In advance of his big match for New Japan, high up on the Wrestle Kingdom 12 card, The Players Tribune got Chris Jericho to write for them.
Jericho, of course, delivered a... List.
It’s not “THE” List. Y2J plays it coy with what he’s even saying when he places these five men’s names in the post - and then really muddies the waters by adding a sixth. But while he tells readers “the beauty of the list” is that it can be whatever you want, he does hint this one is of his personal favorite opponents from his legendary career.
So, who made... The List? Here are the wrestlers, along with a match which represents their feud and/or why Jericho loved working with them:
Último Dragón (WAR, July 7, 1995)
Dean Malenko (Slamboree, 1998)
Shawn Michaels (No Mercy, 2008)
Rey Mysterio (The Bash, 2009)
Kevin Owens (Wrestlemania 33, 2017)
Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 12, Jan. 4, 2018)
Not only is The Cleaner the sixth name in a top five, but he and Y2J haven’t actually wrestled one another yet. But it’s Chris’ list, and he can use it however he wants - and you know a salesman like Jericho is going to use a platform like Derek Jeter’s website to hype his next match.
Still, it’s a hell of a rub for Omega (and Owens) to make the cut along with long-time rivals like Malenko and Mysterio and all-time greats like Dragón and HBK - who Jericho says “a hundred years from now... will still be talked about as one of the greatest performers in the history of wrestling”.
Check out more of what The G.O.A.T. had to say - about Omega and guys he’s already had matches with - here.