When top AEW star shockingly punched Shawn Michaels' wife in the face!

Many of the wrestlers who helped establish AEW as a legitimate new promotion were talent previously employed by WWE. One such veteran from the sports entertainment juggernaut, Chris Jericho, was involved in an intense rivalry with the legendary Shawn Michaels nearly seventeen years ago. Their feud was so intense that, during one confrontation, Y2J accidentally punched The Heartbreak Kid's wife.

The story begins in 2008, when Michaels found himself in the crosshairs of Batista shortly after he had "ended" Ric Flair's career at WrestleMania 24. The D-Generation X member defeated The Animal at Backlash in a singles match that was officiated by Chris Jericho. After being confronted by the future inaugural AEW World Champion about faking a knee injury to get past Batista, Michaels beat Jericho at Judgment Day the following month.

The program reached a greater intensity after Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla turned on and brutalized HBK on RAW in June. At The Great American Bash in July, Jericho defeated Michaels by referee stoppage. Later, at SummerSlam 2008, Michaels revealed that he was retiring from in-ring competition along with his wife, Rebecca Curci Hickenbottom. Unfortunately, Mr. WrestleMania was confronted by Jericho once again, and eventually, the latter, despite trying to take a swing at Shawn, accidentally struck Rebecca instead.

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Michaels renounced his retirement in the aftermath and exacted revenge on Jericho at Unforgiven 2008. In another rematch at No Mercy, however, this time for the World Heavyweight Championship, Jericho retained against HBK.

Almost seventeen years later, Jericho is signed with AEW as one of the promotion's most illustrious names, whereas Michaels serves as the Senior Vice President of Talent Development and oversees NXT's creative in WWE.

AEW's Chris Jericho on a potential WWE return

Despite his contributions to AEW's growth as a pro-wrestling entity, a number of fans often clamored for Chris Jericho's return to WWE.

Speaking on the subject at the Horror, Rock & Wrestle Fest in Manchester this past April, The Learning Tree revealed that the possibility of his returning to the Stamford-based company would depend on his professional situation at the time.

"I would have considered a return to WWE before things changed. I mean, you’d be crazy not to consider it," said Jericho. "It just depends on what the situation is and what’s going on with me at the time. We’ll see." [H/T: SEScoops]

Jericho has been absent from AEW television since walking out on his proteges, Big Bill and Bryan Keith, two months ago.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee