Forgotten Favorites 01.15.09: WrestleMania XIX - Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

Posted by Jim Grimm on 01.15.2009

These guys owned 2008, but they were putting on clinics long before that. What happened the first time these two met one-on-one on Pay-Per-View?

Welcome back for another look at the matches that Vince McMahon wined, dined, and then never bothered to call. In case you missed last week's article, the point of this whole thing is to shine a spotlight (is that column infringement?) on matches that have not gotten the historical recognition they deserve. If there's a match that's passed over on a career DVD or on WWE 24/7, I feel it is my duty as a wrestling encyclopedia to both enlighten newer fans and to kindly escort longtime fans down memory lane. And no, kids, regardless of how cool it sounds, being a wrestling encyclopedia does not get you laid. Do not aspire to be me.

But anyway, my losses in the bedroom cannot compare to the victory wrestling fans shared worldwide when they were treated to a hell of a match in March of 2003. Yes, it was a match even greater than my segues.

The "young lion versus respected veteran" storyline is one of the oldest in pro wrestling. When a new star is on the rise, and an old one is just starting to burn out, the torch has to be passed at some point. There was Rock/Hogan at WrestleMania XVIII. There was any Ric Flair feud of the last ten years.

And then there was an obnoxious Canadian and a God-fearing Texan.



WrestleMania XIX
March 30, 2003
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

HOW IT WENT DOWN

March 29, 1998. Boston, Massachusetts. WrestleMania XIV. A severely injured Shawn Michaels lost his WWE Championship to a rising star named Stone Cold Steve Austin. His back literally broken, Michaels was forced to step away from active competition. After a stint as Commissioner, marked by sporadic appearances, HBK disappeared from TV screens and settled into retirement.

And then in 2002, the unthinkable happened. In order to settle a blood feud with Triple H, Shawn Michaels returned to the ring for an Unsanctioned Match at SummerSlam. Three months later at Survivor Series, Michaels had his second match in four years when he shocked the world by winning the World Heavyweight Title inside the Elimination Chamber. This match marked his first encounter with some dude named Chris Jericho, and it was clear that their similar styles made for great entertainment in the ring.

After dropping the belt to Triple H, Michaels set his sights on the Royal Rumble. That dude named Chris Jericho had recently made it his mission to show the world that he was better than Shawn Michaels, so when HBK was given the #1 Rumble spot, Jericho demanded #2. When the Royal Rumble rolled around, Jericho and his tag partner Christian pulled some shenanigans, allowing Y2J to sneak into the ring and give HBK "the old Pearl Harbor job!" (copyright: Gorilla Monsoon). Later in the match HBK returned to seek justice, giving Test the assist in eliminating Jericho. This in turn led to bad things for Test's manager Stacy Keibler, whom Jericho tormented for the following weeks. When Michaels runs in for the save one night on a conchairto attempt on Stacy, Jericho ends up owning HBK instead. "You tried to be the hero one too many times," Jericho says, hovering over him. "You stupid son of a bitch! I want to end your career at WrestleMania!" Awesome stuff.




The Raw before WrestleMania XIX

The match is the fifth of the night at WrestleMania, falling right in the middle of a stacked ten-match card. The crowd is hot for Michaels, with 'HBK' chants breaking out as soon as the bell sounds. Fast-paced back and forth action dominates the early-going of the match, with Jericho seemingly hell-bent on proving he's a better wrestler than Michaels. One spot sees Jericho taking Michaels down with an HBK-like flying forearm and then kipping up, breaking out his own version of Shawn's trademark pose. A moment later, the crowd is losing its mind when the originator kips up and begins unloading on Y2J.

After the Lionsault and Walls of Jericho fail to put Michaels away, Jericho starts to tune up the band, much to the chagrin of the audience. Michaels slowly gets to his feet and discovers what a Kick of the Super variety tastes like, suffering his own Sweet Chin Music! However, Jericho is only able to earn a two count.

As the match progresses, HBK begins to build some momentum, and eventually he's tuning up his own band. Jericho slowly stands ... turns around ... and catches HBK, dropping him into the WALLS OF JERICHO!


CANADIAN RAGE!

When a rope break forces the referee to intervene, Jericho insists to the official that Michaels tapped out. Frustration causes the Canadian Ayatollah to take his eye off the ball, and a second later he's laid out by SWEET CHIN MUSIC! Jericho is able to escape at two, but a few moments later HBK manages to counter a Backdrop Suplex into a roll-up from behind! One, two, three!

After the match, the always classy HBK (tongue in cheek, much?) extends his hand, but Jericho goes in for the real thing. Only thing is, it's customary in Canada to kick a dude in the balls right after hugging him. The surprised/pained expression on HBK's face reveals that he is not familiar with this tradition. Jericho spits on him for good measure, then storms out of the ring, shouting "I'm better!" at anyone that will listen.


WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

Shawn Michaels is taken for granted these days. He wrestles at nearly every pay-per-view, and he's a regular on Monday Night Raw. But there was a time, not too long ago, when a Shawn Michaels match on Raw was a special treat. Any televised HBK match was advertised at least one week in advance, and it only happened if there was a damn good reason for it. Nobody knew how long HBK's return to the ring would last, Michaels included. So for a while there in late 2002 and early 2003, any HBK match seemed historic.

Michaels's match with Chris Jericho might very well have been his very last appearance at WrestleMania. Keep in mind this was five years after his last WrestleMania appearance in what everyone thought was HBK's last match. If this was to have been Mr. WrestleMania's last big match, it couldn't have been against a better opponent. The younger mirror image of HBK gave the legend a hell of a potential send-off.

Aside from the significance of what could have been Mr. WrestleMania's last WrestleMania, the match itself is a damn enjoyable one to watch. Michaels and Jericho didn't settle on simply having a great wrestling match; they made it a mission to tell a story. In the promo I posted above, Jericho made it a point to show Michaels the way he patterned his in-ring style after the Heartbreak Kid. All of the moves that Jericho points out -- from the Cross Body to the Hiptoss to the Hurricanrana -- find their way into the WrestleMania match at some point. Interestingly enough, it is Shawn Michaels who attempts each of these moves, and it is Chris Jericho who counters them all. Jericho proves he is a student of HBK's style, knowing when and where to expect certain offense. He even proves that anything Michaels can do, Jericho can do just as well or better, connecting with his own rendition of Sweet Chin Music. And yet in the end, all of Jericho's counter-moves and attempts to one-up Michaels prove to be futile, as the wily veteran is able to earn the victory with a relatively simple roll-up. The young punk, focused a little too much on bragging rights, is outwitted by the more experienced competitor. From the interviews to the match itself, this feud was brilliant ring psychology.

Oh yeah, and this time period's pretty significant because of Jericho's mighty beard.


Leather jacket + Lucky Charms = STYLE


WHY IT ISN'T REMEMBERED

WrestleMania XIX's card was STACKED. The Michaels/Jericho feud received a decent amount of hype going into the show, but nowhere near some of the other matches. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon were settling a rivalry "twenty years in the making," Stone Cold returned to the ring against The Rock in what would prove to be Austin's last match, and Kurt Angle defended the WWE Title against Brock Lesnar. If my memory is holding up correctly (and sometimes it doesn't), this was the last event where Austin, Rock, Hogan, McMahon, Undertaker, HHH, and HBK all wrestled on the same card. Throw in an appearance by the Miller Lite Cat Fight Girls and hot damn, we've got a show full of A-List stars.

It just occurred to me that some readers may not even remember the Miller Lite Cat Fight Girls. And it just occurred to me that I'm actually getting old.

But with so much going on at one show, it's easy to see how Michaels/Jericho got put on the backburner. Lesnar/Angle was a stellar match, which has almost even been outshined itself by Brock's botched Shooting Star spot. McMahon/Hogan was surprisingly fun, featuring a sick bladejob by an even sicker chairman. And Austin/Rock ... well, do I even need to explain that one?

Shawn Michaels prides himself on stealing the show at WrestleMania, but with so much going on this was nearly impossible. While this match was my personal favorite of the night, there's no denying that the action in the other matches was just as exciting. Lesnar/Angle, botched spot and all, still stands as one of the finest matches in recent history. And with it closing the show, it was bound to be the one people walked away talking about. No matter how great a match Jericho and Michaels had, Lesnar and Angle were still going to go on last and tear the house down. And they did.


WILL IT BE REMEMBERED?

I don't see why not. Jericho and Michaels set the wrestling world on fire in 2008 with one of the hottest feuds in recent memory. Any newer fans that witnessed their badass feud this year are naturally going to be interested in seeing what kind of work these guys have done together before. Or at least that's my hope.

The only problem I can potentially see arising is the fact that their 2008 work so greatly outshined their past encounters. If WWE is going to reference a Jericho/HBK battle, they're likely going to look back at their 2008 blood feud. This is all well and fine, considering the high quality of promos and matches that fans were treated to, but it still stings a little. Their match at WrestleMania was a hell of a physical battle and emotional roller coaster, and it deserves its proper recognition.

So, kids, it's your responsibility to make sure as many people know about this match as possible. Tell your friends, family, and crazy ex-girlfriends. Write a letter to Vinnie Mac. Tell him that great wrestling will no longer be overlooked!

That's all I've got for this week. Keep the comments coming, discuss amongst yourselves, and all that. I'm glad that last week's article stimulated some conversation amongst you guys, and I'm all about that feedback. Props to Tobey Kinson, who somehow read my mind on a planned future topic in the form of a badass SmackDown Fatal Fourway from December 2002. Not sure if this will be next week's article or not, but I intend on getting to it at some point since it was a hell of a match.

Anyway, stay safe and out of jail. See you guys next week.