WWF shocked the wrestling world at Vengeance, the last Pay-Per-View of 2001, when Chris Jericho won professional wrestling's first ever undisputed world championship. Jericho beat then WCW Champion The Rock in a match that continued their feud, left over from The Invasion. Stone Cold had already beaten Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship. Jericho then did the unthinkable by beating The Rock and Stone Cold back to back to win the unprecedented title. Though it was a great honour for Jericho to be chosen to be the first to carry such a landmark achievement, there was always the fear that the WWF creative team only chose him for shock value; a swerve for the sake of a swerve. Jericho's first defence of that title, at Royal Rumble 2002, helped ease those fears. Picking up their feud, Jericho met The Rock with the Undisputed title on the line. The match was breathless a constant swirl of action. If this match were a cartoon, you'd only see a ball of dust with the occasional Jericho boot or Rocky elbow escaping. But it's a testament to the strength of the two performers that the match never got out of hand or hard to follow, despite interference, several ref bumps, a heel referee refusing to count, etc. Not only did it not get out of hand, it was also compelling from start to finish, no matter what angle you approach the match from. Whether you're desperate for The Rock to take the title from the cowardly heel or, like many, desperate for Jericho to be rewarded for his talents with a lengthy run with such a prestigious prize, it doesn't matter. The match is put together so expertly that you're invested in it either way. It's also (spoilers) not the last time that these two competitors feature on this list. At this time of year, when Wrestlemania approaches and WWE looks to it's best to set it up, these two can be relied on to deliver.
Michael Palmer is a contributor at whatculture.com and thelineofbestfit.com, and he probably likes WWE slightly more than most people would call "healthy".
