That Time Chris Jericho Was Almost The Goon
'The Lionheart' was one of the kings of the indie jungle, but he'd hoped like many his age of WWE superstardom. The son of a famous father, Chris' Dad Ted Irvine was a hugely successful Ice Hockey star for several NHL teams but Jericho's heart was lost to Sports Entertainment.
With no intent to become a second generation skater, Jericho's stock rose relatively quickly in his chosen profession. Debuting in 1990, he was hugely in demand six years laters. Both WWE and WCW were interested, with Jericho noting that he was contacted by Jim Cornette at the time for enhancement work.
During a podcast discussion on it, he said: “The first ever opportunity I got in the WWE was [when] Jim Cornette called me to tell me, ‘we’re going to do this thing where we have five enhancement guys. Now, they’re not jobbers because they all have gimmicks, but we want you to be one of these guys. They’re not going to win any matches, but at least they’ll have gimmicks and they’ll have TV time and an entrance.’ And I’m like, ‘well, it [has] been six years. I don’t really need to do that. I’m just going to keep doing my thing.’”
Not for the last time, 'Y2J' was wise beyond his years. He had a further instinct tied to one of the last and most ludicrous sideline gimmicks McMahon divised before the entire company underwent a radical shift in 1997
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