Welcome to the fourth and final installment of this series of UnWrest Focus where we are looking at the classic feud between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. When we last left these guys, Shawn Michaels got a taste of revenge by beating Chris Jericho by ref stoppage at Unforgiven 2008. The bad news for Shawn was that Jericho would become World Heavyweight Champion that same night in a Championship Scramble Match.
If Jericho was unbearable as the antagonist against Shawn Michaels, his heel status was blown to the next level as World Champion.
Jericho continues to mock Shawn Michaels, saying that he won nothing since it was an Unsanctioned Match. Mike Adamle, the Raw GM (yes, that was a thing), announces that Shawn Michaels will be the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy. Shawn announces that the match will be a ladder match. Jericho promises to destroy Shawn Michaels. Pretty simple, right? It's the (real) conclusion of this version of the Jericho vs. Michaels rivalry.
No Mercy 2008
World Heavyweight Championship
Ladder Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Jericho and Michaels stare at each other in the center of the ring. There is no referee in sight. The referee's job is quite simple: Call for the bell to start and end the match. That simple (in storyline anyways).
The bell rings. Tie up in the ring. Bothe men jockeying for position. Michaels gets a back elbow in, and he almost catches Jericho with the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho runs to stop Michaels from leaving the ring to get a ladder. Chop by Michaels, but he rams his own shoulder into the ringpost by accident diving after Jericho in the corner. Odd start to the match where both men are wrestling a style you would expect in a regular match. Jericho gets Michaels on the apron and nails a midrope springboard shoulder tackle dive over the top rope to the floor.
Jericho throws Michaels into the ladder, but Michaels climbs up a bit and dives back onto Jericho to deliver punches. Michaels is sent shoulder first into the ringpost. Jericho grabs the ladder. He goes to hit Michaels, but a drop toe hold trips up Jericho sending him face first into the ladder. Seconds later, Jericho catches Michaels trying to hit him with a ladder and locks in the Walls of Jericho on the floor. Jericho grabs the ladder and goes back into the ring, but Michaels propels the ladder into Jericho's face from the floor.
Both men are back in with a huge ladder. Michaels climbs up, but Jericho stops him. Michaels reverses out of a powerbomb attempt. A catapult by Jericho flings Michaels back towards the ladder, and he starts climbing instead of hitting it. Jericho knocks the ladder over, sending Michaels onto the top rope and back on the mat. Jericho folds up the ladder, holds it, and rams it into the ribs and throws it on the back of Michaels. Another ladder is brought in by Jericho. Jericho goes to throw Michaels into the ladder set up in the corner, but Michaels avoids it. Jericho instead throws Michaels into the corner to do his upside down sit flip gimmick, but he gets propelled into the corner ladder by Michaels while going for the bulldog. However, whatever they were going for here seemed to be off as Jericho just barely gets his leg in between the rungs of the ladder. Michaels flips the ladder and Jericho over, and the ladder jams up Jericho's knee apparently.
Michaels bounces Jericho's knee off of the ladder. Michaels sets up a ladder laying on the bottom rope in the corner. He lifts up Jericho and sends him knee first into the ladder. Figure 4 now by Michaels on Jericho. However, when Michaels goes to get up after releasing the move, Jericho kicks the ladder on the bottom rope, sending the top part of it flying into Shawn Michaels' face. Jericho resets the ladder on the bottom rope and catapults Michaels' face back up into the ladder. Michaels' face is bounced on a laying ladder. Now, Jericho puts Michaels skull first in between a now open laying ladder and closes the ladder on his head. Jericho now climbs the ladder, but Michaels stops him. Jericho reasserts control. The ladder is now placed on the top of another corner. Jericho gets thrown onto the ladder, sending Jericho flying outside and the ladder bouncing back in the ring. Michaels throws the ladder from the ring right down on Jericho.
Shawn now gets another huge ladder and opens it up on the floor. And it's one of those "Jeff Hardy, please don't die" ladders. Michaels now takes another ladder and throws it down repeatedly on the laying Chris Jericho. Michaels goes to do the customary table clearing. (I mean, why not right? Who in a real fight doesn't want to make sure the table is set up perfectly so his opponent doesn't get hurt? :) I'm kidding, folks.) Jericho is put on the table, and Michaels start climbing up. But Jericho gets up and catches Michaels. Jericho goes to back suplex Michaels off the ladder through the table, but Michaels seemed to turn it into a crossbody as they were coming down.
Michaels and Jericho both climb back out of the rubble. Jericho is in the center of the ring. Michaels is climbing the corner with a ladder in front of him. Jericho dropkicks the ladder into Shawn's face. He now pounces the ladder in Michaels' head, and he climbs the ladder which is still folded up. Michaels fights him away and sends Jericho crashing back down. Michaels hits the elbow drop right on top of the ladder laying on top of Jericho.
The Band is Being Tuned Up. Sweet Chin Music gets stopped by a ladder to the face. Jericho now throws a ladder on Michaels multiple times. Lionsault onto the ladder laying on top of Michaels. Jericho unfolds another ladder on top of Michaels, with a rung right on Michaels's chest. Shawn powers the ladder up and sends Jericho flying 15 feet down to the floor. Jericho holds on to his knee in agony. Loud "HBK" chant from the crowd.
Michaels climbs back up the ladder towards the title. Jericho climbs back in the ring. Michaels has his hand on the title, but Jericho sends the ladder down putting Michaels right into the ropes. Jericho now climbs the ladder, and Michaels goes up as well. Jericho and Michaels fight back and forth on top of the ladder. Both men slide down it, and Jericho is upside down. Here comes Lance Cade again. Cade holds Michaels foot and pulls him down. Sweet Chin Music to Cade. Jericho has himself untangled and climbs up to the top. Michaels and Jericho both have the title in a tug of war on top of the ladder!!!! Jericho leans back with all his body weight, and he headbutts Michaels down off the ladder. Jericho retains the championship.
Winner: Chris Jericho (still World Heavyweight Champion)
Match Grade: B. This may be my least favorite match in this rivalry. It feels like overkill at this point. The Lance Cade stuff just seems like even more filler, and the match never gets to a higher gear in my opinion. That being said, the effort is most definitely there from both men to have a different style of ladder match than you see most people try to do with it. Still, there's nothing overly memorable about this match from an in-ring or storyline perspective. Again, this match feels like the microwaved leftover. It just doesn't taste as fresh as it did last night.
Jericho is bleeding from the face and mouth after the match.
_ _ _ _
Jericho and Michaels would meet one more time on Monday Night Raw in a Last Man Standing match. But JBL would interfere causing Jericho to get the last word in this feud once again. It again seemed to be overkill, and I'm choosing not to review that match since it adds nothing to the rivalry.
In fact, it seems like No Mercy 2008 is itself actually a lackluster way to finish off what had been an excellent feud. And you don't think lackluster and Ladder Match often in the same thought. But the steam had been gone from this feud since Michaels got his revenge at Unforgiven. This was just for the championship, and it seemed to take some of the emotion away from the match itself.
Overall, however, this was an excellent feud before No Mercy. From WrestleMania 24 to Unforgiven 2008, these guys were involved in a multi-layered storyline that provided wrestling fans a great story and in-ring product. Jericho and Michaels were both masterful in their roles in the early going, with each one giving enough shades of gray to make people think they may be turning heel. Then, once Jericho pulled the heel turn, the feud was on fire from that moment on.
These guys produced some great moments, such as that heel turn, Michaels faking the injury, Jericho destroying Michaels' eye and face, the punch at SummerSlam to Michaels' wife, and the Unsanctioned Match at Unforgiven. Jericho wanted so much to prove that he was an honest man and better than people gave him credit for that he became the villain determined to destroy the career and life of the man the fans chose over him. Michaels kept getting piled on during this feud to the point where finally the God-fearing man had enough and had to fight the demon that haunted him face to face.
To me, Unforgiven 2008 is the best match of this rivalry looking back. You were coming off a huge angle involving Michaels injury possibly ending his career. Add to that the complete shock and horror of his wife being assaulted by Chris Jericho and the buildup to that match. Then, the match itself, while long, still delivered a hardcore, Old School level brawl. And Michaels' level of performance in that match as a man pushed beyond his emotional limits was amazing and one of his all-time best in my opinion.
In the end, this is an example of what two great athletes and storytellers can do with a simple yet effective storyline. Again, we should be thankful to have witnessed such awesomeness.
To catch up on the first three UnWrest Focus posts focusing on this feud, and for the recently completed UnWrest Focus series on the Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat rivalry from 1989, click on this: Table of Contents (Scroll to Focus)
Again, a special shoutout to AJ for suggesting this rivalry. If you have any other rivalries you want me to look back on, comment below or send me a tweet at @cdub1898 on Twitter.
Until next time, this "honest man" says take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
If Jericho was unbearable as the antagonist against Shawn Michaels, his heel status was blown to the next level as World Champion.
Jericho continues to mock Shawn Michaels, saying that he won nothing since it was an Unsanctioned Match. Mike Adamle, the Raw GM (yes, that was a thing), announces that Shawn Michaels will be the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy. Shawn announces that the match will be a ladder match. Jericho promises to destroy Shawn Michaels. Pretty simple, right? It's the (real) conclusion of this version of the Jericho vs. Michaels rivalry.
No Mercy 2008
World Heavyweight Championship
Ladder Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Jericho and Michaels stare at each other in the center of the ring. There is no referee in sight. The referee's job is quite simple: Call for the bell to start and end the match. That simple (in storyline anyways).
The bell rings. Tie up in the ring. Bothe men jockeying for position. Michaels gets a back elbow in, and he almost catches Jericho with the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho runs to stop Michaels from leaving the ring to get a ladder. Chop by Michaels, but he rams his own shoulder into the ringpost by accident diving after Jericho in the corner. Odd start to the match where both men are wrestling a style you would expect in a regular match. Jericho gets Michaels on the apron and nails a midrope springboard shoulder tackle dive over the top rope to the floor.
Jericho throws Michaels into the ladder, but Michaels climbs up a bit and dives back onto Jericho to deliver punches. Michaels is sent shoulder first into the ringpost. Jericho grabs the ladder. He goes to hit Michaels, but a drop toe hold trips up Jericho sending him face first into the ladder. Seconds later, Jericho catches Michaels trying to hit him with a ladder and locks in the Walls of Jericho on the floor. Jericho grabs the ladder and goes back into the ring, but Michaels propels the ladder into Jericho's face from the floor.
Both men are back in with a huge ladder. Michaels climbs up, but Jericho stops him. Michaels reverses out of a powerbomb attempt. A catapult by Jericho flings Michaels back towards the ladder, and he starts climbing instead of hitting it. Jericho knocks the ladder over, sending Michaels onto the top rope and back on the mat. Jericho folds up the ladder, holds it, and rams it into the ribs and throws it on the back of Michaels. Another ladder is brought in by Jericho. Jericho goes to throw Michaels into the ladder set up in the corner, but Michaels avoids it. Jericho instead throws Michaels into the corner to do his upside down sit flip gimmick, but he gets propelled into the corner ladder by Michaels while going for the bulldog. However, whatever they were going for here seemed to be off as Jericho just barely gets his leg in between the rungs of the ladder. Michaels flips the ladder and Jericho over, and the ladder jams up Jericho's knee apparently.
Michaels bounces Jericho's knee off of the ladder. Michaels sets up a ladder laying on the bottom rope in the corner. He lifts up Jericho and sends him knee first into the ladder. Figure 4 now by Michaels on Jericho. However, when Michaels goes to get up after releasing the move, Jericho kicks the ladder on the bottom rope, sending the top part of it flying into Shawn Michaels' face. Jericho resets the ladder on the bottom rope and catapults Michaels' face back up into the ladder. Michaels' face is bounced on a laying ladder. Now, Jericho puts Michaels skull first in between a now open laying ladder and closes the ladder on his head. Jericho now climbs the ladder, but Michaels stops him. Jericho reasserts control. The ladder is now placed on the top of another corner. Jericho gets thrown onto the ladder, sending Jericho flying outside and the ladder bouncing back in the ring. Michaels throws the ladder from the ring right down on Jericho.
Shawn now gets another huge ladder and opens it up on the floor. And it's one of those "Jeff Hardy, please don't die" ladders. Michaels now takes another ladder and throws it down repeatedly on the laying Chris Jericho. Michaels goes to do the customary table clearing. (I mean, why not right? Who in a real fight doesn't want to make sure the table is set up perfectly so his opponent doesn't get hurt? :) I'm kidding, folks.) Jericho is put on the table, and Michaels start climbing up. But Jericho gets up and catches Michaels. Jericho goes to back suplex Michaels off the ladder through the table, but Michaels seemed to turn it into a crossbody as they were coming down.
Michaels and Jericho both climb back out of the rubble. Jericho is in the center of the ring. Michaels is climbing the corner with a ladder in front of him. Jericho dropkicks the ladder into Shawn's face. He now pounces the ladder in Michaels' head, and he climbs the ladder which is still folded up. Michaels fights him away and sends Jericho crashing back down. Michaels hits the elbow drop right on top of the ladder laying on top of Jericho.
The Band is Being Tuned Up. Sweet Chin Music gets stopped by a ladder to the face. Jericho now throws a ladder on Michaels multiple times. Lionsault onto the ladder laying on top of Michaels. Jericho unfolds another ladder on top of Michaels, with a rung right on Michaels's chest. Shawn powers the ladder up and sends Jericho flying 15 feet down to the floor. Jericho holds on to his knee in agony. Loud "HBK" chant from the crowd.
Michaels climbs back up the ladder towards the title. Jericho climbs back in the ring. Michaels has his hand on the title, but Jericho sends the ladder down putting Michaels right into the ropes. Jericho now climbs the ladder, and Michaels goes up as well. Jericho and Michaels fight back and forth on top of the ladder. Both men slide down it, and Jericho is upside down. Here comes Lance Cade again. Cade holds Michaels foot and pulls him down. Sweet Chin Music to Cade. Jericho has himself untangled and climbs up to the top. Michaels and Jericho both have the title in a tug of war on top of the ladder!!!! Jericho leans back with all his body weight, and he headbutts Michaels down off the ladder. Jericho retains the championship.
Winner: Chris Jericho (still World Heavyweight Champion)
Match Grade: B. This may be my least favorite match in this rivalry. It feels like overkill at this point. The Lance Cade stuff just seems like even more filler, and the match never gets to a higher gear in my opinion. That being said, the effort is most definitely there from both men to have a different style of ladder match than you see most people try to do with it. Still, there's nothing overly memorable about this match from an in-ring or storyline perspective. Again, this match feels like the microwaved leftover. It just doesn't taste as fresh as it did last night.
Jericho is bleeding from the face and mouth after the match.
_ _ _ _
Jericho and Michaels would meet one more time on Monday Night Raw in a Last Man Standing match. But JBL would interfere causing Jericho to get the last word in this feud once again. It again seemed to be overkill, and I'm choosing not to review that match since it adds nothing to the rivalry.
In fact, it seems like No Mercy 2008 is itself actually a lackluster way to finish off what had been an excellent feud. And you don't think lackluster and Ladder Match often in the same thought. But the steam had been gone from this feud since Michaels got his revenge at Unforgiven. This was just for the championship, and it seemed to take some of the emotion away from the match itself.
Overall, however, this was an excellent feud before No Mercy. From WrestleMania 24 to Unforgiven 2008, these guys were involved in a multi-layered storyline that provided wrestling fans a great story and in-ring product. Jericho and Michaels were both masterful in their roles in the early going, with each one giving enough shades of gray to make people think they may be turning heel. Then, once Jericho pulled the heel turn, the feud was on fire from that moment on.
These guys produced some great moments, such as that heel turn, Michaels faking the injury, Jericho destroying Michaels' eye and face, the punch at SummerSlam to Michaels' wife, and the Unsanctioned Match at Unforgiven. Jericho wanted so much to prove that he was an honest man and better than people gave him credit for that he became the villain determined to destroy the career and life of the man the fans chose over him. Michaels kept getting piled on during this feud to the point where finally the God-fearing man had enough and had to fight the demon that haunted him face to face.
To me, Unforgiven 2008 is the best match of this rivalry looking back. You were coming off a huge angle involving Michaels injury possibly ending his career. Add to that the complete shock and horror of his wife being assaulted by Chris Jericho and the buildup to that match. Then, the match itself, while long, still delivered a hardcore, Old School level brawl. And Michaels' level of performance in that match as a man pushed beyond his emotional limits was amazing and one of his all-time best in my opinion.
In the end, this is an example of what two great athletes and storytellers can do with a simple yet effective storyline. Again, we should be thankful to have witnessed such awesomeness.
To catch up on the first three UnWrest Focus posts focusing on this feud, and for the recently completed UnWrest Focus series on the Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat rivalry from 1989, click on this: Table of Contents (Scroll to Focus)
Again, a special shoutout to AJ for suggesting this rivalry. If you have any other rivalries you want me to look back on, comment below or send me a tweet at @cdub1898 on Twitter.
Until next time, this "honest man" says take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
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