A Detailed Look At Chris Jericho’s IC Title History Ahead Of His IC Title Match At NJPW’s Dominion

’08 – ’09: The Codebreaker and Rey Mysterio’s Mask

After a two-year absence, Jericho returned to WWE television in 2007. With a tweaked entrance and a new finisher, Jericho was intent on revitalizing his career. On the March 10, 2008 episode of RAW, Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy for his record-breaking eighth IC Title. This would be his longest reign as Intercontinental Champion, lasting 111 days. Did Jericho defeat a horde of opponents? No, in fact, he entered a feud with Shawn Michaels that initially had very little to do with the IC Title. Jericho would eventually drop the title to Kofi Kingston at Night of Champions after an interference from Michaels.

Following that match, Jericho would have a long-overdue run as World Heavyweight Champion. His feud with Michaels continued, delivering some of Jericho’s best work ever. He adopted a suit-wearing, calm (some might even say… tranquilo) persona, and dropped his “Y2J” moniker. However, Jericho would not be done with the IC Title just yet.

After getting drafted to SmackDown in 2009, Jericho would enter a feud with Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio. Seeing these WCW greats go at it was a joy to watch, and delivered several strong matches and memorable spots – none more so than at Extreme Rules 2009. As Mysterio looked to execute a 619 on Jericho, Chris yanked Rey’s mask off his head and rolled him up to win his ninth IC Title. The feud would boil over at The Bash, in a 4.5-star Mask vs. Title match. After Mysterio recaptured his title, Jericho would move into the Unified WWE Tag Team Title picture, most famously teaming up with Big Show as Jeri-Show.

Recommended Matches:

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho – Judgment Day 2009

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho, No Holds Barred – Extreme Rules 2009

Chris Jericho (c) vs. Rey Mysterio, Mask vs. Title – The Bash 2009

Looking Beyond

Aside from a few unsuccessful challenges against Wade Barrett and Curtis Axel in 2013 and Kevin Owens in 2015, Chris Jericho hasn’t been caught near WWE’s Intercontinental Championship in almost a decade. While Jericho is a part-timer nowadays, and is therefore much less likely to challenge for any title that is not a world title, there is an IC Title match that everyone who loves sports entertainment wants to see: Chris Jericho vs. The Miz.

As Michael Cole has pointed out several times over the last few months, Miz is one title reign short of Jericho’s record. While Jericho has 9 reigns to Miz’s 8, The Miz has actually held the Intercontinental Championship for a combined 280 days longer than Jericho has. In addition, Miz’s first IC Title reign didn’t come until 2012, three years after Jericho’s final reign. Both men legitimized the title in their respective eras. All of that aside, just imagine the promos in this feud. Jericho as the arrogant babyface and Miz as the Hollywood heel, it would be brilliant. While The Miz no longer holds the IC Title, giving him one more run with the belt could set up a feud for the ages, with the record-breaking tenth reign on the line. Now that is a match that can close a pay-per-view.