He asked fans to write a thousand-word essay about why they consider themselves Jerichoholics, and the best essay gets to be featured in his newest book. Of course, we'll only know who the winner is when the book gets published.
I don't know how big my chance of winning is, but it's a chance better taken than not.
I wrote the following essay last February. And now that I've re-read it, I realized that it needed some grammatical revisions, but I'm choosing not to go Grammar Nazi on this baby. LOL
Click "Read More" to, uh, read more.
I was amused at his WWF debut in 2000, using the nickname Y2J as a reference to the old Y2K computer bug. I recall that one promo of his where he said something like “the WWE will never—and I mean e-e-e-e-e-e-ever—be the same again”; I wasn’t aware at first that it was simply a speech tic gimmick, but I later realized that it could be a reference to that Y2K bug I don’t know up to this day, if it is, but it was a perfect nod to it.
I could only watch the WWE on and off during my childhood days, as my dad always hogs the TV for his dose of local basketball and billiards games. I used to curse those days that I don’t get to watch WWE and see what Jericho was up to next. When we finally bought another TV, I could finally immerse myself a bit more to the wrestlers, the storylines and the in-ring and backstage segment, particularly ones that are comedic or involved Chris.
I’ve never seen his old wrestling handiwork in ECW and WCW, but his stint in the WWE alone is enough for me to say how awesome he is as a wrestler and an actor at the same time. I enjoyed his stints and wisecracks in his good-guy runs, and he really got on my nerves when he was a heel; It just goes to show that he can stir his audience’s emotions, that you either like him as a hero or hate him as a villain. It’s a trait of his that I aspire to acquire as an aspiring comedic actor.
I remember hearing his song from the WWE Originals album entitled Don’t You Wish You Were Me? and I thought he sounded cool as a rock singer. What started to amaze me even further about him was that he’s actually fronting a rock band! I really never knew about that until I checked out YouTube and saw Fozzy’s music videos for Enemy and All that Remains and seeing him on those videos. It finally sunk in when I saw an old footage of Fozzy playing To Kill a Stranger live on Raw when Chris was still in a feud with “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. (And now I’m starting to think I really missed a lot on those episodes.) Because of those videos, I found myself being a fan not only of Chris, but of Fozzy as well, with all those three songs I mentioned being my personal favorites.
I remember one episode of Raw when he and then-WWE champ John Cena were in a feud and were supposed to have a battle of the bands. I was disappointed that Fozzy wasn’t in it, with then-heel Chris saying “I’m a huge rock star, babaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!!” While I’m inclined to agree, I wished that Fozzy was actually there, but that was just the fan in me talking. So anyway, I was only treated to John Cena’s rapping that night (which also sounds good to me, but I still prefer my rock music).
I found it somewhat disappointing that he lost his lucha de apuesta against then-heel Dolph Ziggler and he had to retire. I know it was a storyline retirement, but “it’s still all real to me, dammit!” That’s why I was exhilarated when he returned as the number 2 entry of last year’s Royal Rumble. When the fans chanted that “You still got it!” he said “I never lost it, babaaaaaaayyyyy!!!” Truly, Chris Jericho never lost a step.
I’ve been inspired by Chris’ accomplishments outside the ring. Aside from touring with Fozzy and writing his books, he also had movie stints and a memorable appearance on Dancing with the Stars, where he demonstrated yet again how versatile he is. (Talk about multitasking.) I still feel bad that the judges made a bad call to eliminate Chris and his partner Cheryl, when they are the best in the world at what they did in that show.
Speaking of being best in the world, I would even argue that the whole “best in the world at what he does” thing is also somewhat pivotal in CM Punk’s “Best in the World” stuff.
Currently, I find myself looking forward to new episodes of his Talk is Jericho podcast and his comedy web series But I’m Chris Jericho! I honestly think he fits perfectly for comedy, and when he decides to hang up his boots for good, I know that he’ll be a great comedian. I’d like to see him host his own talk show someday, entitled Late Night is Jericho! or something.
Speaking of the web, I can’t help but be amused every time he “invents” something new or when I discover something old that he “invented” thanks to those Chris Jericho memes. For all I know, he might also be the one who invented the internet.
Also, I’d like to recall July 2009 when the WWE visited Manila for their live tour. I heard from my friend that the wrestlers would be staying at a local hotel, and he planned to drop by to play the role of a paparazzo. While genrally, paparazzi are sort of shady, because I didn’t want to miss the chance of meeting them before the actual live event, I accompanied him. The first one we saw among them that day was Chris.