WWE, AEW: 3 moments of Chris Jericho being the hottest mess

Coffee with Kane

Even in the best of circumstances not every origin story to a feud can be a winner. The brawls between Kane and Jericho starting with a spilled coffee is certainly a loser.

But this is Chris Jericho. It was absolutely entertaining. In 2000, after offering an advanced copy of Fozzy’s new album and singing the praises of lead singer Moongoose McQueen (yeah, it’s Jericho) at catering, Jericho turns and walks right into Kane.

He actually apologizes, saying, “sorry, I didn’t mean to burn you,” and as you probably know… burning is a whole thing with Kane. He beats Jericho all around the coffee area but he isn’t done. Later, Jericho’s match with Regal is interrupted by the big red machine. Chokeslams free with any small coffee.

It’s not a memorable feud. It has no pay off. Still, it’s a shining example of Chris Jericho’s ability to make any promotion, ad placement, or spot work at least in the moment.

Man of 1,004 Holds

Dean Malenko, master tactician of few words, was titled “the Man of 1,000 holds.” In the late 90s, Jericho proclaimed himself “Man of 1,004 Holds” and began to read the names of each and every hold he knew over an entire episode of Nitro on March 30, 1998. Sadly he was thwarted somewhere in the 700s and we may never know just how many armbars he can do. I personally wouldn’t bet lower than 100.

This (along with his entire year of taunting Dean Malenko, if you wish to put that WWE network subscription to good use) is my go to promo for making people see not only how great Jericho has always been but how ahead of his time he was.