Acrylic on 30″ x 40″ canvas
Chris Jericho is a truly impressive figure in wrestling history. A 30-time champion, the first Undisputed Champion, a legit rock star, a multiple-time New York Times bestselling author, a TV host, a top-ranked podcast host, and the list continues to grow. I see a lot in Jericho to be inspired by. Chris Irivine grew up in 1970 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the son of NHL player Ted Irvine. At 19 years old, he began his training in wrestling, which would see him go on to be a star around the world. His journey took him around Canada, into the US, to Japan, to Mexico, and to Europe before hitting Extreme Championship Wrestling, then to World Championship Wrestling. In WCW he found himself getting popular with the fans both with his in-ring ability and memorable promos. That popularity brought him to WWE, where he had what many argue is the best debut in the history of the company. His time with the company has led to memorable feuds with the top stars in the modern age of the business such as The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, and more. He still makes appearances with the company to both energize the crowds and elevate the status of new talent.
Now, all of that is truly impressive, but wrestling is just where Chris’ story STARTS. He also formed the band Fozzy with Rich Ward, which regularly has charted hits and tours the world. He has written three New York Times Bestselling memoirs in ‘A Lion’s Tale’, ‘Undisputed’ and ‘The Best in the World’. He hosted the TV shows Redemption Song, VH1’s 100 Most Shocking Music Moments, ABC’s Downfall, SyFy’s Robot Combat League, and the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. He competed in the reality shows Celebrity Duets and Dancing with the Stars. He’s the host of the massively popular Talk is Jericho podcast. Here’s what’s truly impressive about all of these achievements: Jericho made them happen through hard work and taking advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves. That’s a lesson we can all learn from.
About the piece: One of the tough things about portraying someone who has constantly evolved their person like Jericho is deciding which period to portray. I ended up deciding on the current look with the super-cool light-up jacket, but also adding the pixelation element playing off of one of his comebacks, the “save_us y2j” period. I think it shows that he’s still growing and evolving, so the full picture can’t be shown yet.