Undisputed_ How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps - Chris Jericho [95]
Cena finally got his big opportunity when he dressed as Vanilla Ice on a Halloween Smackdown! and performed a freestyle rap that impressed everybody, so his character took off. He became the Doctor of Thuganomics and went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history.
Can I pick ’em or what?
Meanwhile, it turned out Edge didn’t need shoulder surgery after all and he returned a few weeks later to save Hogan when I was about to administer the same shoulder-bashing fate I’d given Edge. The returning hero beat the tarski out of me and we were off.
Over the next few weeks, the Edge/Jericho angle was on fire and the writers wanted to build to a SummerSlam match of Jericho with Fozzy in his corner vs. Edge with the Osbournes in his corner. I was excited at the prospect of working with Ozzy in any way, shape, or form, but the deal fell through and soon after so did the Edge/Jericho angle.
The reason was Vince felt that Raw was lacking in star power, so he decided to send me, HHH, and the Unamericans (Lance Storm, Christian, and Test) back to the flagship show to spice it up. That meant the end of my angle with Edge.
I wasn’t happy about the move and the Hulkster wasn’t happy about it either. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me, man. I’m losing my guys.”
Of course, Hogan was upset about losing the workers who were making him look good, and he should’ve been. Match-quality-wise, he was having the best run of his career.
My last night on Smackdown! in Indianapolis saw me lose a great cage match to Edge, followed by the Unamericans breaking into the cage and attacking en masse. That brought out Rey Mysterio and Cena to save the day. Rey scaled the cage and did a big dive onto Lance and Test while Edge and Cena threw Christian and me into the fence as the crowd cheered madly. The end of the show saw the four bad guys on the floor yelling and screaming at Edge, Rey, and Cena as Michael Cole proclaimed that “the new era of Smackdown! has arrived!”
And I was leaving.
I found Vince backstage and asked him, “Do you like money?”
Vince looked at me quizzically and answered, “Of course I like money.”
“Well, you’re pissing money down the drain by moving me to Raw now,” I said defiantly. “This angle with Edge is hot and we could go so much farther with it!”
Vince nodded his head, but it was obvious he disagreed. “I’ve thought about it, Chris, but I need you on Raw right now. We can always go back to Jericho and Edge.”
It took eight years, but eventually we did. But that’s a story for another book.
My first night back on Raw, I ambushed Flair from under the ring and brutally beat him down. He had just returned to the WWE and had very little confidence in himself. Ric had been mentally beaten down for so many years in WCW that he had lost faith in who he was and what he could do. Many people would say that Flair is the greatest of all time, but at that time working with Hogan was easier.
Put down your pitchforks and torches, wrestling purists; the honest truth is Flair wasn’t himself and was tricky to work with at that stage, while Hogan knew exactly who he was and what to do, brother.
Flair and I worked a program that culminated at SummerSlam. Vince wanted me to put him over with a small package, but I disagreed. Why not have me tap out to his famous figure four? He never beat anybody with his signature move, and I think I was the first guy to tap out to it in like fifteen years. Flair vehemently disagreed, and when I asked him why he said, “Why? I don’t deserve it. I’m not myself and you know it.”
His words really pissed me off. Even though he was going through a bad patch he was still Ric Fucking Flair! I snapped back, “Stop it! You’re one of the greatest performers of all time! Start acting like it.”
Flair stared at me for about thirty seconds. Then he slowly extended his hand.
“Thank you for saying that.”
That night and in the