Jericho video the best e-e-e-ver
By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM! Wrestling
Chris Jericho: Break Down The Walls
Koch International
60-plus minutes
I really miss Coliseum Home Video not producing tapes for the WWF any more.
That company really knew what appealed to wrestling fans. They'd dig up
dark matches galore and raid the WWF vaults for rare matches and footage
rather than just incorporating segments from Raw or recent pay-per-views
that we've seen before. Once the WWF severed their relationship with
Coliseum, the quality of their home videos went downhill faster than Al
Snow's career.
Until now.
Chris Jericho: Break Down The Walls is the first in this new generation of
WWF vids that is a real gem harkening back to the Coliseum days. Unspooling
like an episode of Biography on A&E, Break Down The Walls gives fans a rare
glimpse into Chris Jericho's present and more importantly, his past. The
WWF has always been very reluctant to acknowledge the previous work of its
talent. Not so, in this case. Home movie footage from Jericho's childhood
growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and still shots of him training at the
Hart Dungeon to his stint in Japan where he developed his technical
stylings are all there. Eagle-eyed fans will even spot a photograph of
Jericho and WCW superstar Lance Storm learning the ropes in Calgary as well
as Jericho and Chris Benoit competing in the Super J Cup tournament in Japan.
It is clear from the outset that Jericho must've had mucho creative control
in the video's production. His zany sense of humour is prevalent throughout
the entire tape. Two of the best segments are the mayhem Jericho caused
while participating in a charity hockey game held in Madison Square Garden
(which gives a whole new meaning to the term "hockey goon") and Jericho
attending a Fozzy concert where lead singer Moongoose McQueen (really
Jericho) puts down Lionheart for having plastic surgery and liposuction in
Sweden so he could look like his heavy metal idol. Jericho also has an
unexpected but highly recognizable visitor to his home in Florida and pokes
fun at himself while watching a promo he cut as a rookie. In short, Break
Down The Walls is a laugh riot.
On the serious side, his feuds with Chyna, Chris Benoit and Triple H are
traced. Deviating from the recent WWF tapes though, most of the matches are
shown in their entirety, as they should be. That is a big plus in itself.
The two standouts are Jericho and Benoit's match at SummerSlam and his Last
Man Standing match against Triple H. Interspersed between the matches are
Jericho's best promos (interrupting The Rock during his WWF debut and his
Mr. Roboto rip on Benoit) that never get old no matter how many times you
view them.
Chris Jericho: Break Down The Walls is a treasure trove for any
Jerichoholic. As an added bonus, the tape doesn't end after the credits
roll either. For patient viewers there is one last segment and one last
poke at your funny bone.
