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The following news item was published in the July 10, 1999 edition of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter. Hundreds of PWTorch Newsletters from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s are available to PWTorch.com VIP members all the time, all in text format and many in PDF format. New PWTorch back issues are posted each month from 5, 10, and 20 years ago. Read stories like this one that provides insider information and insight from past era of pro wrestling. Become a VIP member today for just $7.50 a month. CLICK HERE

Chris Jericho signed a multi-year contract with the WWF last week, a decision the WWF proudly announced on their website. WCW, it turns out, didn't aggressively pursue Jericho. Jericho's current WCW contract, which expires July 27, pays him $225,000 a year. WCW last fall put Jericho on a priority list of seven wrestlers whose contracts were coming due before the end of 1999. They were planning to offer him a raise to $450,000 a year for three years. It was the same deal that they planned to offer Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Dean Malenko - all of whom renewed with WCW months ago. (All three had been making $250,000 a year.)

As is standard, Jericho gave his 90 day notice at the end of April which made it legal for him to negotiate with the WWF. The WWF was excited about the prospects of signing Jericho, but whether they would be able to put in a competitive bid was in question. The WWF's "downside guarantee" pay structure for a wrestler at Jericho's level would slot him around $350,000. Granted, he would have an opportunity to make more than that if he becomes a featured performer and avoids injury. But, in a worst case scenario, he could make less than the initial WCW offer.

There is no reliable word on what WCW's final offer to Jericho was, but apparently Jericho signed with the WWF in great part because WCW didn't give the impression resigning him was a priority. Jericho is widely regarded as a potential future superstar, but given how disorganized WCW is and given the political climate that prevents talent from being utilized to their potential, Jericho's best chance at longterm stardom is in the WWF.

He will get that chance when he debuts, probably in early August. There has been a lot of talk that Jericho is "the next Shawn Michaels." Jericho is shorter than the average wrestler Vince McMahon targets as a main eventer, but his in-ring skill, mic skill, quick wit, enthusiasm for the business, and marketable looks apparently make him an exception to McMahon's rule. He isn't remarkably different in height from Ken Shamrock, whom the WWF also hopes to build into a main event heel. Rather than a Shawn Michaels role, Jericho may be more effective in an obnoxious heel role similar to Roddy Piper in the mid-'80s. A "Jericho's Pit" segment might take full advantage of his personality where he would interact with wrestlers in a weekly ratings-drawing segment, perhaps a staple of the new UPN show.

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