When Y2J finally retires for good, he will likely be remembered mainly for his popularity in the WWE as both face and heel. His 1999 debut, however, was so raucously received due to the popularity he built as an underused talent in WCW. He was therefore initially seen as something of a foreign entity in the Fed, a position tailor-made for his obnoxious personality. His now-iconic introductory promo was that of an unwelcome outsider arrogantly interrupting one of the company's biggest stars at the time - The Rock - and attempting to establish himself in unfamiliar surroundings. Although it took a further three years for the pair to truly clash at the top of the card, by which time Y2J's WCW stint had largely been overshadowed by his more recent exploits, their initial verbal exchange still crackles witH energy to this day. Although Rocky pretended not to know his foe - "it doesn't MATTER what your name is!" - the wrestling world certainly recognised Jericho for the ex-WCW upstart he was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGsBRImD0po
