10 WWE Betrayals That Were Totally Justified

7. Chris Jericho (2008)

Chris Jericho Shawn Michaels
WWE.com

The short battle Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels contested in 2003 couldn't have prepared anyone for the war they'd wage in 2008. In '03, HBK was Y2J's hero. By '08, Jericho was beginning to realise that the man he looked up to was someone he was embarrassed to laud.

Hero no more. Shawn Michaels, in the eyes of Jericho, was a fraud.

Everything came to a head when Michaels faked a knee injury to beat Batista at Backlash. As the special ref of that match, Jericho was irritated that he'd been successfully hoodwinked by a man he idolised despite their former issues - and he wanted an explanation. Shawn, ever-cocky, didn't exactly give him or anyone else one.

That was Jericho's beef. He felt disrespected by the legend he had patterned himself after, and with good reason. Slowly, the once-flashy Y2J changed himself into an 'honest man' who stood for everything Michaels wasn't. It was a genius heel turn, and all the better because of Jericho's solid argument.

Advertisement
In this post: 
The Rock
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor

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.