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What's the story?
Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio had an amazing feud in 2009 where Y2J sought to take Rey's mask. But this epic rivalry would have never seen the light of day if it weren't for some quick thinking from Jericho, which helped him persuade Vince McMahon to go along for the ride. He made these revelations during an interview with Bryan Alvarez.
In case you didn't know...
Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio were two of the most popular pro wrestlers in their time. Since it seems their time is still going, both men remain two of the top performers on the planet. Although they might not wrestle as much anymore, their past matches will go down in history.
Jericho and Mysterio had an amazing rivalry which culminated at The Bash 2009 in a mask vs. IC Title match which Rey won. But it turns out this epic feud almost never happened in the first place.
The heart of the matter
Jericho had worked with a lot of amazing Superstars, but he wanted an angle with Rey Mysterio. He had worked with Rey briefly in WCW and Japan but they had never had a full angle with each other.
Y2J wanted to change that because he was convinced a story based on Rey's iconic mask would sell tickets. But Vince McMahon disagreed. The Chairman Of The Board didn't think audiences would care about Rey's mask that much.
Chris Jericho recently sat down with Wrestling Observer Radio and discussed how he was able to change Vince McMahon's mind. Thanks to Still Real To Us for the transcription.
"I'd explain it to him why the mask means something to Lucha Libre history and his family lineage and everything and all of that but [Vince] just didn't see what the big deal was. And the way I pitched it to him was: 'here's why it's a big deal. Because I'm a bully and for the first time in my career I'm bigger than somebody and I'm a bully that's gonna walk into the class and steal the kid's milk money and then I'm gonna take that milk money and throw it in the garbage. I don't care about the milk money, I just don't want him to have it. So I'm gonna take it from him cause that's what bullies do."
What's next?
Chris Jericho was appearing on Wrestling Observer Radio to promote his fourth book: "No Is A Four-Letter Word." This might be Y2J's latest book, but it probably won't be his last. He also continues to tour with Fozzy, and their song "Judas" is a huge success and a really catchy tune too. However, you can never rule out an eventual return to WWE for The Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla.
Reports suggested that Rey Mysterio was talking to WWE about a return but they passed on having him back. Word was Mysterio was closer to signing with GFW and although he would bring a ton of eyes to the product, it's untelling if they'd be able to afford him right now.
Author's take
This is one of my favourite feuds from that era of wrestling. It's a good thing Chris Jericho understood Vince McMahon's motivations so he could talk him into approving this angle.
It's also interesting to note that even though Jericho lost his match against Rey Mysterio at The Bash in 2009, he still won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships with Edge later in the night.
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