The Jericho Effect: How Chris Jericho remains a man in constant evolution

Twenty years after his shocking debut on Monday Night Raw, Chris Jericho remains a man in constant evolution.

The Chicago crowd was electric. Fans were chanting and holding signs. There was a feeling that on any week anything could happen without notice. It was almost disappointing if a week went by without a surprise. But this was different. For weeks, a ticking clock teased the viewers, but anyone with even the slightest understanding of basic math could figure out when the clock would expire. On August 9, 1999, the Chicago crowd exploded when Rock was interrupted by the final ticks of the Millennium Clock. Chris Jericho had arrived.

At only 27, Jericho was a journeyman worker who had found himself a year earlier in WCW. Through sheer will and personality, Jericho turned himself into one of the can’t miss players of TNT’s Monday show. Jericho parlayed that into becoming one of the hottest free agents in the game in the summer of 1999. While always an entertaining figure on Nitro, Jericho never rose above mid-card status, holding the Cruiserweight and Television titles.

However, when Jericho stepped out on to the biggest stage in the wrestling world, standing across from one of its biggest names, the world saw a star. Though, Jericho’s career didn’t skyrocket after that night. It took a year for him to really settle into his WWF run, but he eventually became a mainstay in the company, winning various titles, eventually becoming pro wrestling’s first Undisputed Champion, unifying the WWF and WCW world titles after beating Steve Austin and The Rock. If Jericho wanted, he could have easily played that Y2J character for the rest of his career, doing autograph shows in sparkly shirts. Jericho chose a different path.

After his career hit stagnation in 2005, Jericho walked away from pro wrestling to focus on his rock band, Fozzy, and his burgeoning film career. Jericho returned in 2007 to massive fanfare with a new look, but essentially the same character. In 2008, Jericho made the first significant character evolution of his career when he became a soft-spoken, suit-wearing sociopath, who Jericho called a combination of Nick Bockwinkle and No Country For Old Men character Anton Chigurh. When that character became stale, Jericho disappeared again and returned with a light-up jacket and added a scarf and a list in 2016.

After more than 25 years in the business, Jericho remains a man in flux. His constant desire to reinvent himself has kept him not only relevant but made him a trans-generational superstar. His latest reinvention came in New Japan, where he adopted a spiked leather jacket, goth make-up, and long hair. His in-ring work shifted from the traditional the early-90s cruiserweight style he helped create to a wild brawling style used by gaijin in the early 80s. Jericho has remade himself into a 21st century Bruiser Brody.

The most surprising shift came in January of this year when Jericho announced his signing with All Elite Wrestling. His Brody-esque persona became mixed with that of an entitled veteran who feels the industry owes him for his years of service. On August 31, Jericho will battle Hagman Page to become the first the AEW World Heavyweight Champion at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view. But when AEW debuts its weekly television program on TNT October 2, The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) will meet Jericho and two mystery partners.

Just as when Jericho thundered into WWE 20 years ago, when AEW on TNT premieres, whoever shares the ring with Jericho will immediately become one of the new major players in professional wrestling. Though it probably will not be the end of Jericho’s legendary run, it will serve as a proper bookend to one of the most fascinating and revolutionary careers in the history of the industry.