10 Fascinating Facts About Famous Wrestling Promos

5. A Chris Jericho Catchphrase Bombed On His Legendary WWF Debut

CM Punk Eddie Kingston
WWE.com

Chris Jericho's WWF debut on the August 9, 1999 RAW is remembered as one of the very best and most memorable segments in the show's history. This is justified.

Mostly.

The countdown gimmick was inspired mystery-driven episodic TV, and Jericho, inspired by Michael Jackson's old stage introduction, ramped up the anticipation by standing with his back to the crowd, arms outstretched. This messianic body language put over Jericho's "saviour" schtick. He was to rescue us from the tedium of Monday Night RAW with his combo of generational charisma and fashionable workrate. As a man firmly on the pulse of the wrestling fandom, he drew himself as a composite of all that was over during the Monday Night Wars - with booming call-and-response catchphrases offered as part of the package. What you may have misremembered, in an interesting tidbit, is that he tried to get a certain bit over that never made a t-shirt.

"Welcome to RAW is Jericho" obviously got over, as did "the Ayatollah of Rock n' Rollah".

He implored the fans to scream "Go, Jericho, go!", and while that set of fans did, very lightly, the chant never made it out of Chicago.

So not quite an unqualified success.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!