AEW's Chris Jericho Calls This Japanese Wrestler A Contender For Greatest Of All Time

By Ross W Berman IV
Chris Jericho being interviewed Jamie Mccarthy/Getty Images

Chris Jericho likes to gloat about his stature as a living legend, often comparing his tenure in AEW to Terry Funk's in ECW, but the brash and cocky former WWE Champion is acutely aware that there are some wrestlers better than he, including Japanese wrestling legend Manami Toyota. "A legit contender for the true GOAT of pro wrestling....and I'm talking men AND women," Jericho posted on X in response to a tweet about the sixth anniversary of her retirement. 

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Toyota was a long-time veteran of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, where she won numerous titles and competed in countless matches, many of which are still highly lauded today, including two Match of The Year Awards from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1993 and 1995. One of her chief rivals in AJW was Bull Nakano. Nakano began using her trademark smashmouth style in her 1990 rivalry with Toyota, leading to something of a reinvention for the legend. Toyota also created the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, of which she is very protective. The move has since become the finishing maneuver of Maxxine Dupri in WWE. 

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Toyota retired in 2017 after 30 years in professional wrestling, in a massive 30th Anniversary event, which saw Toyota wrestle in over 50 short matches. Toyota made a one-time return to wrestling, competing in Ice Ribbon's Tequila Saya Gauntlet in 2019. While Jericho is giving out flowers to his wrestling heroes, he's been receiving flowers of his own, as earlier this year WWE Hall of Famer DDP called Jericho the modern-day Ric Flair for his longevity.

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