I was pretty excited when I found out that not only was there a new Chris Jericho DVD, but that I would get to review it. Jericho is one of my all-time favorite in-ring performers, and easily one of the best storytellers in wrestling history. Fortunately, both aspects of the man are on full display here.
[adinserter block=”1″]While many of these kinds of sets are set in a “documentary, followed by matches and clips” layout, this collection is laid out a bit different. For starters, there is no documentary whatsoever. Now, while that might turn you off at first, there are good reasons for it. For starters, the last Jericho DVD (Breaking the Code) pretty much took care of that, and was an excellent set overall. Instead, the DVD literally goes on the road with Jericho, as he discusses things from the back of a limousine on a road trip from New York to Lancaster, PA, where he is doing a rock concert for his band Fozzy.
What you get here is a collection of Jericho matches that, by his own admission, are matches he has never watched, and instead discusses based solely on memory (Jericho’s memory is almost eidetic; he is insanely smart). In addition to discussing said matches, Jericho shares the backstories of the matches, as well as just some humorous anecdotes about a wide variety of topics, from Leonardo DiCaprio to being outsmarted by a coffee cup. It’s really cool, as Jericho is very laid back and frank about each stories, and never veers into the territory of “sometimes kayfabe, sometimes not” like many releases over the years (the Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen DVD is a good example of this).
The matches cover a good chunk of his career, including stuff as recent as last year, and very early matches like his ECW TV title win over Pitbull #2. While not all are five-star classics, for the most part, the selection here is really fun and enjoyable. In fact, watching through all of the matches, I was really only disappointed with two matches, the first being a meaningless triple threat tag team match between Jeri-Show (a team name Jericho has always apparently hated, although he calls Show the best tag partner he’s ever had), D-Generation X, and the Undertaker & John Cena. While it’s nothing special, it’s something that obviously meant a lot to Jericho, given it’s inclusion on this set. And that’s another cool thing about this set: Jericho chose each and every one of these matches for inclusion, a rarity on a WWE DVD. The second match is nothing special either, but is interesting due to the fact that it was a post-RAW dark match between himself and John Cena that, until now, had never been seen anywhere else. Apparently, Jericho really enjoys these dark matches, and included this one because Cena is one of his favorite opponents, and the two guys tend to put more efforts into post-RAW matches than the average wrestler, given that most of these matches are a minute or two, and this one goes on for at least ten.
[adinserter block=”2″]The rest are surprisingly made up of mostly rare RAW and Smackdown matches, with only a handful of PPV matches sprinkled in, their inclusion being that they’re some of Jericho’s favorites. I’m disappointed with the selection of pre-WWE matches on the set, but only because there are so few (one from ECW, and one from WCW). Minor complaint aside, the rest of the selections are pretty solid. I mean, it’s Chris Jericho. If you have a bad match with Jericho, nine times out of ten it’s your fault.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable set, and I can definitely recommend it to just about anyone, Jericho fan or not. Listening to Jericho’s stories is entertaining as hell and worth the price of admission, with the collection of matches just being the icing on the cake. It’s roughly seven hours of Jericho talking and wrestling, the two things he does better than most anyone else in the sport, so you know you’re in for a solid set and a good viewing experience if you pick it up (which you definitely should)
DISC 1:
I Don’t Take Time Off
A Big Title To Win
ECW World Television Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Pit Bull #2
ECW Hardcore Heaven * June 22, 1996
Wrestle & Romance
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon
WCW Bash at the Beach * July 13, 1997
The Chains Came Off
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko
WCW Uncensored * March 15, 1998
A Really Tough Transition
Steel Cage Match
Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac
No Mercy * October 22, 2000
Scalding Hot Water from the Coffee Machine
Last Man Standing Match
Chris Jericho vs. Kane
Armageddon * December 10, 2000
Things Go By So Fast
WWE Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Special Outside Referee: Mick Foley
RAW * June 4, 2001
DiCaprio
WCW Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Booker T
RAW * July 16, 2001
DISC 2:
A Refugee Camp
WCW Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle
Rebellion * November 3, 2001
A Dastardly Finish
WWE Undisputed Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. The Rock
Royal Rumble * January 20, 2002
The George Harrison of WWE
Winner Faces Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H
SmackDown * April 25, 2002
The X-Factor
Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy
RAW * February 10, 2003
Injury-Prone
Chris Jericho vs. Edge
RAW * March 7, 2005
Because It Was There
Last Man Standing Match
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
RAW * November 10, 2008
DISC 3:
Dark Matches
Street Fight for the World Heavyweight Championship (Dark Match)
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena
Manchester, NH * December 29, 2008
That’s What Bullies Do
Mask vs. Intercontinental Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
The Bash * June 28, 2009
This Is Where You Can Live Forever
Triple Threat Tag Team Match
Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. John Cena & The Undertaker vs. D-Generation X
RAW * November 16, 2009
Wardrobe Malfunction & Crowd Participation
Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk
Extreme Rules * April 29, 2012
I’m Your Guy
Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam
RAW * July 15, 2013
Something I Can Sink My Teeth Into
Steel Cage Match
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
RAW * September 8, 2014
Stairway to Heaven
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
Night of Champions * September 21, 2014
Great Opponents; Great Moments
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES:
Landing Butt-First
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Christian
Unforgiven * September 12, 2004
Band Collage
Intercontinental Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
RAW * June 15, 2009
Pushed Out of the Nest
Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne
Fatal 4-Way * June 20, 2010
The Ultimate Violation
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk
Payback * June 16, 2013
WWE: The Road is Jericho, Epic Stories &Order Rare Matches from Y2J
Grab discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t -shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com
