10 Major Stars Who Escaped WWE Creative Jail

Imagine - and for the purposes of this exercise try to forget about last night's tremendous episode of RAW, because we will return to square sh*t in early May - that you are an onscreen WWE talent.

You make the long drive to the next city. You arrive after several hours, high on last week's win, a high compromised by the harsh fact that you are now guaranteed to lose. And, sure enough, when you look up at the whiteboard, there it is: you're jobbing to Elias. You beat him last Monday, which is now a dim memory. The snow is now sludge. Next week, it disappears altogether.

You suppress the urge to complain. It could be worse, you say. You could be Mike Kanellis. You tell him this, and you share a laugh. You need to amuse yourself, after all, because you need something to do for the seven hours you are ordered to spend at the arena before bell time.

You read the script. You run through your own fanciful promo, something that sparked your imagination on that endless drive, because you are a creative person. That's why you are a pro wrestler. You compare and contrast.

"Hey, have you met my friend Mo?" the script reads. "Mo Mentum. That's what I'm going to build...right now!"

You sigh. You are bemused, but mostly tired, physically and spiritually. You are in jail.

You soldier on, cruelly aware that escape is almost possible...

The Festival Of Friendship was a masterpiece of sports entertainment; compered by a giddy Chris Jericho at his supreme best as both charismatic showman and entertaining, endearing babyface, this total beast of a segment generated belly laughter, heartbreak and an all-too-rare pathos. Broadcast deep into the doldrums, it elevated WWE as the absolute idealisation of this thing we call professional wrestling. Sure, New Japan Pro Wrestling boasts the best matches and the most intricate, long-term storytelling, but this was the stuff.

This was the big, daft, powerful cocktail of the big time, perfected.

And Chris Jericho had to scratch and claw to remove the words "scratch and claw" from whichever bullsh*t WWE had in mind originally.

Jericho recounted to Live Audio Wrestling that he had to verbally spar with Triple H in order to produce it in his image. He won a 12-rounder after Triple H tapped out from pure exasperation. It is a sobering story, one that informed the next chapter of Jericho's career; he was spent, too, and took that unbridled creativity to the more hospitable environs of NJPW and Being The Elite.

Now basking in the deluge of critical acclaim and career rejuvenation, Jericho, post-2018, is amid his Shawshank moment now.