Chris Jericho says he was removed from major WrestleMania match; provides unseen WWE posters to prove claims
Chris Jericho was a guest on this week's episode of The Kurt Angle Show, where he spoke about his early rise within WWE. The legendary superstar revealed that he was originally slated to compete in a fatal four-way elimination match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 2000.
The world title bout featured Triple H, The Rock, Mick Foley, and The Big Show; each competitor had one McMahon family member in their corner.
Chris Jericho was initially in Mick Foley's spot until WWE decided to replace him in the match. Y2J backed his claims by revealing old promotional material, which showed him alongside other superstars instead of Mick Foley.
"The original plan for that WrestleMania, if you remember, it was a four-way title match with a McMahon in every corner," recalled Chris Jericho. "And it was Rock, Big Show, Triple H and Mick Foley, you know, Vince, Shane, Linda and Stephanie with whoever they were with. The original plan for that match was the four-way was Hunter, Rock, Big Show, and Jericho. And if you think I'm just saying that because I heard rumors or someone told me, they actually made promotional pieces for the match. And this is kind of like the press kit for WrestleMania 2000; it was what they called it." [7:40 - 8:31] (You can check out the pictures in the video version of The Kurt Angle Show, which will be out on Sunday).
While Jericho was never officially informed that he would be in the WrestleMania match, he was aware of the press kits that were printed well in advance.
"I was never officially told that I was in the match, but why would I be there if it wasn't true," added Jericho. "And there was a billboard on Sunset Boulevard with this exact picture on it. I remember seeing it driving down and going, 'Wow, that's really cool that I'm on that, and then they start talking about the four-way match, and I'm like, 'I've got to be in it.'" [8:33 - 8:51]
Chris Jericho on why WWE pulled him from the high-profile WrestleMania match
Chris Jericho wasn't the most well-liked figure backstage when he first joined WWE in 1999 after a successful run in WCW. The AEW star felt that Vince McMahon might not have trusted him back then to push him as a main event talent at WrestleMania.
Y2J also revealed how Vince McMahon convinced his eventual replacement, Mick Foley, to end his brief retirement for the match. Unsurprisingly enough, Vince McMahon offered the hardcore legend a lot of money to wrestle at the show.
"I think Vince just didn't have the belief in me; I guess, to put me in that spot yet. So, he brought Mick back, and that was after Mick had retired, and I think Mick told me that Vince offered him enough money to pay for his kids' college education," revealed the former AEW Champion. "So he came back. What I was holding up for the people that are watching is a press kit, four pictures on there, with mine being one of them. An interesting story when you think about it, right?" [8:53 - 9:21]
Mankind representing THQ's WWF WrestleMania 2000 for the N64 on the cover of Nintendo Power, December 1999. @RealMickFoley https://t.co/hmTBq3ww5i
Despite facing trouble early on in the WWE, Chris Jericho eventually cemented his place as a bonafide main eventer and is still competing at the highest level in AEW. Did you check out his recent AEW appearance? If not, here are all the results and highlights from the latest episode of Dynamite.
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