7 Huge Mistakes WWE Made With Chris Jericho's Debut Year

When Chris Jericho debuted in WWE on the August 9th, 1999 edition of Raw it was one of the best introductions of any character in the history of the company. The fans in Chicago went wild for that we would come to know as Y2J and he delivered a memorable speech that we still talk about 15 years later. There was a problem, though. WWE really didn't know how to book Jericho when he showed up. The roster was loaded in 1999, so it was tough to fit in a new guy like Jericho. There were so many strong characters that were featured performers that it was hard for somebody to just jump in to become a top guy. That's why it took him about a year or two to really feel comfortable. If you look at how he was booked in that first year there was so much inconsistency. He started out as a heel probably because that's what he was for the majority of his WCW run. They tried to start him out as this sarcastic, loudmouth type of heel and then they turned him into a guy with a bodyguard that was cheap about everything he did. Then fans started to cheer him so much that they had to turn him babyface by the end of the year. It just didn't seem like WWE ever really got comfortable with him in that first year and you could also tell that he had a tough time adjusting to things there too. Thankfully, everything worked out in the long run. He was able to adapt while Vince McMahon realized what a special performer Jericho was and he went on to have a legendary career in WWE. Here's a look back seven big mistakes that WWE made in Jericho's first year in WWE that started in August 1999 and a look at why things just didn't work out the way they should have.