Chris Jericho vs Sting is a match that never took place in wrestling, which may be hard to believe.
The two were a key part of WCW’s roster in the Attitude Era but somehow never faced off. This was due to Jericho being stuck in the Cruiserweight Division, alongside other incredible talents such as Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero.
Meanwhile, Sting sat at the top of the company for most of it’s existence, becoming a multiple time WCW Champion.
His most famous title win came at Starrcade 1997, where he defeated Hulk Hogan in controversial fashion to cap off a near one-year storyline feud between the pair.
The pair have never even stepped inside a ring together on TV – the only time they had shared the stage was during Keith Mitchell’s retirement ceremony.
They never even wrestled on the same card in WWE, with Jericho always absent on Fozzy tours during Sting’s brief run in the company.
However, Sting has been wrestling semi-regularly in AEW since his debut in 2020, exclusively in a tag team matches alongside Darby Allin.
He has wrestled against and alongside some of the biggest stars in AEW, including CM Punk, FTR, Jeff Hardy and The Young Bucks to name just a few stars he shared the ring with.
However, one man he never stepped inside the squared circle with in AEW is former AEW Champion Chris Jericho, who has recently spoken about how he is a huge advocate for a Sting vs Chris Jericho match to finally happen in an AEW ring in 2022.
Chris Jericho vs Sting
He has won world championships in WWE and AEW, and now holds the Ring Of Honor Championship in AEW.
ROH Champion Chris Jericho recently appeared on AEW Unrestricted, for the first time ever, to speak about his career so far, how he signed for AEW and details on some of his biggest matches in the promotion.
He also spoke about a potential match with Sting, which he revealed “there has to be a match” between the two legendary wrestlers.
He spoke to Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards about how he wants to face The Icon inside an AEW ring. He also revealed how they’ve only ever shared the ring together once in his 30+ year career.
Speaking to the AEW Unrestricted podcast , Chris Jericho said;
Whenever there’s a Sting vs Jericho match, which there has to be because Sting and I have never been in the ring together ever, except for when Keith Mitchell retired and we had that after-ceremony.
Never been in the same ring ever. Ever, ever, ever. There has to be a Sting and Jericho match in whatever way we decide it and that would be a great time for ‘Painmaker’.
He also noted that he would like to bring back his Painmaker gimmick to face Sting, which is usually used for hardcore matches. Given that Sting and Darby Allin have mainly wrestled in No-DQ matches in order to protect Sting, a return of The Painmaker makes complete sense to return for a Chris Jericho vs Sting match-up.
It seems strange the pair have not crossed paths so far in AEW. Jericho has been a constant presence in the company since 2019, and while Sting joined a year later the pair have been available for a match at any time since then.
With Le Champion now leading his own heel stable, called the Jericho Appreciation Society, the stage could be set to see Sting vs Chris Jericho in a match finally. However, the legendary former WCW Champion is 63 years of age and has not wrestled a singles match in 7 years, when he wrestled Seth Rollins at Summerslam 2015.
In that match he suffered a huge neck injury which forced him into retirement for 5 years, before he left the WWE to sign for Tony Khan’s promotion in late 2020. Sandwiched between the two events was his WWE Hall of Fame induction, something Chris Jericho can expect once he calls it a day in the ring.
There may be a very small chance of one-on-one match between the two, due to Sting only wrestling tag team matches, a JAS vs Sting and Darby Allin (with a few friends in tow like FTR) could be a huge multi-man match that would wow fans.
Seeing two legends of the Attitude Era battling it out for the first time ever would be an incredible sight and would be something that could bring lapsed fans back into the fold and get their eyes firmly onto All Elite Wrestling.
A one on one match between the two would also be a dream match and with the skill of Chris Jericho and the experience of both men, I’m sure they could figure out a way to put on a compelling, story-driven match that protects Sting and makes both men look good.
Chris Jericho Says Sting Match “Will Never Happen”
Chris Jericho has poured water on the idea of a match with Sting, claiming “it’ll never happen”.
Despite previously being a big fan of the idea, Jericho replied to a question during a Twitter AMA asking about a match with the legendary Icon.
When asked about a potential match with the 64-year-old Sting, Chris Jericho simply replied “It’ll never happen. Not interested”.
This could well be him building up to an angle with Sting, and we can never truly take what a top wrestler like Jericho says seriously.
There have been rumours that Chris Jericho vs Sting could happen in a tag team match, putting an end to Sting’s legendary career at All In in August.
Who would win the Chris Jericho vs Sting fight? Let us know in the comments or click below to read about how AJ Styles was set to debut on AEW Dynamite