The Jericho farewell tour that never ends

Look, I love Chris Jericho. The guy reinvented himself more times than David Bowie and managed to keep a career afloat while being the literal soundtrack to my mid-2000s angst. But hearing him talk about how his haters are going to miss him once he finally hangs up the boots? That is the most Y2J thing I have ever heard.

Jericho recently pulled the curtain back on his social media feedback, acknowledging that half the internet wants him to pack it in. He compares his career longevity to a great rock and roll band. We’ve all seen recent reporting on his outlook, and it is clear he views his current run as a victory lap regardless of the weekly discourse.

The mirror effect

It is easy to roast the guy for being tone-deaf on social media. But here is the reality: as noted by recent coverage of his comments, Jericho is a master of the work. He knows the terminally online crowd loves nothing more than to complain about their childhood favorites failing to gracefully exit stage left.

By feeding that narrative, he stays in your feed. He stays in your head. Whether he is a Lionheart or a Learning Tree, he is still playing the room better than most guys half his age.

Finding the future in the weeds

The man isn't just focused on his own legacy, even if he talks about it incessantly. He has been actively putting over younger talent, specifically Kyle Fletcher. He went on the record about how there is something about that kid that is going to take him to the next level.

When you look at what he said about Fletcher, it feels less like an ego stroke and more like a veteran trying to leave a footprint. Fletcher has the technical chops, the speed, and that hungry look of someone who hasn't been jaded by a thousand flights.

The glaring flaw in the strategy

Here is my gripe, and take this from a guy who has watched every iteration of this dude: the constant shift in gimmicks is starting to feel like a man clutching at straws. When your career is compared to a band, eventually you have to stop playing the hits and realize the acoustics in the room have changed.

He is still a 10 out of 10 on the microphone when he wants to be, but the in-ring work is losing its luster. You can only reinvent the wheel so many times before it gets square. If he wants to be remembered like a rock god and not a nostalgia act, he needs to find a finish that isn't just another Codebreaker reversal.

Maybe the haters are wrong and we will miss him, but only if he gives us a reason to stop looking at our phones during his segments. Give me one truly transcendent feud where he isn't the focal point of the story, and I might finally shut up about his retirement.