For the longest time, Chris Jericho was labeled a mid card wrestler at best and as he moved up he displayed a knack for choking in the big matches, but this day in wrestling history changed all of that.
As great as Jericho is, it’s hard for many to imagine him being anything but one of the best, and when he came to the WWE from WCW he started getting a push.
Fans were mixed on how to accept it as we were used to seeing him in the cruiserweight division, and when he started facing off the with company’s best not everyone was onboard with it.
But thankfully, there were others that saw what he was capable of and Jericho started building toward being something greater. Though the temper tantrums still remained off and on.
Breaking through
On October 21, 2001 Chris Jericho faced the Rock at No Mercy for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the stage was set for an upset.
Jericho went into the details in his book Undisputed. Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the excerpt.
“The angle leading up to the match saw The Rock claiming that I had never won the big one. He was right. With all of my bragging and bravado, I’d never come through in the clutch. I’d never officially worn the world title around my gorgeous waist.
“Rocky and I had great chemistry at this point, and the match at No Mercy was one of our best. We worked so well together in keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats with our various false finishes: I kicked out of the Rock Bottom, Rock escaped from the Walls after I had thwarted the People’s Elbow.
“No one knew who was going to win until Stephanie distracted Rock and I gave him a face plant onto a steel chair using my new finisher, the Breakdown. (It was an awkward move and I stopped using it a few months later. It has since been resurrected by The Miz, who doesn’t do it half as well as I did.)
“I watched the ref’s hand smack the mat three times and just like that I was the World Champion, and unlike my tainted victory in State College, this one was for real.” – Chris Jericho, Undisputed book.
This was an awesome moment, but fans remained in doubt for a few more years.
As we look back at this day in wrestling history, we’re so happy the WWE stuck with Jericho as we all grew to appreciate what he brought to the table.
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