10 Wrestlers So Good They Changed Vince McMahon's Mind

8. Chris Jericho

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Chris Jericho left Vince McMahon deeply unimpressed upon his debut.

Fondly remembered by long-time fans as a legendary moment, those fans were alone in that assessment, weirdly. Jericho felt he reacted to the Rock in "cartoonish" fashion throughout an overlong promo; Vince agreed; the boys backstage were left wondering who this new, small brat thought he was, burying them as "boring" in defiance of all metrics. Even if ratings weren't at their stratospheric peak, Jericho misjudged the size of the pond he soon did well not to drown in entirely.

The performer who built himself as a super-worker struggled to adjust between the ropes, too, which seriously compromised his push. If the guy they brought in as a workhorse couldn't work, what good was he?

Wearing lifts in his boots to meet the height requirement, Jericho's poise was awkward as the build of his matches. He wasn't on the "WWF way" wavelength.

Jericho reversed the narrative by humbly working magic with Chyna. In 2000, fully adjusted to the style, he flourished in midcard and main event matches, the confidence generated by which drove his ascent to the upper midcard as the sports entertainment polymath he was convinced he was in WCW.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!