Here's a fun stat for you kids to chew on: Name a WrestleMania (any will do) and you can see that Chris Jericho has tangled with at least three of its competitors. In many cases he's met up with one or more of the show's main-eventers. Not bad for someone who was 15 at the first 'Mania in 1985.

 

Jericho is custom-made for these documentary/three-disc DVD sets: he carries himself with a natural charisma and likeability; has the most interesting "how I got into the business" story since Mick Foley; and WWE owns practically all the footage of his career, including Stampede, Smoky Mountain, ECW, WCW and nearly a decade's worth of WWE bouts.

 

If you've never read Jericho's first autobiography A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex, Jericho is one of the last wrestlers to have come up through a wide range of promotions in the famed "territory" system, including stops in Japan, Mexico, ECW and Germany.

 

By the time he hit the big time in WCW, Jericho was a diamond in the rough waiting to get his opportunity on a national stage. When he debuted with the World Wrestling Federation in 1999, Jericho was pretty much a household name (within the wrestling business, at least), and had a decent run that included tremendous programs with The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stephanie McMahon, Chris Benoit (not mentioned, for obvious reasons), Triple H, Christian, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena and his famed reign as the first-ever Undisputed World Champion.

 

Yet Jericho reveals (for I believe the first time) that he wasn't happy following his initial push, and accepted an Intercontinental Title feud with Chyna simply so he'd stay in the mix.

 

After he was "fired" by then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, Jericho took a two-year hiatus, and it's shown how busy he kept, between appearances on VH-1 I Love The 80's, Celebrity Duets, concerts with his band Fozzy and writing the above-mentioned book.

Many of Jericho's colleagues attest to the fact that Y2J isn't one to sit still.

 

From there, we look at Jericho's return in late-2007 and his subsequent feuds with Michaels, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, DX, Edge and Mickey Rourke.

 

It's a fitting ending for someone who may (or may not) be retired, looking back on more than two decades in the business. Of course, that's only part of this DVD set's charm.

 

You still have two discs of Jericho's best matches, which include classic bouts with Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Juventud Guerrera, Mysterio, Rock, Cena, Michaels, Triple H and even his rookie match against Lance Storm (which actually is phenomenal for a first effort).

 

On top of that, there are tons of bonus interview clips, a look at Jericho's best promos, classic WCW vignettes such as "Mr. Jericho Goes TO Washington" and "The Man of 1,004 Holds", and a post-Raw beer bash featuring Jericho and Austin. All of this is must-see material, folks.

 

The phrase "Best DVD Ever!" gets thrown a lot (and if it's by me, usually followed by "EVER!!!"), but WWE's long-anticipated Chris Jericho offering would definitely give the top contenders a decent run for their money.