Chris Jericho Accuses WWE Superstars of Plagiarizing Him

In his two-decade-plus career, Chris Jericho has reinvented and re-imagined his persona for audiences all over the world.

His versatility has been on full display from portrayals ranging from the "heartthrob" high-flyer, conspiracy victim, smarmy smart alec, the "king of the world," to last seen as a suit-wearing, slow-talker and self-proclaimed "best at what I do" with a vocabulary to challenge Webster's Dictionary.

In unequivocal terms, Chris Jericho has always prided himself on being creative, but more importantly original, to not only continually regale WWE fans but also cement his legacy in the annals of time.

His prideful ingenuity is coupled with the unwritten edict to respect the performers that came before. This respect is maintained if today's wrestlers adopt their "forefathers" as influences; however, when they shamelessly reproduce the same moves or utter the same words verbatim, it's grounds for plagiarism.

In a recent interview with "Wrestling Voice Radio," transcribed by Larry Csonka of 411mania.com, the first ever "Undisputed WWF/E Champion" voiced his displeasure with WWE's current talent pool:

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"There seems to be a lack of respect for the forefathers who came in and did it first and it's not just [CM] Punk, it's a whole litany of guys from Miz to Cody Rhodes to Mason Ryan to Sin Cara to Kelly Kelly, everybody is stealing moves, looks, ideas. Brian Pillman once told me if you want to make it in wrestling you have to do something that nobody has done before and nobody is doing that and they are coming off as second rate copies of Chris Jericho and that's maybe why these guys aren't striking and I watch it and think, 'Seriously, again?'

A couple of years ago you had 'Miz 4, John Cena 0', where did that come from? Conspiracy Theory, where did that come from? Best in the World, where did that come from? Wearing suits, talking slow, using big words, using certain moves, you know Miz used the word 'troglodyte' a few weeks ago and I'm like seriously? If there ever was a word associated with Chris Jericho that would be it. These guys have to start thinking of their own stuff and some times I see some of them and I'm like oh come on. It's not like it's influenced. At least give credit where credit is due."

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Is Chris Jericho justified for railing against a (perceived) blatant lack of originality by the WWE roster?

On the other hand, perhaps these allegations are made in jest, a precursor if you will, to his newest and latest persona when he makes his inevitable WWE return?

Thanks for reading.