6. WWE Championship Match: Triple H Vs. Chris Jericho (Raw, April 17 2000)
Anyone questioning just how over Triple H was as a heel in 2000 should look no further than his defense against Chris Jericho on the April 2nd Monday Night Raw. The Game stood up to Jericho, defending his wife Stephanie from the insults hurled at her by Y2J. "Dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho" was a label often placed upon The Billion Dollar Princess by the Ayatollah of Rock-and-Rolla and, on that particular night, Jericho's insults earned him a shot at the WWE Championship. With The APA keeping Steph's brother Shane out of the match and referee Earl Hebner refusing to be bullied by the champion, Jericho was able to focus on beating Triple H and capturing the first World title of his career. And he did just that, delivering a spinning heel kick and a lionsault and benefiting from a fast count from a perturbed Hebner. The crowd in State College, Pennsylvania erupted into one of the loudest ovations ever heard on WWE's flagship programme. Of course, history tells us that outcome was not upheld, with Triple H and his powerful family ordering Hebner to reverse the decision due to his fast count, but there is no denying the raw (pun most definitely intended) emotion that the fans in Happy Valley expressed for the title switch. Triple H was such a hated commodity, a legitimate heel who knew what to say, when to say it and how to elicit a reaction. His mastery of the mic and understanding of crowd psychology fuelled the match and helped make it an epic, still talked about moment.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
