10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (May 26)

3. Chris Jericho Was Supposed To Win The Universal Title At WrestleMania

Kevin Owens Chris Jericho
WWE.com

A few weeks ago, Chris Jericho revealed that he was supposed to end his latest WWE run immediately after WrestleMania 33. It was Vince McMahon who convinced him to hang on until Payback, feeling that the Canadian had more to offer. Things could have turned out different had Y2J's original plan been used.

Pitching a match opposite Shinsuke Nakamura for 'Mania, Jericho then realised that he had chemistry with Kevin Owens and became interested in working opposite KO instead. According to Jericho during an interview with Busted Open Radio, the backup plan involved him beating Owens for the Universal Title in Orlando and then dropping it to Brock Lesnar at Payback.

Everything changed when Bill Goldberg came onto the scene. After Goldberg vs. Lesnar was a smash hit at Survivor Series, WWE wanted to run the match again with a different finish at WrestleMania. That's when Jericho vs. Owens was relegated to the United States Title, instead of going on in the World Title spot.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.