8 Wrestlers The Rock Couldn't Get Over

3. Chris Jericho

The Rock Big Show
WWE.com

Chris Jericho's 9 August 1999 introduction was one of all time great wrestling debuts; after interrupting a Rock promo and running through his class list of catchphrases, Rock responded by subverting Y2J's nickname with a KY jelly boot-up-the-ass threat.

The Rock couldn't get Chris Jericho over because, ultimately, this awesome interaction led nowhere in the short term. The Rock's SummerSlam bout with Mr. Ass went ahead as scheduled, and Jericho was quickly sidelined into a forgettable and regrettable midcard programme with a fading X-Pac. It took an age for Jericho to ascend to the main event promised land...if he was ever truly considered part of that Attitude Era class; comprehensively overshadowed by The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, he was already stigmatised as an also-ran through empty victories over his old verbal sparring partner at Vengeance '01 and Royal Rumble '02. Very good though they both were, there was never any doubt that Rock was the far bigger star.

Jericho eventually did reach that summit, in 2008 - but nobody, even The Rock in full selfless selling mode, was able to convince fans that Y2J really was an Undisputed headliner at the turn of his own millennium.

Contributor
Contributor

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!