Chris Jericho = Our generations Ric Flair?

[LadyHotrod]

I didn't see the Piper comment.....I would strongly disagree on that one. Piper was a crazy son of a bitch. Jericho isn't.

 

[NinoBrown]

Drawing power and the ability to hold a world title is what seperates Jericho and Flair.

And would the fact that Jericho has never been in a faction also seperate them? I mean Flair was a Horsemen, the first real faction in wrestling, Jericho's been doing it solo for his whole career (Alliance never had leaders).

 

[ninasimren]

i think ric flair was much more stronger than jericho, and still he is one of the best fighters..

 

[Mister J]

I've never really considered Ric Flair the strong type. He is more like a tough guy.

 

[THE Brian Kendrick's Biceps]

No. Not even close. What made Flair great, apart from his wrestling ability, which Jericho isn't even close to, was his ability to hold the gold and make others look like a million bucks and drawing while doing so. No one from this past decade or so has really been that alike to Flair, but I'll say the most similar was JBL.

The one point against JBL is his wrestling. Jericho is far superior to Layfield in the ring, which means that Flair certainly is, so I won't put forth an argument for Layfield in this case. I will, however, refer to his title reign.

The first thing that sticks out about Layfield's title reign was the length of it. In the modern era, the nine month long reign from Layfield is the equivalent to maybe a two year reign from the late '80s. The fact that Layfield was allowed to hold that title for so long shows that he was a success. It wasn't just that though. Layfield also had the ability, which Flair had in spades, to make the man he was feuding with look like a million bucks. The way Layfield played the role as champion, both as a character and on the microphone, put his opponent over greatly. Look at his feud with Booker T. Here was a guy who had floundered as a heel, and JBL not only was the catalyst for him to turn, but also assisted him in getting over as a face and looking like a great threat to the title. This is something that is more reminiscent of Flair in his prime than anything Jericho has done.

God I miss JBL.

 

[Mister J]

No. Not even close. What made Flair great, apart from his wrestling ability, which Jericho isn't even close to, was his ability to hold the gold and make others look like a million bucks and drawing while doing so. No one from this past decade or so has really been that alike to Flair, but I'll say the most similar was JBL.

The one point against JBL is his wrestling. Jericho is far superior to Layfield in the ring, which means that Flair certainly is, so I won't put forth an argument for Layfield in this case. I will, however, refer to his title reign.

The first thing that sticks out about Layfield's title reign was the length of it. In the modern era, the nine month long reign from Layfield is the equivalent to maybe a two year reign from the late '80s. The fact that Layfield was allowed to hold that title for so long shows that he was a success. It wasn't just that though. Layfield also had the ability, which Flair had in spades, to make the man he was feuding with look like a million bucks. The way Layfield played the role as champion, both as a character and on the microphone, put his opponent over greatly. Look at his feud with Booker T. Here was a guy who had floundered as a heel, and JBL not only was the catalyst for him to turn, but also assisted him in getting over as a face and looking like a great threat to the title. This is something that is more reminiscent of Flair in his prime than anything Jericho has done.

God I miss JBL.

JBL certainly came a long way. He was also my favorite commentator next to Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

 

[Airfixx]

Drawing power and the ability to hold a world title is what seperates Jericho and Flair.

And would the fact that Jericho has never been in a faction also seperate them? I mean Flair was a Horsemen, the first real faction in wrestling, Jericho's been doing it solo for his whole career (Alliance never had leaders).

Austin was clearly the leader of the Alliance... Surely you remember all the promo's where he's barking orders at the rest of the guys whilst RVD just stands their like "yeah, right! :roll:". Hell, he had Shane, Steph & Heyman all dancing to HIS tune.

 

[Axis]

Seeing as how the bolded can widely be considered the three keys to being the ultimate success, where does Undertaker fit into those?

As a big man, he was somewhat limited in the ring, although in his prime he pulled off some feats nobody else could have. His mic skills were limited by the gimmick to being ominous and cryptical, and he isn't that good on the mic anyway.

He was booked as an unbeatable big man. He had his fair runs with the title and pushes, but anything extreme?

Drawing ability is questionable.

Yet he is one of the most recognizable faces in the business. Why?

Very interesting thought about the Undertaker. Like you pointed out, his biggest problem is probably drawing ability. He has always been an excellent foil character to a main draw; whether it's against Michaels, Hart, Austin, or pretty much every main event face on Smackdown in the last 7 years. Especially against Austin, he was the "Andre the Giant" to Austin's "Hogan," notably at Summerslam 1998 (HIGHWAY TO HELL~). But he was never really "The Man" like Ric Flair was. Plus in that case, their styles are just too entirely diatomic to compare them. Both legends, no doubt. But they are just too different to be compared in this way imo.

 

[xFrenchKissx]

Very interesting thought about the Undertaker. Like you pointed out, his biggest problem is probably drawing ability. He has always been an excellent foil character to a main draw; whether it's against Michaels, Hart, Austin, or pretty much every main event face on Smackdown in the last 7 years. Especially against Austin, he was the "Andre the Giant" to Austin's "Hogan," notably at Summerslam 1998 (HIGHWAY TO HELL~). But he was never really "The Man" like Ric Flair was. Plus in that case, their styles are just too entirely diatomic to compare them. Both legends, no doubt. But they are just too different to be compared in this way imo.

All comparisons to Flair aside, what did you think of the Ministry angle? Do you think he made the American Bad Ass gimmick a success? Does the difference in their styles make one better than the other, or just different? Seeing as how actually becoming a success and a big name requires a degree of originality, is it really feasible to compare any wrestler to another?

 

[TheAnswer]

Chris Jericho is very good. He can be a great face and great heel. However, I would not compare him to Ric Flair. Ric Flair is definitly one of the top three wrestlers ever. To compare Jericho to him is unfair.

The thing against Jericho is, he was never really a big draw and face of a company. Him not being the face of a company is not really his fault because he was never really plugged in to be that piece.

Y2J really reminds more of a Rowdy Roddy Piper. Is a good worker in the ring, can cut an amazing promo, can get guys over, and can make you love him or hate him. But never had the career of guys such as Hogan and Flair.

One person who really did remind of Ric Flair, ....and some will hate this...is Triple H. Triple H in the 2000-2005 era was the top heel. Not only that, but he could draw money, can put on some good matches, and at one point the number one guy. He was probably the most popular heels of our generation.

 

[noumenon]

Jericho will without a doubt go down as one of the best all around performers of our generation. The guy has nearly everything that it takes to make the perfect wrestler. He's phenomenal in the ring, can talk perhaps better than anyone else in the business, and can make just about any character or gimmick work beautifully in his favor. However, I don't think Jericho will ever reach the legendary status that Flair has. In fact, very few competitors of today probably will. The obvious names were already brought up... Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Triple H....obviously Austin as well.
I was always firmly against calling anything "the next" of something else. Sure it can at many times be a flattering comparison and there may even be many parallels, but parallels are inevitable. Jericho is a one of a kind performer and will no doubt be recognized for his contributions and consistency in the business when it's all said and done. This is another reason why I'm a bit turned off to the Batista/Cena feud at the moment. "NO I'M THE NEXT AUSTIN/ROCK!". It's all a bit strange.

 

[straight_edge76]

Jericho is one of, if not the best of this generation. he has all of the things that make a great worker; mic skills, natural charisma, phenomenal in-ring ability. The only drawback is that he was never really a huge draw, which I do not think was so much his fault, he was just never really given the opportunity to be a huge draw, he always had guys like Triple H, The Undertaker and Austin around him who were obviously proven draws. But he has shown over the course of his career that he can work well and be over as a face or heel.

I also hate calling people the "next" anything. That is honestly where Cena gets some unfair criticisms as well. To many people expect him to be like Austin, The Rock and Hogan. Which isn't a fair expectation at all; those three guys are all larger than life, once in a life time characters that can be immitated, but never duplicated.

I can see the similarities in Jericho and Flair but the differences between the two are what makes Flair, Flair and Jericho, Jericho.

 

[xFrenchKissx]

Ok, so we all agree that Flair is the man of his time. Is there anyone on the roster that is going to go down in history as "The man of his time" the way Flair has, or are those days gone? And if there is, who is it going to be?

 

[Mister J]

Ric Flair has carried two promotions in his career.

 

[noumenon]

Jericho is one of, if not the best of this generation. he has all of the things that make a great worker; mic skills, natural charisma, phenomenal in-ring ability. The only drawback is that he was never really a huge draw, which I do not think was so much his fault, he was just never really given the opportunity to be a huge draw, he always had guys like Triple H, The Undertaker and Austin around him who were obviously proven draws. But he has shown over the course of his career that he can work well and be over as a face or heel.

I also hate calling people the "next" anything. That is honestly where Cena gets some unfair criticisms as well. To many people expect him to be like Austin, The Rock and Hogan. Which isn't a fair expectation at all; those three guys are all larger than life, once in a life time characters that can be immitated, but never duplicated.

I can see the similarities in Jericho and Flair but the differences between the two are what makes Flair, Flair and Jericho, Jericho.

^^^
I'm gonna have to call you out on this because I've noticed it for a few weeks now. You always post right under me and your posts seem to be a reconstructed version of mine....

...just sayin.