the name of the person that bothered him and why. If someone annoyed Jericho, he would ask "you know what happens?" before shouting "you just made the list!" and writing the person's name down. The List of Jericho soon became incredibly popular with the fans, with many critics describing Jericho and his list as "easily one of the best moments of
Raw's broadcast". During Owens' reign, Jericho assisted him to retain the title in matches at
Clash of Champions on September 25,,
Hell in a Cell on October 30, and the November 21 episode of
Raw. Jericho also defeated
Roman Reigns in a handicap match also involving Owens on the January 9, 2017 episode of
Raw to win the
WWE United States Championship, becoming
Grand Slam winner under the
current format. Due to interfering multiple times in Owens's matches, Jericho was suspended above the ring in a
shark proof cage during Reigns's rematch at the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 29. Owens nonetheless retained the championship after Braun Strowman, taking advantage of the added
no disqualification stipulation, interfered. Also at the Royal Rumble, Jericho entered as the second entrant in the Royal Rumble match, lasting over an hour (thus breaking the record with a cumulative time of over five hours) and being the third to last before being eliminated by Reigns. In February, a feud started between Jericho and Owens after Jericho accepted a Universal Championship challenge from Goldberg on Owens's behalf. On the February 13 episode of
Raw, Jericho held a "Festival of Friendship" for Owens, who attacked Jericho, ending their alliance. Jericho returned at
Fastlane on March 5, distracting Owens during his match with Goldberg and causing Owens to lose the Universal Championship, turning face again in the process. This led to a match between Jericho and Owens at
WrestleMania 33 on April 2, where Jericho lost the title. At
Payback on April 30, Jericho defeated Owens to regain the title and moved to the SmackDown brand, but lost it back to him two nights later on
SmackDown Live. Following the match, Owens attacked Jericho, who was carried out on a stretcher. Thus, Jericho was written off television so he could fulfill his commitments to tour with and promote his new album with Fozzy. Jericho made a surprise return at a house show in
Singapore on June 28, where he lost to
Hideo Itami.
Final matches and departure (2017–2018) On the July 25 episode of
SmackDown Live, Jericho participated in a triple threat match against Owens and Styles for the title in which Jericho was pinned by Styles. On January 22, 2018, during the
25th Anniversary of Raw, Jericho appeared backstage in a segment with
Elias, putting him on The List of Jericho. At the
Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, Jericho was the final entrant in the 50-man
Royal Rumble match, eliminating
Shelton Benjamin before being eliminated by the eventual winner
Braun Strowman. This event marked Jericho's final in-ring appearance with WWE to date. In September 2019, during an interview for the Mature Audiences Mayhem Podcast, Jericho explained that an incident occurred that made him finalize a decision to leave WWE. Even though Jericho was with the WWE for 15 years, at
WrestleMania 33 in 2017, the match between Jericho and Kevin Owens (an established feud) was marked as second place on the WrestleMania match card for the
United States Championship. The decision, made by Vince McMahon, prompted Jericho to seek work elsewhere.
Return to NJPW (2017–2020) On November 5, 2017, Jericho returned to NJPW in a pre-taped vignette, challenging
Kenny Omega to a match at
Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome for Omega's
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The match, dubbed "Alpha vs. Omega", was Jericho's first match outside of
WWE since he left WCW in July 1999. Journalist
Dave Meltzer wrote that Jericho's WWE contract had expired and that he was a "free agent". NJPW also referred to Jericho as a free agent. In contrast, the
Tokyo Sports newspaper described an anonymous NJPW official saying that Jericho is still under contract with WWE, and that WWE chairman Vince McMahon had given him permission to wrestle this match in NJPW. Jericho was defeated by Omega in the Wrestle Kingdom match, which was the first of Jericho's career to receive a
five-star rating from Dave Meltzer of the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter. , Jericho ambushed and assaulted
Tetsuya Naito. Jericho's next feud was against
Tetsuya Naito, defeating him at
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall to win the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship. After retaining the title against Evil at
Power Struggle, he lost it against Naito at
Wrestle Kingdom 13. Jericho's last matches with NJPW were at
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, being defeated by
Kazuchika Okada for the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and at
Wrestle Kingdom 14, where he defeated
Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Return to the independent circuit (2018–2024) On September 1, 2018, Jericho (disguised as
Penta El Zero) appeared at the
All In show promoted by Cody and The Young Bucks, where he attacked
Kenny Omega following Omega's victory over Penta to promote his upcoming Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise. In October 2018, Jericho organized his annual Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea, a series of professional wrestling matches originating from Jericho's cruise ship, which embarked from
Miami, Florida and featured wrestlers from
Ring of Honor. The series would also continue with wrestlers from
All Elite Wrestling after Jericho signed with the promotion in 2019. On May 3, 2019, Jericho appeared at a Southern Honor Wrestling event, where he was attacked by Kenny Omega. On January 8, 2023, Jericho made his debut for
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), as part of
PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2023 night 2, where he teamed with the
Jericho Appreciation Society (
Daniel Garcia,
Angelo Parker,
Matt Menard and
Sammy Guevara) to defeat the team of
Jonathan Gresham, Kevin Blackwood, Michael Oku,
Player Uno, and
SB Kento in a
ten-man tag team match. On August 26, 2023, Jericho made his surprise debut for
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) at
RevPro 11th Anniversary Show by attacking
Will Ospreay ahead of their match at
All In. On December 3, 2023, Jericho made a surprise appearance at Vietnam Pro Wrestling (VPW). On December 14, 2024, Jericho made his debut for
Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) at Highest in the Room 3, where he attacked
Effy and
Matt Cardona.
All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2019–present) The Inner Circle (2019–2021) On January 8, 2019, Jericho made a surprise appearance at a media event organized by the upstart
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion. Shortly afterwards, Jericho was filmed signing a full-time performers three-year contract with AEW. Jericho defeated
Kenny Omega at the promotion's inaugural event
Double or Nothing on May 25, and went on to defeat
Adam Page at
All Out on August 31 to become the inaugural
AEW World Champion. On the premiere episode of
Dynamite on October 2, Jericho allied himself with
Sammy Guevara,
Jake Hager,
Santana and Ortiz, creating a stable that would be known as
The Inner Circle. Jericho would make successful title defences against
Darby Allin on the October 16 episode of
Dynamite,
Cody at
Full Gear on November 9, and
Scorpio Sky on the
Thanksgiving Eve special episode on November 27. In December, Jericho started a feud with
Jon Moxley where he unsuccessfully tried to convince Moxley to join the group. At
Revolution on February 29, 2020, Jericho lost the world championship to Moxley, ending his reign at 182 days. After losing the championship, Jericho and The Inner Circle began a feud with
The Elite (Adam Page, Cody, Kenny Omega and
The Young Bucks). At
Double or Nothing on May 23, The Inner Circle were defeated by Page, Omega, The Young Bucks and
Matt Hardy in a
Stadium Stampede match. Jericho next began a rivalry with
Orange Cassidy, with Jericho defeating him on the
Fyter Fest episode of
Dynamite on July 8, but losing a rematch on the August 12 episode of
Dynamite. The two faced once again at
All Out on September 5, in a
Mimosa Mayhem match, which Jericho lost. Beginning in October, Jericho began a feud with
MJF, who requested to join the Inner Circle, despite disapproval from the rest of the group. Jericho and MJF wrestled in a match at the
Full Gear event on November 7, which MJF won, thus allowing him to join the Inner Circle. On the
Beach Break episode of
Dynamite on February 3, 2021, Jericho and MJF won a tag team battle royal to become the number one contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at the
Revolution event on March 7 against The Young Bucks, which they were unsuccessful in winning. On the March 10 episode of
Dynamite, MJF betrayed and left The Inner Circle after revealing he had been secretly plotting against them and building his own stable,
The Pinnacle—consisting of
Wardlow,
Shawn Spears and
FTR (
Cash Wheeler and
Dax Harwood)—turning the Inner Circle
face. On the
Blood and Guts episode of
Dynamite on May 5, The Inner Circle lost to The Pinnacle in the inaugural
Blood and Guts match. However, in the main event of
Double or Nothing on May 30, The Inner Circle defeated The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede match, after Sammy Guevara pinned Shawn Spears. Jericho then began pursuing another match with MJF, who stated that he would first have to defeat a gauntlet of opponents selected by MJF, in a series dubbed the "Labors of Jericho". Jericho would defeat each of MJF's handpicked opponents (
Shawn Spears,
Nick Gage,
Juventud Guerrera and
Wardlow) and faced MJF in the final match on the August 18 episode of
Dynamite, but he was defeated. Jericho demanded one more match, stipulating that if he lost, he would retire from in-ring competition, which MJF accepted. At
All Out on September 5, Jericho defeated MJF to maintain his career and end their feud. Following All Out, The Inner Circle started a rivalry with
Men of the Year (
Ethan Page and
Scorpio Sky), and their ally,
mixed martial arts (MMA) coach Dan Lambert. Lambert also brought in members of his MMA team
American Top Team (ATT) to oppose The Inner Circle, including former
UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and
Junior dos Santos.
Jericho Appreciation Society (2022–2023) At
Revolution on March 6, 2022, Jericho was defeated by
Eddie Kingston. After the match, Jericho refused to shake Kingston's hand. On the March 9 episode of
Dynamite, Jericho turned heel by attacking Kingston and the team of Santana and Ortiz with a help of
2.0 and
Daniel Garcia, ending the Inner Circle. At
Double or Nothing on May 29, The
Jericho Appreciation Society defeated the
Blackpool Combat Club (
Jon Moxley and
Bryan Danielson), Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz in an Anarchy in the Arena match. At
Blood & Guts on June 29, The Jericho Appreciation Society were defeated by Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley,
Wheeler Yuta and
Claudio Castagnoli), Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz in a
Blood and Guts match. At
Fyter Fest on July 20, Jericho defeated Kingston in a
Barbed Wire Deathmatch to end their feud. The Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club feud continued through 2022 and saw the return of Jericho's Lionheart persona in matches with Moxley and Danielson. At
Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 21, Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to win the
ROH World Championship for the first time in his career. On October 18, it was announced that Jericho had signed a contract extension with AEW through December 2025. With this extension, Jericho received new roles as a
coach and creative consultant, in addition to performing for AEW as an in-ring wrestler. During his reign as ROH World Champion, Jericho referred to himself as "The Ocho" (as it marked his eighth overall world championship) and successfully defended the title against many former ROH champions, such as
Dalton Castle, whom he defeated at
Title Tuesday,
Colt Cabana,
Tomohiro Ishii, whom he defeated on the
Thanksgiving Eve episode of
Dynamite on November 23, and
Bandido. At
Final Battle on December 10, Jericho lost the ROH World Championship back to Castagnoli, ending his reign at 80 days. Going into 2023, Jericho began a feud with
Ricky Starks. The feud culminated at
Revolution on March 5, where Jericho was defeated by Starks. After losing to Starks, Jericho began a feud with
Adam Cole, which culminated at
Double or Nothing on May 28, where Jericho was defeated by Cole in an
unsanctioned match. On the August 9 episode of
Dynamite, all members except Sammy Guevera, of the Jericho Appreciation Society walked out on Jericho due to his association with
Don Callis, effectively disbanding the stable.
Feud with The Don Callis Family (2023–2024) Jericho was able to maintain his alliance with Guevara, reforming their tag team known as "Le Sex Gods". At
All In on August 27, Jericho was defeated by
Will Ospreay. After the match, Jericho shoved Guevara away. On the
Dynamite edition of
Grand Slam, Jericho defeated Guevara, but when Jericho tried to show respect, Guevara hit him with a low blow and joined
The Don Callis Family, turning Jericho face in the process. On the
Rampage edition of Grand Slam, Jericho tried to attack The Don Callis Family, only to be outnumbered and saved by
Kenny Omega. Jericho and Omega then formed a tag team known as "The Golden Jets" to take out The Don Callis Family. At
WrestleDream on October 1, The Golden Jets with
Kota Ibushi were defeated by The Don Callis Family (Ospreay, Guevera, and
Konosuke Takeshita). At
Full Gear on November 18, The Golden Jets defeated
The Young Bucks to earn a shot at the
AEW World Tag Team Championships. In December, Omega was diagnosed with
diverticulitis and would be forced to take time off, effectively ending The Golden Jets. On the December 27 edition of
Dynamite, Jericho came to Guevara's aid from a Don Callis Family attack and reunited Le Sex Gods. At
Worlds End on December 30, Le Sex Gods teamed with
Sting and
Darby Allin to defeat The Don Callis Family (Takeshita and
Powerhouse Hobbs),
Ricky Starks, and
Big Bill. On January 13, 2024, at
Battle of the Belts IX, Le Sex Gods unsuccessfully challenged Starks and Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Championships due to interference from Hobbs and Takeshita. On the February 7 episode of
Dynamite, Jericho was defeated by Takeshita, ending a near six-month feud with The Don Callis Family.
The Learning Tree (2024–2025) Starting in March 2024, Jericho attempted to form a mentor-student relationship with
Hook, however, Jericho was rebuffed, ultimately leading to a match between the two at
Dynasty on April 21 which saw Jericho win the
FTW Championship. On the April 24 episode of
Dynamite, Jericho renamed the FTW Championship to the "For The World Championship", dubbed himself "The Learning Tree", where he portrayed a delusional mentor and sarcastically saying he needs his "TV time", which was a reference to the online criticism of Jericho being constantly featured on AEW programming, turning heel once again. On the May 1 episode of
Dynamite, Jericho successfully defended the FTW Championship against
Katsuyori Shibata, with the assistance of
Big Bill, whom Jericho then agreed to add to his learning tree. On May 26 at
Double or Nothing, Jericho successfully defended the title against Hook and Katsuyori Shibata with the help of
Bryan Keith. On June 30 at
Forbidden Door Jericho teamed with
Jeff Cobb and Big Bill to take on
Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and Hook but was unsuccessful. On August 25, Jericho faced Hook at
All In but lost the title, ending his reign at 127 days. On October 12 at
WrestleDream, Jericho challenged
Mark Briscoe for the
ROH World Championship, in a losing effort. On the October 23 episode of
Dynamite, Jericho defeated Mark Briscoe in a
Ladder War (with Big Bill giving him a boost on his shoulders) to win the ROH World Championship for the second time, marking his ninth overall world title, and with that he gave himself the nickname of "The Nueve" (nine in Spanish). On November 27 at
Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite, Jericho successfully defended his title against Tomohiro Ishii. On December 20 at
Final Battle, Jericho successfully defended his title against
Matt Cardona. After the match, Jericho attempted to attack Cardona but was chased off by a returning Bandido. On the February 22, 2025 episode of
Collision, Jericho successfully defended his title against Bandido. On March 9 at
Revolution Zero Hour, Jericho was scheduled to defend his title against Bandido's brother
Gravity, but the match never started due to The Learning Tree attacking Gravity and unmasking him. On April 6 at
Dynasty, Jericho lost the title to Bandido in a
Title vs. Mask match. On the following episode of
Dynamite, The Learning Tree would disband as Jericho would blame losing the ROH World Championship on both Big Bill and Bryan Keith, before saying he would "leave" until Bill and Keith make a change.
Return from hiatus (2026–present) After nearly a year off television and speculation over his status in AEW, Jericho returned as a face on the April 1, 2026 episode of
Dynamite in his hometown of
Winnipeg, Manitoba, and would later adopt the truncated ring name
Jericho. On April 12 at
Dynasty, Jericho was defeated by
Ricochet in his first match in over a year. == Legacy ==