I don't see how Punk goes over here. Anything Punk has done Jericho has done, for longer.
Chris Jericho has been world champion for a total of around 219 days.
One of CM Punk's
five world championship reigns lasted for nearly twice as long.
Thank you for opening on a lie and establishing what sort of grasp you have of the facts.
Basically anything you argue for Punk for other promotions (ROH) Jericho did in his career. Jericho might of not had the cult following Punk did but how's the pop Jericho got from the crowd when he debuted in WWE, way bigger than CM Punk got. Against the Rock as well, not easy to do.
Prior to his WWE debut, Jericho enjoyed years of national television exposure at a time when wrestling was hot and, as a result, guys were having an easier time getting hot. There is no basis for comparison. But if you're dying to compare, Punk coming in hot from the indies and quickly building a solid fanbase on WWE's definitive C-brand is impressive. Punk would ride that momentum to become the only C-brand representative to ever win Money in the Bank. Over Chris Jericho at WM24.
You can try to capture isolated pops for Jericho and make them out to be more than they are. Look at the long term. Look at the trend. This is Punk all day.
Why don't you go back to being ignorant in sports discussions so I'm less likely to interact with you?
Now let's look at their WWE careers. What has CM Punk ever done apart from lay a 'pipebomb'.
Five time world champ. Former IC and tag champ. IC, tag, and world champ all over the course of a single year. Back-to-back MITB winner. Monster merch numbers. Video game covers.
You can be as reductive as you want. Punk was one of the faces of the franchise following the pipebomb. He was hot for a minute and a genuine main eventer from there on out. He never overtook Cena, but he was closer to being The Man than Jericho has ever been.
His year long reign is probably one of the worst reigns in recent time.
I feel like people say this about every title reign.
If you're the WWE champion and you're constantly not closing the shows and are just used as a stepping stone it just goes to show you don't really mean that much.
Punk was overshadowed by things like Rock vs Cena, Brock's return match, and a major authority figure storyline involving Cena. By the time MITB rolled around, the only reason Punk and Bryan weren't closing that show is because WWE had already decided to commit to Punk as a heel who feels disrespected for the aforementioned. Far from a disaster. And Punk was more significant main event level guy during this run than Jericho had ever been.
All of which leaves out that the only reason Jericho ever headlined Mania 18 was because WWE hadn't learned yet that the real main event should close regardless of who has the title. And Jericho was never the real main event. Which is why the Rumble winner's title shot didn't come close to closing WM26.
I'm failing to see any way in which Jericho is superior to Punk.
Sure he has beaten one of the greatest ever in Cena, but that is nothing on beating The Rock and Stone Cold in the same night.
Punk was booked as a near equal to Cena for over a year.
Jericho was an afterthought who go lucky one night after enough shenanigans to make Vince Russo blush. And those matches are such a disgrace that WWE fails to this day to compellingly make them look like career highlights in pre-match video packages designed to build Jericho up as a legend. Vengeance 2001 was a joke. Anyone who's ever sat through it knows this.
One of CM Punks other reigns was because of Jeff Hardy.
Who in 2008 and 2009 was arguably the hottest star in wrestling.
I'd vote Jeff Hardy over Jericho too. Thanks for reminding me.
The other he loses without even defending.
WWE really went out of their way to protect Punk there. Always a good sign.
Chris Jerichos were nothing special but they weren't as bad as Punks. Plus when Jericho isn't in the main event he is still just as good. You can't say the same for Punks forgettable reigns as every other champion.
Jericho may be a 19 time IC champ or whatever it is now. All that tells me is that he frequently settles back into the midcard where he belongs. As for memorable reigns, I remember nothing about Jericho as IC champ aside from a few isolate matches. His reigns are monumentally unimportant in spite of the number of them.
JeriShow was cool and it was probably Y2J's best title run ever. But it's still not enough for me to vote for him.
In terms of in ring skill Jericho surely takes it. CM Punk is so overrated in the ring it's annoying. How many times does he execute a move without looking like he is struggling or it just doesn't look fluent at all.
Says the guy defending Chris Jericho?
If CM Punk has lead in his ass, Jericho must be packing a 42 pound cannonball up his puckered, bedazzled posterior.
At a time when Benoit was coming out of the main event being booked as basically unbeatable, it kind of was. But that's besides the point.
You mean that main event run where all the main eventers took turns beating him?
Yes, impressive stuff.
Pinning Stone Cold Steve Austin has bearing in any situation.
Will Jericho be receiving the same help against Punk that he received in that match?
"Didn't fall for Jericho's shit". I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure Jericho was very effective in getting in Punk's head and breaking him down throughout that feud.
I'm happy you acknowledge the possibility that you might be wrong. It should soften the blow of what I'm going to tell you next: You're wrong.
Jericho got in Punk's head so much that Punk beat Jericho and retained his belt every single time.
Punk: 1, Jericho: 0
A few soft peaks. Guy's a 6 time World Champion throughout 3 different eras.
And this disproves my point how? He was a filler champion a few times over the course of a lengthy upper midcard career. You're helping me here.
CM Punk was a relative unknown for 9 years of his career and had a really hot 2 and a half year run. But it was only two and a half years.
And those two and a half years were years during which Punk was a bigger star than Jericho ever was.
Using that same standard, I'd vote Goldberg and Warrior over Jericho as well. Quality years over quantity all the way.
I'd also vote Warrior and Goldberg over Punk though. I guess what I'm saying is Warrior/Goldberg > Punk >>>>>>>>> Jericho.
Punk was never going to be the face of the company. He may have been the top merch seller for a time but he was never going to be the company guy that they relied on... never.
Maybe, maybe not. But pretending it wasn't competitive is asinine. When GQ wants to talk to CM Punk instead of John Cena, you need to stop and think. When video game companies want CM Punk on their cover rather than John Cena, you need to stop and think.
Jericho may have been part of a group shot video game cover at some point. But he never got as close to the crown as Punk did.
And even if he was, Punk got over in a time when the fans were desperate for anybody but Cena. Seriously, who did he have to compete with? Sheamus, Del Rio, Orton?
And yet Punk was markedly more over than those other Cenalternatives. Go figure.
Let me know when he can win championships and supersede guys like Austin, Rock, and Hogan.
Let me know when Jericho can lose a world title and avoid falling off the face of the earth in the subsequent months. Punk got within striking distance of Cena's spot and maintained a berth at the top of the card for two and a half years. Jericho, on the other hand, follows up his title reigns by eating clean falls to Evan Bourne.
Another point to Punk.
Yeah, John Cena who became... John Cena.
One of the few losers Jericho's laid down for turning into somebody doesn't surprise me. You eat enough falls, one of them is bound to be somebody.
And I'm pretty sure Jericho wanted Cena to go over him, let's not hold the fact that he gave back to the business against him.
In this context I will. Ultimate Warrior is a bigger star because he didn't give back. Jericho is a loser.
You make good points here, and I don't like to say that... Still, your assessment that 1+1=4 rings hollow.
Polish up on your math and your reading comprehension and get back to me.
Punk was not legit competition to be the man and even if he were,
You wouldn't be saying "even if he were" if you were really convinced of your perspective.
You know I'm right.
Jericho came into WWE at a time when Austin, Rock, HHH, Taker, Foley, etc. were still around and kicking ass. He won the title after the WCW merger which led to guys like Hogan, Nash, Steiner, and Goldberg coming in.
The notion that those guys are insecure enough in their star power that they'd need to see a Chris Jericho title win as a green light... Well, that might just be the stupidest moment of this tournament this year.
Jericho had a bigger impact on the business. He's won 6 World title throughout 3 eras and has been instrumental in building WWE's future.
Not really. If Jericho weren't there to lay down for the stars of tomorrow, someone else would be.
Stars are instrumental.
Jericho's a utility player. Dime a dozen.
Also, he's beaten tougher competitors than CM Punk such as Angle and Benoit.
You're really looking at those AE technicians through blinders, eh?
Punk was an indie darling with a cult following?
No. CM Punk is a WWE Superstar who happened to work on the indies at one point. Punk was in WWE just as long as he was on the indies. He is a significant part of wrestling history in this century. Dismissing him because people on the internet used to like his high school gym matches is moronic.
Vote Punk. Don't be a moron.
. And this is where I stop.
