The Origins Of Chris Jericho's Bizarre New Japan Gimmick, Super Liger
Chris Jericho has earned a reputation as a master of reinvention, introducing multiple compelling character twists over a legendary 32-year career. But there's at least one Jericho alter ego that he'd probably prefer to forget: the infamous Super Liger persona that he donned for one ill-fated match against a surly Koji Kanemoto on January 4, 1997.
As Jericho explained in his best-selling autobiography, "A Lion's Tale," Super Liger resulted from WCW's longstanding partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. One day, he received a call from Brad Rheingans, the hall-of-fame wrestler working as a liaison between WCW and NJPW. Asking for Jericho's measurements, Rheingans explained that Jericho would be debuting at NJPW's big annual Tokyo Dome show as the costumed Super Liger, the evil doppelgänger of the popular Jushin "Thunder" Liger.
The promotion had previous success with characters like Black Tiger, a nemesis of the famous anime-inspired wrestler Tiger Mask. For this reason, it made sense to introduce a dark rival for the colorful Jushin Liger. However, Super Liger's debut seemed cursed from the start.
Super Liger abandoned after a bad debut match
In his book, Jericho explained several challenges: a tight, restrictive costume that felt like "wearing a body cast," a horned mask that limited his peripheral vision, and a lack of chemistry with an uncooperative Kanemoto, who Jericho suspected "didn't want any part of the match."
The result was a dud of a performance that earned crickets from the Tokyo Dome crowd, whose only reaction was laughter when Jericho botched his patented springboard dropkick. Super Liger was immediately abandoned.
Fortunately for Jericho, he would have an opportunity to redeem himself on a return tour later that same month. Competing under his own name, he impressed NJPW officials with much stronger performances, including several matches against Jushin Liger himself (via Cagematch.net). He would be invited back many times over the coming years and notably made a big return to NJPW in 2018.
Wrestling legend Riki Choshu put it best in a backstage conversation that Jericho recalled on his "Talk is Jericho" podcast: "Chris Jericho, very good. Super Liger, very bad."