First he took his native Canada by storm, then he went on to wow them in Japan and Australia. Now Chris Jericho is giving the fans here in the United States a taste of his high-flying action and the crowds can't get enough!
The Arena was filled to capacity with thousands of excited wrestling fans. They had been waiting weeks for this main-event "return match to the end" between two of professional wrestling's brightest you superstars.
Previously, during the Bay Area Wrestling TV broadcast, Flying Chris Jericho accepted the challenge of Hawkeye Shane Kody for a one-fall match. That match ended abruptly when Lovely Lori, Kody's manager and valet, reached into the ring and tripped Jericho. Knocked off his feet, Jericho landed head-first on the mat, which set him up for an easy pin by Kody.
Despite losing the match, Jericho was a big hit with the fans, who took an immediate liking to him thanks to his youthful good looks, muscular physique and high-flying ring maneuvers. And, unlike the referee, the ringsiders knew that Jericho was the victim of some dirty work.
This was Jericho's first appearance in the area. He had just completed a tour of Japan, Australia and his homeland of Canada when he got the call from BAW head honcho Woody Farmer inviting him to take part in the TV taping. The blond bomber gladly took part in the wrestling program--and once it was over, he was crying for a rematch and vowing revenge on Kody!
The rematch was signed and BAW fans waited anxiously for it to take place. Security was doubled the night of the event. Then the crowd erupted in cheers as Jericho, in a colorful yellow warm-up robe, ran down the aisle to the ring.
The cheers turned to jeers, however, when Kody started strutting slowly down the aisle, escorted by Lovely Lori. Hawkeye was wearing a heavy black leather vest, heavy black boots and carrying a whip and a coarse rope with a solid cowbell. Kody has been known to bring the cowbell down on people's heads when the going gets too rough for him, something Jericho was well aware of.
When the ring announcer began to introduce Jericho, Kody became enraged and grabbed him by the necktie and began to rough him up. Then he pulled the microphone away from and barked, "Hawkeye Shane Kody ALWAYS gets introduced first!" while Lovely Lori smiled her approval.
Fearing for his life, the announcer introduced the wrestlers to the crowd, Kody first, then Jericho. When the 232-pound native of Calgary, Alberta was introduced, the crowd went wild, which seemed to incense Kody all the more.
As the crowd began to quiet down and Jericho began to remove his robe, Kody ran across the ring and attacked him from behind, choking the young Canadian with his own robe before the referee intervened.
The tone of the match had been set.
Kody and Jericho battled back and forth, with Kody trying every dirty trick in the book. Jericho put on a powerful display of his aerial tactics, including a flying dropkick that sent Hawkeye sailing out of the ring.
"You'll pay for this, Jericho!" Kody shouted as he regained his feet while the fans laughed and taunted him. "You'll be sorry that you're messing with me," he growled, pointing at Jericho.
Back in the ring, the action resumed. Kody gained the upper hand when he grabbed a handful of Jericho's long blond hair to extradite himself from a side headlock. Free of the hold, he began strangling Jericho, then threw him out of the ring. While the referee was counting him, Lori walked over and casually began stomping on Jericho's back with her spike heels. Kody did his part by keeping the ref's attention so Lori could get in a few extra kicks.
Wanting to get in on the action, Kody jumped out of the ring, picked the pain-wracked Jericho and body-slammed him to the concrete arena floor. As Jericho writhed in pain, the ref began counting both wrestlers out. So Kody picked up the handsome Canadian and tossed him back into the ring, ready to dish out more punishment without fear of being disqualified.
As Kody came in for the kill, Jericho raised himself up and drove his fist into Hawkeye's midsection, knocking him off his feet. Gaining his feet, he picked Kody up and body-slammed him as the fans went wild!
Jericho was making a remarkable comeback and the fans were eating it up. Everyone loved it-- except Kody and Lori!
Chris then applied his famous version of the figure four leglock and it looked like the match was over when Kody reached around, gouged Jericho's eyes and broke free. But before Kody could gain any steam, Jericho stunned his opponent with a blow to the midsection, body-slammed him and then climbed to the top rope, ready to deliver his famed finishing move--the Flying Jericho Attack.
Balancing on the top rope, Jericho was ready to leap the seven feet onto his opponent when Lori suddenly pushed his foot and the young blond grappler slipped off the top rope and tumbled to the mat in pain.
This time, however, the referee was watching and immediately disqualified Kody for outside interference and awarded the match to Jericho. It was Jericho, however, who layed crumpled on the mat. Kody took the opportunity to take the cowbell from Lori and smash it into Jericho's forehead, opening a deep gash.
Jericho hardly looked like the winner as the blood began to flow. He had to be helped from the ring and needed a week to recuperate.
Wrestling World spoke to the recovering young star via phone as he eagerly awaited his return to the ring wars.
"My biggest complaint about wrestling is that there are too many bad guys in it," said Jericho, "but I plan on cleaning that up, slowly but surely. I like to play by the rules and be a good sport, but you can't always use that approach or you'll find yourself with your head split open or with some broken bones.
"Kody had no right to do what he did to me. Notice how it was two against one," Jericho continued. "I believe in the law of karma, what goes around comes around, and Kody will pay for what he did to me, just wait and see."
Just 22 years old, Jericho has been wrestling for four years. He had a promising football career but decided to concentrate on the mat sport instead.
"I like the fact that you don't have a team to share the glory with," he explained. "I like the one-on- one aspect of wrestling.
"I'm new to the game but I plan on giving my whole future to wrestling. I know I have a lot to learn and some of those things I'll learn the hard way. I realized that in my first pro match."
Jericho originally trained at the Hart Brothers Training Camp in Calgary, known all throughout the wrestling world. He graduated at the top of his class and went on to gain experience as a star for the then-popular Canadian National Wresting Alliance. He learned the ropes while facing such greats as Johnny Smith, the Great Gama, Jerry Morrow and Bulldog Bob Brown.
The Stampede Wrestling Federation then made Jericho an offer he couldn't refuse. This led him to tour the country, winning matches nightly in arenas from province to province. Then the offers began to pour in from the likes of World Class Championship Wrestling, the Global Wrestling Federation, Universal Wrestling Federation and, of course, BAW.
It's no wonder why this youngster is in popular demand. Also known as "Sudden Impact," Jericho employs a high-flying acrobatic style that bewilders his opponents. He's a master of backflips, flying headscissors, flying dropkicks and a fabulous reverse dropkick, which he starts from his hands and kicks up to his opponent's chest to knock him off his feet.
"I'm constantly trying to invent new holds and I'm willing to try anything, particularly from off the top rope," Jericho told Wrestling World. "The only way to learn is to try. And I'm not afraid to try because time and experience is what makes a champion. Wrestling is the greatest thing to ever happen to me and I want to make it all the way to the top."
Some of his toughest opponents have been in his homeland of Canada, especially Luscious Lenny Sinclair and The Natural. Now that he frequently tours Japan, Sudden Impact is making enemies all over the Land of the Rising Sun!
What does the future hold for Chris Jericho?
"I live and breathe wrestling, that's all there is to it," he answered. "My eyes are open and I have a good attitude. I'm hitting the gym regularly, getting bigger by the day. Everything is going my way.
"I want to become a nationally-known superstar," he confessed. "I want to make it to the top of professional wrestling and bring in the 21st Century with a bang--a BIG BANG!"
