That Time Chris Jericho Was WWE Champion For 30 Minutes
It’s here that the conceit becomes literal; as encouraged by management, Jericho wore lifts that left him teetering where he once preened to court the crowd. Jericho, this supposed spectacular workhorse—he told Power Slam magazine ahead of his move to the WWF that he’d “carry Viscera to a five star match”—under-delivered in the ring against far more talented opponents than that, like X-Pac. This buried him further underground. If the short guy couldn’t work, pal, what f*cking good was he?
As the months passed by, so too did Jericho’s main event prospects. Proud and determined to a fault—write anything less, and he might literally punch you in the face—Jericho persevered, even as Vince routinely chewed him out. Showing humility and elusive polish in a series with Chyna, a determined Jericho made chicken salad from chicken sh*t—but not in time for WrestleMania 2000. Positioned to star in the Fatal 4-Way headliner, he was replaced by the Big Show.
Having proven something to McMahon against Chyna, with whom he assembled better matches than he had with the living litmus test that was Sean Waltman, the resurgent Jericho impressed further in a series with Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle—two men who sharpened his iron before the WWF entertained the idea of Jericho as the main event talent he always pitched himself as.
The events of April 17, 2000 acted as an experiment of sorts. Having long since turned babyface, Jericho successfully hoodwinked Triple H into a WWF Title match by referring to his onscreen wife as a “trashbag ho”.
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