10 Times Chris Jericho Shocked The Wrestling World
7. Turning On Shawn Michaels (And Himself)
Chris Jericho's 2008 turn on Shawn Michaels didn't just mark the end of an awkward babyface second life for 'Y2J' following his return the prior November - it kickstarted one of the best runs of his entire career.
Smashing Shawn through his 'Jeritron' screen after weeks of simmering tension between the two, Jericho shook off the frills and flights of fancy his prior gimmick was all-too-often guilty of. As vile as he was verbose, Jericho donned a suit and swallowed a dictionary, intentionally patronising audiences with a reliance on multi-syllable monologues designed to infuriate and annoy.
It all fed into what was, by some distance, the best feud of the entire year. Jericho later noted in his autobiography that the pair were only supposed to wrestle on pay-per-view once, but the feud managed to carry multiple cards and even resulted in the World Title being moved into the angle to reflect the growth of the tale.
Few doubted either man still had the levels of violence and skill within them to tell such a rich and engaging story over such a lengthy period, but the company giving it such room to breathe was in itself a pleasant surprise.