Y2J: GREAT World Champion; But WRONG Pick to be WWE Undisputed Champion?

[New Hot Fed]

What the hell are you talking about? Knowing the way Vince's mind works, he could have given a rats ass about WCW/ECW guys feeling upset. Where on earth could they have gone to work, where it would have mattered to Vince? There is nothing political about this choice. Vince thought Jericho winning would make Jericho a bigger name. So Jericho won. End of story. If Vince really cared about all the WCW or ECW guys having a future in WWF/E, then how come so few of them ever did? Why did guys like Tazz or Goldberg not get treated like the stars they should have been treated like, given how crowds reacted to them?

Anyway, relating to the OP, does 2001 Jericho seem out of place with '01 Rock, Austin, and Angle? Yeah, a little bit. That's because Rock, Austin, and Angle were all established main eventers at that time. Jericho became one after becoming Undisputed Champion. That decision was made for the long term, not the short term. There is only one man to ever beat Steve Austin and the Rock on the same night. There is only one man to ever be the First Undisputed Champion. And that man is Chris Jericho! And he became a superstar ten times over. So in the long run, yes, Chris Jericho was the right man for the job.

It boosted Jericho but never made him into someone that is even close to these guys. Once Hunter defeated him, it was over for him.

 

[New Hot Fed]

To be fair there's 2 or 3 people on the same level as The Rock and Austin (i'll let you work it out) so why on earth wouldn't you brag about that. How can you say he chose not to make Angle the guy when 2 months after that storyline concluded angle went on to have a 5 month title reign which is pretty fucking long considering it was during the Attitude Era

But again there are fake pushes. Angle's title run was akin to JBL's title run in that they did it cause they had an end game and it was for these two guys to lose it to make someone else at the end of the road.

It wasn't a Cena title run or a Austin 1998 title run either where you know they are THE guys of the company, their biggest stars.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

But again there are fake pushes. Angle's title run was akin to JBL's title run in that they did it cause they had an end game and it was for these two guys to lose it to make someone else at the end of the road.

It wasn't a Cena title run or a Austin 1998 title run either where you know they are THE guys of the company, their biggest stars.

So going by your logic there's been about 5 or 6 title runs that have mattered in history? Of course Angles title run mattered. His rise to the top was astronomical and made him the joint number 1 heel in the company alongside HHH.

 

[mkw1962]

I can see why they gave it to Jericho and that is cool. I would have liked to see Rock get it. He would have stayed in the title picture longer than Chris did, who lost to HHH at Wrestlemania. Rock has the total package (in-ring ability, mic skills and fan support). Chris and Rock are both going to the Hall of Fame some day but I just think Rock was the man back than.

 

[LBGetBack]

Am I the only one who thinks they should have gave it to Jericho....but as a face?

Jericho has generally been a better heel than face in his career. But the exception is the tail end of the Attitude Era(2000-01) where he was a phenomenal face. When Austin was out hurt, he was clearly the 2nd most popular face to the Rock in 2000. And then Austin went heel shortly after returning, so he was still the #2 face in 2001. He was a great wrestler, great on the mic, and his crowd reactions were incredible(again, 2nd to only the Rock who is arguably the most popular face of all time....Jericho was definitely getting #1 level face type reactions in 00 and 01)

Now later in 2001 Jericho and Rock had tension, which kind've split the crowd between them. Rock was getting more cheers, but not by a lot. Not sure that having them battle it out was the best idea. It would've been cool if they had the Rock get tied up in something else(a personal feud, away from the title) when they elevated Jericho as a face champion. Jericho was incredibly over and popular with the fans at the time. Turning him heel was kinda BS......it really wasn't the right time for it, IMO. He went from a super cool, funny, and popular face to a complete tool almost over night. I don't think people really wanted to boo him. I think he could've succeeded big time as a face champion back then.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Disagree.

If you were watching during the Invasion angle, then you'd know how important and over Jericho was during this time period. He was heavily feuding with The Rock, while at the same time teaming with him for Team WWF. He was a big time player at the time. He was not at all a bad choice to be the first undisputed champion, given the context.

Now - would I have done Austin vs Triple H for the title at WMX8? Absolutely. But Jericho was not a terrible choice at all. He wasn't on Rock/Austin/HHH level, but he was not far behind and he certainly had proven that he at least didn't look out of place with them.