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Vince Russo recently recalled how WWE canceled plans for The Rock to suffer a major loss on the October 4, 1999, episode of RAW.
A day earlier, Russo and Ed Ferrara left WWE to join WCW as the company's head writers. Before departing, they submitted a script for the next episode of RAW which featured Chris Jericho vs. The Rock in the main event.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Russo revealed that he and Ferrara initially booked Jericho to record a huge win over The Rock. However, the outcome changed after they left for WCW.
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"In that show, we had Jericho beating The Rock," Russo said. "Bro, it would have put a rocket on his backside and he would have gone through the roof. We left, bro, that was the only thing they changed on that show. And, bro, it literally took them two years to get Jericho over, whereas if they would have done that that night, they would have gotten him over two years quicker." [6:24 – 6:59]
In the video above, Russo also outlined how he spoke to Jericho while the current AEW wrestler was still under contract with WCW.
Why WWE did not push Chris Jericho earlier
As Vince Russo referenced, Chris Jericho did not win his first world title until 2001, two years after joining the company. Prior to that, he feuded with several wrestlers further down the card, including Chyna and Hardcore Holly.
Russo believes his own exit to WCW played a part in WWE's higher-ups delaying Jericho's push to the main-event scene:
"That was out of spite too, bro, because they kinda knew he was my boy. [WWE's mindset was] when Vince left, Vince's boy is gonna get it [punished], bro." [7:27 – 7:35]
The October 4, 1999, episode of RAW concluded with The Rock pinning Jericho after landing a People's Elbow. The British Bulldog confronted The Great One after the match, prompting Vince McMahon and several referees to get involved.
Do you think Chris Jericho should have beaten The Rock in 1999? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
