10 Times Vince McMahon Humiliated WWE Champions

6. Instantly Dismissing Chris Jericho's Viability As Champion (2001)

"Business must be in the toilet if we're making Jericho the champion". Those were the words spoken to a WWF official in late-2001 by Vince McMahon, within earshot of Chris Jericho. At the time, the Canadian was being readied to defeat both Steve Austin and The Rock in one night, becoming the first ever 'Undisputed' WWF Heavyweight Champion. It was the biggest moment of his career to date. Deemed too small to headline in WCW, Jericho had defected to the WWF for opportunities exactly like this one. It must have been terribly demotivating for him to hear the boss effectively describe his title reign - which hadn't even happened yet - as a failed idea. Nonetheless, McMahon pressed on with things, crowning Jericho the champ at the Vengeance pay-per-view in December, 2001. Afterwards, Jericho quickly became a sneaky, cowardly heel champion. He rarely main-evented shows, instead being overshadowed by the likes of the incoming nWo, including Hulk Hogan. By the time WrestleMania X-8 rolled around, he limply defended the title against Triple H. All of a sudden, his run was over, and he was back where he had started. It's true that Jericho did headline again later in his career, but he was never dubbed 'the man' due to the treatment of him as champion.