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Chris Jericho has recalled how Vince McMahon’s creative idea significantly improved his memorable WWE debut.
On the August 9, 1999 episode of RAW, a clock counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds to the new millennium finally reached zero. After the lights went out, Jericho (a.k.a. The Millennium Man) appeared and interrupted The Rock’s in-ring promo.
Speaking on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions, Jericho said the countdown was supposed to end at the start of RAW. Instead, McMahon came up with the idea to make his new superstar debut midway through the show.
“He [Vince McMahon] would always say, like, ‘I just book the s***, you gotta make it work.’ He’s not a guy that has like… He has ideas, but not like all the ideas. He can really see, ‘Move this there,’ and he’s the guy who came up with interrupting The Rock in the middle of the promo, and to me that’s why it worked. It’s because of that one little detail which just brought me right in and gave me the rocket right away.”
During the famous promo, Jericho called himself a “knight in shining armor” who joined WWE to save fans from watching a “boring snoozefest.”
Chris Jericho and Vince McMahon’s relationship
Although Chris Jericho began performing for NJPW in 2018 and AEW in 2019, he never had a disagreement with Vince McMahon over his WWE departure.
The nine-time WWE Intercontinental Champion told several stories about McMahon during his appearance on Steve Austin’s show. He also stated that he was determined to work for the WWE Chairman in the 1990s, even during his time in WCW.
Prior to joining AEW, Jericho said he would never work for a wrestling promoter in North America other than Vince McMahon. The 50-year-old currently performs as an in-ring talent and occasional commentator for Tony Khan’s AEW.
Please credit Broken Skull Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
