Chris Jericho

name=Chris Jericho

World Championship Wrestling

In August 1996 Jericho made his first appearance with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and on September 15 of that year he appeared at his first pay-per-view show, in a match against Chris Benoit.

Related Topics:
August - 1996 - World Championship Wrestling - September 15 - Pay-per-view - Chris Benoit

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Jericho had much early sucess in WCW. On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx in Los Angeles, California to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. He would win the title again on August 12, 1997 by defeating Alex Wright. Jericho won the title a third time, defeating Rey Mysterio Jr. on January 24, 1998 at WCW's second annual Souled Out pay-per-view by making him submit to the Liontamer. After the match, Jericho continued an assault on Mysterio's knee by utilizing the metal ring steps to sandwich Mysterio's leg.

Related Topics:
Syxx - Los Angeles, California - WCW Cruiserweight Championship - Alex Wright - Rey Mysterio Jr. - January 24

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Jericho's feud with Juventud Guerrera culminated in a Title vs. Mask match at SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, 1998 in San Francisco, California. Guerrera lost the match and was forced to remove his mask. Jericho carried the mask around for months and mocked Guerrera's nickname of "Juvi Juice" by referring to him as "Quasi-Juice."

Related Topics:
Juventud Guerrera - SuperBrawl - San Francisco, California

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In a feud with Dean Malenko, Jericho shamed Malenko by defeating him in a pay-per-view match. As a result, Malenko then "left wrestling" and stayed off camera for a prolongued period. Jericho constantly mocked Malenko and made jokes about the fact that he defeated him and ended his career. Jericho began calling himself the man of 1,004 holds to mock Malenko. Eventually, Malenko returned and Jericho would lose the title to him. Jericho would eventually regain and lose the title for a fourth time.

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On July 13, 1998, Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the unprecedented fifth time.

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Eventually, Jericho dropped the title and on August 10, 1998 Jericho defeated Stevie Ray to win the WCW Television Championship for his first time.

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Jericho also feuded with Perry Saturn. This rivalry resulted in unorthodox matches such as a "loser must wear a dress" match that Jericho won and a dog collar match that Saturn won.

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Jericho had a brief feud with rising WCW star Bill Goldberg, which was shortened with Goldberg's pursuit of the WCW World Championship.

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Jericho also had a flunkie named Ralphus and a heel referee (Scott Dickinson) on his side before he left the company.

Related Topics:
Ralphus - Heel - Scott Dickinson

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