BANK ON HISTORY #8: Chris Jericho's 1 Day Reign as WWF European Champion
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Sometimes, I fall into deep rabbit holes over the most random wrestling history. I don’t know if it’s because of the nostalgia for it or because I love miniscule statistics that don't mean anything in the long run, but needless to say, I get trapped from time-to-time.
This time, it was my research on one-day title reigns.
In professional wrestling, when title reigns are ridiculously short, I pop. It actually brings out the realism of the sport of kings, as ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN at any given time.
I was going through old championship histories on Cagematch, when I saw one reign that had completely slipped my mind. A random midcard championship held by a future superstar in wrestling that literally lasted 24 hours. After a little while, and multiple media sites, I found both matches in question, and decided to make a go of it.
In this edition of BANK ON HISTORY, I take it back to the year 2000. It was a literal WrestleMania moment one night and taken away in the next.
We’re going to take a look back at the one-day reign of Chris Jericho as WWF European Champion.
—--
On August 9, 1999, the Countdown to the Millennium happened for the World Wrestling Federation as Chris Jericho made his long awaited debut to a thunderous ovation, interrupting the Rock. It was truly one of the greatest Attitude Era moments, especially after seeing how underrated “Y2J” was in WCW, despite being a multiple-time Cruiserweight and Television Champion. It was deserved and earned.
Following a few months being all over WWF television, Jericho was taken down a notch in October and began slowly working his way back up. In November, he began a rivalry with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. Although he lost at Survivor Series via a top-rope Pedigree, Jericho became more vicious and rebounded, ultimately winning the gold at Armageddon on December 12, 1999 with a Walls of Jericho.
Then, after Jericho and Chyna became co-Intercontinental Champions following a double pin on the final SmackDown in 1999, he beat both Chyna and Hardcore Holly at the Royal Rumble to become the undisputed Intercontinental Champion. He then lost the gold in a stunning upset to rookie phenom, and WWF European Champion, Kurt Angle at No Way Out on February 27, 2000 in Hartford, CT.
And this is where our story begins to take shape.
Y2J got a rematch on the March 6, 2000 Raw. After Jericho locked on the Walls to a prone Intercontinental Champion, referee Teddy Long stirred back to his feet following an accidental strike. Suddenly, through the crowd, former two-time WWF Champion Bob Backlund came through the crowd and attacked Jericho with a Cross Face Chicken Wing!
On the following SmackDown, after Mr. Backlund got Angle disqualified following a Chicken Wing to Tazz, Jericho made the save and put the Walls on Mr. Backlund, while Tazz Tazzplexed Angle viciously off the top rope. The following Raw, Angle defended his European Title in a triple threat match against Y2J and Tazz. It looked as if Jericho was going to win, following Chyna taking out Mr. Backlund with a low blow. However, Angle, thanks to the No Disqualification rule in multi-man matches, leveled Jericho with a title belt, and stole a victory.
Jericho and Tazz went into the March 16, 2000 SmackDown looking for a measure of revenge against Angle and Mr. Backlund in a tag team match. However, Chris Benoit interjected himself into the battle, attacking Jericho while he had Angle in the Walls. Then, as the referee rang the bell for the disqualification, Benoit then leveled Angle with a flying headbutt.
Chyna, who was at ringside with Y2J (they became allies with one another following the Royal Rumble based on respect), was then leveled from behind by a one-armed Eddie Guerrero with a forearm. This will be interesting later on.
Jericho then went to the following Raw on March 20 to go one-on-one with Benoit in a battle of long time rivals from WCW and Japan. Earlier in the night, it was announced that at WrestleMania 2000, both Benoit and Jericho would be facing Angle in a two-fall, triple threat match for both the Intercontinental and European Championships. While the “Euro-Continental Champ” was on commentary, Benoit was outside the ring and laid hands on both of the Olympic Gold Medalist’s titles. While the referee was distracted with Jericho, Angle leveled “the Crippler” with a title to the head. One Lionsault later, and Y2J picked up the victory.
Angle and Benoit did battle on the 3/23 SmackDown in a non-title match. Jericho, on commentary, saw Angle about to cheat to win with one of his title belts. Jericho grabbed the other one and leveled him with it for an automatic disqualification. Benoit also was leveled for good measure by Y2J. All the while, Mr. Backlund was watching the match backstage on a monitor.
On a complete sidenote, Jericho did wrestle on the March 26, 2000 Sunday Night Heat in a fun tag team match with Tazz against Edge & Christian, one week prior to the infamous Triangle Ladder match for the WWF Tag Team Titles. For my own geekness, this match had me psyched for a random Heat episode. Here it is:
The next night on Raw, Jericho and Chyna faced off with Benoit and Guerrero. Although a quick contest, the Radicalz picked up the win after Eddie tripped up Jericho as he went for a Lionsault, causing a weakened Benoit to pick up the pinfall.
On the final SmackDown before WrestleMania 2000, Y2J went one-on-one with Eddie. Prior to the match, Guerrero, while walking down the aisle, started saying that Chyna was in love with him and that he wanted to shake his bon-bon with her. It wouldn’t happen on this night, as Jericho won by DQ, thanks to Benoit interference. Then, after Chyna left ringside following Eddie’s flirting, Kurt Angle ran down into the squared circle and leveled both Y2J and the Crippler with Olympic Slams. WrestleMania 2000 would be a toss-up with this unique battle.
Prior to the event however, there was a twist. It turned out on the Heat prior to the pay-per-view that Mr. Backlund was the one who went to WWF management and demanded that Angle would be in the two-fall, triple threat match for both Intercontinental and European Championships. A furious Olympic Gold Medalist had enough and gave Mr. Backlund a taste of his own medicine, locking on a Cross Face Chicken Wing on the WrestleMania 2000 stage.
It was announced by the legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel that the first fall would be for the Intercontinental Championship, and the second was for the European Title.
This match was hard-hitting and high impact from the start. The second Angle took off his medals and his titles, Benoit left the ring and was immediately on the attack. All three men laid it in and were tossing each other around like a sack of potatoes.
At one point in the first fall, Angle caught Y2J with a Cross Face Chicken Wing. Before Jericho’s arm dropped for a third time for a retention for the Olympic Gold Medalist, Benoit dropkicked a lying Angle in the head, forcing the break. After bealing Angle to the floor and then dumping him in the front row, “the Crippler” delivered a flying headbutt (Jim Ross on the live broadcast, not on the shared clip, called it a Crippler Crossface) for the three count. Chris Benoit won the first fall and the Intercontinental Title!
The match continued with the heavy hitting. Angle tried to take advantage late in the second fall, with the referee down, with a title belt to Y2J’s dome while he had Benoit in the Walls. However, it was all for naught. Then, Benoit went for another flying headbutt, but Angle moved out of the way. Jericho, with the heart of a lion, immediately pounced and delivered a Lionsault. Three slaps of the mat later, and the second fall was over.
CHRIS JERICHO WAS THE NEW WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPION!
The biggest loser at WrestleMania 2000 was Kurt Angle, as he lost both championships without taking a pin.
The next night on Raw, there was rest for the weary, as Y2J was put into a European Championship defense against Eddie Guerrero.
Eddie, the night before, lost a six-man tag, alongside Saturn and Malenko in the Radicalz, against Chyna & Too Cool, when Chyna withstood the “Latino Heat” and put him away following a Sleeper Drop. However, thanks to Jerry “the King” Lawler on commentary, “Latino Heat” was here to stay and a new chapter in Guerrero’s career was here.
The match was a sprint. Both men really laid it in, again thanks to their familiarity to each other from Japan and WCW. Near the end of the match, Jericho sidestepped a running Guerrero and took a header into referee Tim White. Eddie stumbled into a Y2J double powerbomb and a Lionsault. Chyna inexplicably entered the ring and counted three in a Jericho pinfall. Naturally it wouldn’t count, but what happened next would.
As Chyna raised Jericho’s hand to the fans approval, she suddenly kicked him LOW and nailed a picture-perfect DDT! With Jericho out cold, she picked up Eddie’s carcass and dragged him on top of Y2J. Chyna then rolled the referee into the ring and put him into position to count three!
CHRIS JERICHO LOST THE WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
In a complete shocker, we all learned the truth: Chyna could NOT withstand the Latino Heat of Eddie Guerrero and, in turn, helped him win the European Title. Jericho, within twenty hours, went from the highest of highs in his WrestleMania debut to the lowest of lows.
—--
Honestly, the story of Chris Jericho winning and losing the European Champion in a day went a lot deeper than I thought. In fact, it carried a lot of weight, from Bob Backlund helping and leaving Kurt Angle’s side, the inclusion of Tazz and the Radicalz, plus Chyna’s new arc.
Also, reliving Y2J’s WrestleMania debut is always interesting, considering the path he took during his first run in the WWF. Winning the European Championship, which is now a long forgotten relic from the Attitude Era, is always a wild look back.
Ironically, I also don’t think we will ever publicly see the WrestleMania 2000 match on any WWE related platform for certain obvious reasons. So I’m happy to share it here in this edition on BANK ON HISTORY.
Bankie Bruce
