10 Times Chris Jericho Shocked The Wrestling World
6. Returning At The 2013 Royal Rumble
Rivalling any in his career, the pop for Chris Jericho's 2013 Royal Rumble return as the #2 entrant was a reminder that the element of surprise was still there to be exploited for cheers, and perhaps also explains why the bullsh*t practically spills out of his Twitter account whenever rumours of future shock appearances begin to mount.
A year earlier, 'Y2J' had returned weeks before the battle royal, working a curious silence gimmick than enamoured him to few and made sense even less when he didn't win the match or follow through with the persona in subsequent weeks. This - an unannounced appearance nearly six months after his last - was a different beast. The brief absence had made hearts fonder for Jericho, which was ideal considering the night he was in for.
Putting in one of the best performances of his life, he went nearly 48 minutes in the match before being eliminated by #1 entrant and man he'd worked the whole match with, Dolph Ziggler. Such reinvigoration should have stood him good stead for a strong WrestleMania programme, but bizarrely, the lack of a coherent plan that year instead resulted in him gamely putting over Fandango in the latter's very first match.