Chris Jericho had accidentally become one of the legends he enjoyed squashing just four years earlier by 2013, returning for an inspired Royal Rumble run only to end up doing an insipid job to brand new character Fandango as the company continued to profoundly fail talents trapped in their developmental system.
Mold-breakers The Shield (and more on them later) were rule-proving exceptions at the time, whereas Fandango's New Generation-esque aesthetic was a gimmick designed to flog t-shirts rather than a character sure to flog tickets.
Or, in this case, iTunes downloads.
In one of the most high-profile early post-WrestleMania hijacks, the remaining hardcore audience made an instant meme from his inherently silly theme. Fandangoing - until WWE murdered it one week later - was one of the year's headline stories. Chris Jericho's very participation was not.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
