10 Reasons Why Chris Jericho’s Last Run Was His Best Ever
6. The Ambrose Anomaly
Chris Jericho's near-perfect 2016/17 tenure saw only one significant stumble, but it's a testament to his durability that the brief hurdle didn't harm the terrific momentum he'd built up during his outstanding return.
Promos and segments with a freewheeling Dean Ambrose were disappointing to say the least, but their farcical 'Asylum' match at May's Extreme Rules pay-per-view was a creative disaster that particularly hamstrung 'The Lunatic Fringe' as he struggled to recover from a demeaning Brock Lesnar squash at WrestleMania.
To his credit, Jericho took a brave but nonsensical bump at the climax of the protracted steel cage match. After both men had scrambled for the various hanging weapons inside the structure, a heap of drawing pins were dropped in the corner of the ring awaiting a big finish.
The veteran duly obliged.
Ambrose hurled Jericho onto the thumbtacks, with a grand total of 69 pins requiring painful removal from his back, arms, legs and hands in a procedure recorded for posterity by WWE.com cameras. The spectacular conclusion was a saving grace for the dismal display, and the smart protection and glorification of the bump did much for the credibility of both men on the other side of the muddled angle.