Vince McMahon said Chris Jericho segment was worst thing he put on TV, WWE legend recalls

Chris Jericho appeared in WWE between 1999 and 2018 before joining AEW in 2019. John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently recalled how Vince McMahon instructed him to criticize a segment involving Jericho.

JBL worked as a WWE commentator for several years after retiring from in-ring competition in 2009. The Hall of Famer's villainous character often badmouthed babyfaces during his time at the announce desk.

On Something to Wrestle, JBL said McMahon once wrote a script for Jericho's promo at the start of a RAW episode. When the segment did not go as planned, the former WWE Chairman told JBL to mock Jericho live on air:

"He wrote something for Chris and it didn't work, and Vince right away is in my ear," JBL stated. "It's the opening segment of RAW. Vince says, 'This is the worst thing I've ever put on television,' and I just kinda laughed, and he goes, 'Say it.' I go, 'You gotta be kidding me [laughs]?' I said, 'This is the worst thing I've ever seen on television.' Michael Cole looks at me like, 'What are you doing?' and then he realizes, of course, that Vince is saying it." [1:28:15 – 1:28:38]

McMahon often gave instructions to WWE commentators during shows. In the same episode, JBL said an announcer threatened to leave after getting frustrated with the 79-year-old's stern approach.

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JBL on the irony of Vince McMahon disliking Chris Jericho's segment

Nowadays, wrestlers often have the freedom to say what they want during WWE talking segments. However, in Vince McMahon's creative era, it is well known that he sometimes gave talents word-for-word scripts.

JBL found it amusing that McMahon took exception to Chris Jericho's segment considering he was responsible for writing the promo:

"Chris did a hundred different segments. This was the one and only part of it that was awful because it was written bad, and then Vince bashed the writing. He didn't bash how Chris said it. He bashed what was said. Vince wrote it!" [1:28:49 – 1:29:07]

In January 2024, McMahon resigned as a board member of WWE's parent company TKO amid misconduct allegations.

What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon's reaction to Chris Jericho's segment? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.