10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown's First Ever Episode

3. There Was Already Excitement About Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho Fan Sign
WWE Network

Guesswork is one thing, but this was ridiculous.

Seriously, how did some random punter happen to know that Chris Jericho, who hadn't signed with the WWF in April 1999, was on his way in? Furthermore, they almost got his debut right to the exact date. Their sign read, "89 Days 'Til Raw Is Jericho", but it was actually 102 days from SmackDown's 29 April airdate until Y2J bounced out on Raw on 9 August.

That's only a difference of 13 days, which is warping our minds. There was talk in the dirt sheets around the same time that Jericho was talking turkey with the company, so maybe we're giving Joe Fan here too much credit. Still, he gazed into his crystal ball and looked into the future way too clearly.

In other news, that sign is the only takeaway from Ken Shamrock's rather barbaric Street Fight with Bradshaw that ended with Ken choking the future JBL out with a baseball bat. Jericho was on his way to the WWF, and this one guy cared more about that than anything else.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.