25 Best Chris Jericho Moments
5. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels - Great American Bash 2008
Jericho completely reinvented himself following the attack on Shawn Michaels. He completely stripped away all aspects of the Y2J character and became a modern-day Nick Bockwinkle. A suit-wearing, self-righteous character who used complicated words to express his points and looked down on the fans for their stupidity and hypocrisy. The new heel character was amazingly effective and Jericho had the perfect foil in Shawn Michaels.
In their first match at the 2008 Great American Bash, Jericho busted open Shawn's eye during the course of the bout. Jericho immediately pounced on the injury, pummeling Shawn's cut and trash-talking him the entire time.
Shawn showed his trademark resiliency during the match but Jericho was relentless in his assault, delivering stiff shots to HBK's head and telling him to give up. Michaels tried to win with a crossface but Jericho trapped him in a straightjacket hold and beat on Shawn's eye until the referee was forced to stop the match.
It was a completely different take on a wrestling match, something fans hadn't seen in a long time but no one had any idea what would happen next...