10 Times WWE Completely Abandoned Their Talent
9. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho infamously found out that he was going to win the WWE Championship for the first time when Vince McMahon joked about it backstage, but if he knew then that the entire reign would be a punchline he might have asked the Chairman to scrap the idea altogether.
As a heel Undisputed Champion over the winter period, 'Y2J' almost certainly knew he'd be losing his title at WrestleMania, and likely could have guessed that he'd be laying down for returning hero Triple H too. He might even have assumed that Stephanie McMahon might take his side, paying off years of tension between the two with some sort of unexpected tryst when 'The Game' needed it least.
Play the game mate.
Hunter and Stephanie nixed any implied romance and stopped just short of nixing Jericho himself from a tepid angle destined for the listless payoff the match proved to be. Jericho was a dog walker for the divorcing McMahons as family drama yet again undermined a 'Show Of Shows' main event.
Left all asunder and well and truly under-the-thumb, it took him spending time in the midcard and spending time off before he'd finally be received as a top guy again.