Read Chris Jericho’s bio today. I thought it was great, a really fun read. It works because Jericho’s a hilarious geek, but a lot of it are the stamps on his passport(s). It’s the differences between different wrestling cultures, and the unexpected similarities between the people there that make it work. “A Lion’s Tale” is a story about the people Jericho meets more than it is about the matches they have.
Jericho’s mentioned in interviews about the book (which reminds me, if you’ve noticed him saying three of the same five stories in every interview and worry that’s a sign about how few stories he has or something, don’t worry about that) that his career path is one that’s not really possible to be followed today. I think that’s true, and wrestling fans are worse off for it now, but I’m now thinking these bio books in the future are going to suffer more. Going Canada -> Mexico -> Germany -> US mid promotion -> Japan -> US Major -> US Major is a heck of a lot more fun to read about than the indy -> high profile US indy circuit -> developmental -> US Major compressed trip will be.
I never tire of “WCW was SO bad” stories, because you inevitably find it how it was really even more screwed up than it seemed before. WCW bringing creating the Goldberg/Jericho feud with one arm and then trying to ax it when Jericho got it over with another arm is astoundingly believable.
Jericho’s WCW debut has stuck in my head for the last decade* because it had to be one of the first Nitros I saw and the finish was particularly annoying – what kind of competitor would give up a win and get himself counted out just because Alex Wright got hurt on the outside? I loathed 1996 Jericho back in the day, and it’s funny to find out Jericho wasn’t a big fan of that guy either.
(I still think the crowd lean was indefensible, but at least now I know what he was going for.)
People in their late teens who are die hard fans being completely unaware business of wrestling seems like some impossible fiction nowadays.
Next person who says a nice thing about Mil Mascaras will be the first.
* – a decade meaning (more than) TEN YEARS AGO! time is scary!
Also: 6.5 hours.