Before he was Le Champion, The Painmaker, or the first ever Undisputed Champion, Chris Jericho was The Man of 1,004 Holds.
It was the middle of 1998, at the height of the “Monday Night Wars” in wrestling, complete with a major storyline pitting Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone (seriously). In the mid-card of WCW — the part of the show that exists beneath the main event superstars, in this case beneath the monolith of the nWo storyline — Jericho was doing elite work as an annoying, pestering jerk who could back his endless talking in the ring.
As WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Jericho was able to defeat all comers, including grizzled veteran technician Dean Malenko. Malenko, the straight man to end all straight men, played a perfect foil. Jericho’s exuberance was met with stern faces, stiff punches and sadistic stretches. But whereas Malenko was The Man of 1,000 Holds, Jericho boasted four more, always having the metaphorical — and for a long time, literal — upper hand.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 