[2009-06-28-WWE-The Bash] Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio (Mask vs Title)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio - The Bash 2009 Title Vs Mask

 

Even in 2009, Jim Ross occasionally had a good phrase, here he says "Has the nine lives of Rey Mysterio run out?". I think that is a perfect summation of the identity of Rey Mysterio, who as the smaller man in every match has to use high risk offense to stay competitive. When you are wrestling on the edge of a razor you have to be resilient because the high risk offense will be used against or you will crash and burn. I think there is no better wrestler in history at peppering in hope spots than Rey Mysterio. What separates Rey Rey from the spot monkeys is that he allows himself to fail. Some of these high risk moves are going to turned into tilt-a-whirl backbreakers, Codebreakers (what a spot) or the Walls of Jericho. He needs to be resilient enough to withstand that in a kayfabe sense. But in a working sense, he is secure enough in his ability and connection with the crowd that he does not always have to hit his offense and that his moves not always being successful makes for a more compelling match. I will say Rey Rey's selling and bumping is his bread and butter, but I don't think he gets enough credit for his offense and move selection. Jericho was on fire early on, I thought he lost a bit steam towards the end as he was more focused on hitting big spots, but early he was a great dick heel. I loved how he adapted to wrestling Mysterio by playing a big heavyweight. You really felt the weight of Jericho, which you don't usually see. They skipped the shine when Jericho hurled Mysterio into the barricade in a nasty spot. Mysterio always took a nasty fall from the apron on a baseball slide. The way Mysterio sets up his hope spots by creating that separation and then banging a couple off were great and another thing that separates him from the spot monkeys that shoehorn their spots into a match. That is the best split-legged moonsault I have ever seen and I hate the split-legged moonsault. The story of the end of the match was Rey going to live or die by the sword. He would hit a spectacular move only to be caught in a precarious predicament the next moment. It was a great roller coaster ride. It was here I thought Jericho's stellar character work disappeared and Mysterio was generating all the energy. The finish as a great play off their match from the previous month where Jericho swipes Mysterio's mask, but this time Mysterio is wearing another mask and is unphased. He is able to hit 619 and drop the dime.

 

Fantastic match! Jericho hit out of the park early and when he sort of came down (Jericho was very clean throughout the match, that was in reference to his character work), Mysterio picked up the slack. This is a perfect example of Mysterio's impeccable psychology and breath-taking moves. The finish was roller coaster of drama with Rey Rey looking like he was doomed on several occasions only to prove he can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. ****1/2

[Superstar Sleeze]

Rewatched this match because I forgot everything about it. The Codebreaker spot got me again (lol!). I love when I forget a spot and get to mark out all over again. I agree with myself that is the best split-legged moonsault I have ever seen and I still hate the split-legged moonsault.

 

Things I noticed this time around was that the Rey senton splash to the outside was awesome and a great transition to the mini-Rey comeback. I don't think this was as Rey driven as I said in my previous review. I think Jericho continued to use his weight late into the match. Great catch and powerslam late into the match. I loved the counter to the spinning Argentine Backbreaker which was a great payoff to the previous match. All the Boston Crab counters were money and the crowd was super into them. I loved the powerbomb from the top by Jericho and following up with the feet on the ropes. Really terrific finish stretch. Still a classic. ****1/2

[Microstatistics]

Jericho's career match and Rey's best WWE match. Great action, continuity with the past, heel work, underdog work. Superb finish. ****1/4

[Makai Club #1]

The pace was so relentless. Constant back and forth wrestling with some incredible counters. The continuous use of La Atlantida only for Rey this time countering it into a DDT was great wrestling. And it was very nuanced in a way that it felt like a struggle - a battle for control.  Jericho’s cut offs were great like the nasty clothesline from the apron, the flash Wall Of Jericho and the big powermoves he’d pull out to offset Rey. Jericho wrestling like a powerman works perfectly. Rey is still in superb shape in 2009 (even now in 2020) but he pulled out some breathtaking moves that reminded me of 1996 Rey Mysterio showing up on The Great American Bash. And everything felt like it was escalating with the toll eventually having to take it’s toll on both men. The finish had another great call back to the Extreme Rules match with Jericho grabbing Rey’s mask again but only to reveal Rey had two masks on. Great match. Career match for Jericho matched with a top performance from him. Rey was sensational as always. ****1/2
 

[Tenese Sarwieh]

Stellar action from start to finish with two all time greats who knew how to play with their dynamics perfectly. This was in the same vein as the famous Mysterio/Guerrero from Halloween Havoc 97 in terms of having excellent chemistry and doing beautiful counters that seemed so flawless. The build was so natural leading to a tremendous finish, a great match for this year. 
 

[cactus]

I thought Jericho was mostly uninteresting when working on top during the first half of this. He'd trash talk and bring some smug facial expressions to the table, but I didn't find him all that interesting until he was cutting off Rey in a variety of awesome ways. That Codebreaker counter was incredible. Rey was the better worker here overall, his comebacks were glorious and he'd pull stuff that I didn't think 2009 Rey could still pull off. I like the idea of the finish (which saw Jericho yank of Rey's mask only to reveal he was wearing a second mask underneath, with the distraction being enough for Rey to sneak a victory), but they moved through it so quickly that neither the fans nor the commentators had enough time to react.  ★★★★