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Chris Jericho has had a storied career over the past 30 years, but one of his most shocking WrestleMania losses reportedly ended up paying off the most.
WrestleMania 17 was Jericho's first-ever and one of the best-rated iterations of the iconic event. WrestleMania 33 ended up being Jericho's final 'Mania appearance, as he didn't appear at the 2018 event before leaving for AEW in 2019.
While speaking on the most recent Talk is Jericho, the former world champion revealed how losing to Fandango paid off more than he thought it would:
"We made this huge babyface in one night, so it did go the way I was hoping. I did my job. When I got my check for the Fandango match, it was at the time the second biggest paycheck I’d ever gotten for any match ever, was that match against Fandango – which was second on the show." (1:09:45 onward)
Following his loss to Fandango at WrestleMania 29, Jericho lost to the star on two more occasions before finally getting a win over him at Extreme Rules 2013.
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Chris Jericho initially fought the idea of losing to Fandango, who never had a main roster match at the time
During the same episode of Talk is Jericho, Chris Jericho detailed his initial reaction to the booking of his bout with Fandango and the advice he received from The Undertaker.
Here's what The Wizard said:
"I was kinda really mad at first, and I asked The Undertaker, and he said ‘Just do it! Go out there and do your best.’ So that’s what I did, we got him over, and I put him over and at the time was like, really? I didn’t expect that later on that night, everybody in the arena would be leaving singing his song! I pulled my phone out and called Vince and said ‘listen to this.’” (01:09:45 onward)
Unfortunately, despite Fandango's initial success, his victory over Chris Jericho became a distant memory. By 2021, Fandango was little more than an enhancement talent. Now rebranded as Dirty Dango, could he debut in AEW and continue his feud with Jericho?
If you use quotes from this article, please credit Talk is Jericho and give a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.
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