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Vince Russo said Chris Jericho's WWE push would've come sooner if certain bookings involving The Rock had happened.
Before signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, Jericho became known for his work in WCW. When he made his WWE debut, he was welcomed into the company by The Rock.
On an episode of Writing with Russo, Vince Russo shared that there were different plans for Chris Jericho's booking. He stated that Jericho was originally scheduled to beat The Rock, and if it were to happen, Y2J would have immediately become a big star.
"I met with WCW on a weekend. The RAW show was already written and bro, (Ed) Ferrara and myself, we had Jericho beating The Rock. And that would have catapulted Chris Jericho. And bro, the entire show, the only thing they changed was the finish. I'm telling you, it took them two more years to get Jericho to the spot that he would have been if he beat Rock that night." Russo said. (10:00-10:41)
For now, The Rock has been busy with various Hollywood projects and has an upcoming movie at the end of the month. Meanwhile, Jericho is a wrestling veteran and is currently signed to AEW.
Vince Russo believes Chris Jericho's affiliation with WCW was the cause of his poor booking in WWE
During the same interview, Russo suggested that since Jericho was a WCW guy, his push was halted. Vince also claimed that the former champion's kindness had become a disadvantage.
"Why did they do it? Bro, because he was a WCW guy, and all that bs that goes along with it. The problem is and the reality of it is, Jericho really is a nice guy," said Russo. "And you know Jericho's not gonna screw somebody else and he's not gonna play locker room politics, that's just not who he is. And unfortunately bro, in that business, that's going to hurt." (10:50-11:14)
Despite a rocky start, Jericho captured multiple titles in the company before he went to AEW. What do you think about Chris Jericho's time in WWE? Share your views in the comments section below!
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