Chris Jericho's WWF Title Reign (April-November 2000)

It's the end of 1999 and Chris Jericho just four months into his debut wins the Intercontinental Title at Armageddon over Chyna, By then, Jericho who is a heel has started to receive face pops, he turns face by acknowledging Triple H and Stephanie's power and tells them straight to their face it sucks, Triple H books Jericho in some Intercontinental Championship Matches, he even has Chyna by his side, Chyna wants retribution for what Triple H did when he dumped her for Stephanie and wants to stick it to Triple H by managing Jericho, in the weeks leading to the Royal Rumble 2000, Jericho defends the Intercontinental Title against a list of challengers, In his list of challengers he successfully defends it against, X-Pac, Hardcore Holly, Viscera, Big Bossman, Kane, Prince Albert, The Acolytes and others.

Jericho confronts Triple H and says after he wins the Royal Rumble, he would go and face Triple H at WrestleMania 2000 for the title, Triple H raises the stakes for Jericho and books him as the #1 entrant, Jericho of course gets upset by this but guarantees that he's going to do what his childhood idol Shawn Michaels did in 1995 and that was win the Royal Rumble at #1.

Jericho kicks off the Rumble with the #2 entrant which is Kurt Angle, The commentators guarantee that both men won't go the distance, Jericho lasts longer eliminating Gangrel, Bob Backlund, Rikishi, The British Bulldog, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg, Jericho makes it to the final three with The Rock and Big Show. Rock and Show are desperately trying to eliminate each other, Show eventually gets the upper hand and eliminates The Rock and that allows Jericho to sneak up from behind to eliminate The Big Show becoming the second man in WWF History to win the 2000 Royal Rumble, the next night after The Royal Rumble, Jericho thanks the fans for letting him win the Royal Rumble and promises not to let his Jerichoholics down when he wins the WWF Title at WrestleMania 16.

Jericho loses the Intercontinental Title on SMACKDOWN to Kurt Angle thanks to intereference from Big Show setting up Show vs Jericho at No Way Out. Show says when he and Jericho met for the first time and when Big Show was WWF Champion, Jericho failed, and he's going to fail against Triple H at WrestleMania.

On the SMACKDOWN before No Way Out. Show and Jericho get into a backstage brawl with Show chokeslamming Jericho on a hood of a car making Jericho questionable for No Way Out, Jericho eventually makes it to No Way Out and defeats The Big Show in a shocking upset with intereference from The Rock, Triple H defeats Cactus Jack in a grueling Hell in A Cell Match forcing Cactus Jack to retire.

The next night on RAW. Jericho confronts Triple H and says that he's prepared for what Triple H will throw at him come WrestleMania and indeed he does, On The March 13, 2000 edition of RAW after defeating X-Pac and Road Dogg, The Game comes out with his signature sledgehammer and beats the hell out of Jericho, it is also revealed that Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon are now on the side of Triple H, So Jericho's odds of winning the WWF Championship are stacked.

Jericho wants to beat the hell out of the McMahons before WrestleMania, he not only herdles insults against The McMahons, but Vince's daughter Stephanie, Triple H however gets his redemption just 10 days before Wrestlemania facing Jericho's accomplice and his former friend Chyna in a non-title match in where Triple H defeats her mercifully and sends a message to Jericho by mocking Jericho in using the Walls of Jericho to Chyna after the match. Jericho of course is enraged and tries to make the save but he is ganged up by Road Dogg and X-Pac.

Kane however makes the save for Jericho for a while but it's not enough as Kane and X-Pac are fighting backstage, Jericho fends off Road Dogg, but Triple H out of nowhere hits Jericho with a Sledgehammer knocking him off the stage that Jericho needs to be attended to by EMT's. Jericho takes time off before WrestleMania, on the SMACKDOWN before, he cuts an interview from his house saying that it's his dream to win the WWF Championship on the main stage and what better way to do it was to take down the man who had the belt and that would be Triple H, At WrestleMania, Jericho and Triple H wrestle for the WWF Championship in a 20-30 minute match. 25 minutes into the match, the referee gets knocked down, and The McMahons and DX come out to attack Jericho, in comes The Rock to make the save but The Rock gets outnumbered as well, then suddenly, the glass breaks in the arena and it's Stone Cold Steve Austin making his return to WrestleMania 2000 for one night, he is not cleared to wrestle yet, so he makes a one-time appearance, Austin despite being injured does throw a few Stone Cold Stunners and Chair Shots and even stuns Triple H's wife Stephanie as well.

After everyone's laid out. Jericho and Triple H then get to their feet, The Game hits another pedigree on Jericho but Jericho surprisingly kicks out at 2. Jericho gets to his feet and The Game tries another pedigree, but Jericho counters it and puts The Game down with the Walls of Jericho, The Game tries to hold on, but he can't. Eventually into a minute later, The Game taps and the crowd in the Arrowhead Pond goes wild with Jericho regaining the World Wrestling Federation Championship in a huge moment just eight months after coming in the WWF. Jericho gets the big one, the next night on RAW. Jericho cuts a promo thanking the fans to get where he was, everyone in that company in Atlanta told Jericho he couldn't make it to the top, but he proved all of them wrong here in the big time, The Rock comes out and says that Jericho didn't need his congratulations for helping him, so now that Jericho has the WWF Championship, The Rock demanded that Jericho put the WWF Title on the line against The Rock on RAW!.

The entire McMahon-Helmsley faction come out with Vince saying that Jericho and The Rock don't get to make the matches around here, they do. And what Jericho did at WrestleMania was a fluke, he needed The Rock and Stone Cold's help to help him win the WWF Title, Vince announces that if The Rock wanted a title match, he would give The Rock a title shot, but it would have to be against Triple H while Jericho had the night off, Jericho's friend Chyna is now hanging out with Eddie Guerrero who defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWF European Championship on that same night keeping Latino Heat together in the process. So The Rock and Triple H battle to determine who's the #1 Contender, The Game attempts to get the win by hitting The Rock with the pedigree but The Rock surprises The Game by hitting The Rock Bottom and The People's Elbow to get the victory awarding him the match against Chris Jericho at Backlash for the WWF Championship, so Jericho's first PPV Title Defense will be against The Rock. Triple H of course gets angry and Shane and Vince try to convince the board of directors and even Vince's wife Linda to put Triple H in the match at Backlash, they refuse, but with a little bribery, Triple H gets in the match, so it's Jericho vs The Game vs The Rock at Backlash in a Triple Threat Match for the WWF Championship. Jericho and Rock face off in a non-title lumberjack match just 10 days before Backlash, with the Lumberjacks paid by Triple H to attack Jericho and The Rock, Jericho and The Rock are able to fight the Lumberjacks off, but they're attacked by Road Dogg and X-Pac allowing Triple H to nail Jericho with the pedigree and also pedigree The Rock as well.

At Backlash, Jericho retains the title in a 20-25 minute Triple Threat Match over The Rock and Triple H, Triple H of course is angry again and demands another match with Jericho at Judgment Day, a 60-Minute Ironman Match for the WWF Championship, Jericho of course accepts the challenge but the McMahons put Jericho to the test on the May 8 episode of RAW.

Jericho is forced to defend the WWF Title in three straight matches, Jericho's opponents will be Kurt Angle, The Big Show and Chris Benoit. Jericho gets by all three men, Vince puts Jericho in another test on SMACKDOWN as he is forced to defend the WWF Championship in a Handicap Tables Match against The Dudley Boys. Jericho retains the title by putting D'Von through a table with a powerbomb, Shawn Michaels returns and is announced the guest referee for the match at Judgment Day, He gives up the WWF Commissioner spot as well, On May 18, 2000. Jericho and Triple H have a contract signing and after with words being exchanged, Both The Game and Jericho get involved in a pull-apart brawl with officials and refs separating them, The two wrestle at Judgment Day in a 60-Minute Ironman Match, Jericho retains the title at 6-5, after the match, both DX and The McMahons attack Jericho and that sets up the return of the American Badass The Undertaker saving Jericho from an attack, Setting up The Undertaker vs Triple H for King of The Ring, Jericho needs an opponent to wrestle him for the WWF Title at the 2000 King of The Ring, so a Battle Royal is held, The Rock wins the Battle Royal on the June 5 edition of RAW by last eliminating Road Dogg and X-Pac setting up the match between The Rock vs Jericho at the 2000 King of The Ring one on one, The Rock tells Jericho that the last time The Rock was WWF Champion was WrestleMania 15 and he's waited 15 months to get the WWF Championship back, The Rock says that he still has a grudge settled with Chris Jericho because Last August when Jericho debuted, Jericho interrupted The Rock and The Rock still has a grudge to settle that, Rock and Jericho team up on the go-home RAW Show before King of The Ring against Edge and Christian and despite miscommunication between them, they are able to win the match, Then they stare each other down without physical confrontation, on the go-home SMACKDOWN show, they team up again to take on Road Dogg and X-Pac, and lose and the two finally go at it with The Rock having the advantage and hitting Jericho with the Rock Bottom, the two have a back and forth encounter at the King of The Ring with The Rock kicking out of the lionsault and fighting out of the Walls of Jericho, and Jericho kicking out of the Rock Bottom and The People's Elbow, Jericho is able to retain the title by finally applying the Walls of Jericho on The Rock making The Rock tap out, after the match, Jericho and The Rock shake hands, after King of The Ring, The McMahon-Helmsley Faction split up due to Mick Foley becoming the WWF Commissioner.

Big Show returns from injury on July 3, 2000 attacking Jericho turning him heel again and also joins forces with Shane McMahon. Show goes on a rampage injuring both Kane & The Undertaker and wants to do the same thing to Jericho, at Fully Loaded, Show fully dominates Jericho and attempts to win the match by hitting the Showstopper, but Jericho fights back and surprises the 500-pounder by hitting the Walls of Jericho and making him tap out. After, Jericho sits back and waits for another title match at Summerslam, His next opponent is Chris Benoit who attacks Jericho on the SMACKDOWN after Fully Loaded and gives him the Crippler Crossface backstage and not only that, he rams a garage door into the ribs of Jericho causing Jericho to have eternal bleeding, Jericho returns the next week on SMACKDOWN and challenges Chris Benoit to a Submission Match for the WWF Title, Jericho has the Walls of Jericho, Benoit has the Crippler Crossface, Benoit accepts the match, the match goes to a 20-25 minute match with Jericho using the Walls of Jericho to make Benoit submit and retain the WWF Title. Jericho's next challenger for Unforgiven is The Undertaker, after Taker defeated The Rock, Triple H and Kurt Angle in a fatal-four way match in the same PPV.

Taker cuts an interview the next night after Summerslam and says that he has a lot of respect for new WWF Stars and praises Jericho for coming a long way for coming into the WWF for one year and winning the WWF Championship, but there's an old saying that states that "all good things must come to an end". And Jericho will bring that belt at Unforgiven and hand it over to the Deadman because it's been so long that The Undertaker walked out with the WWF Title, but he's back and healthy to kick people's ass and bring back the gold. Jericho interrupts Undertaker and says that he's got a lot of respect for The Undertaker, but Undertaker is old news and Jericho is the new face on the block, Although there are signs of a heel turn between the two, they get on the same page before Unforgiven with Undertaker promising that he won't hurt Jericho not before the bell rings at Unforgiven because Undertaker wants Jericho at his best, At Unforgiven, the two fight a good back and forth contest with Jericho getting a clean victory over The Undertaker in a 20-25 minute match after surviving a Tombstone Piledriver and a Last Ride. Jericho shakes hands with Undertaker, but after the match, Kane shows up to attack Jericho, Taker confronts Kane telling him why did he do that. Kane responds by saying Undertaker can't get the job done so Kane will do it for him.

Kane and Undertaker wrestle for the #1 Contendership the next night to see who will face Jericho at No Mercy. Kane destroys Undertaker cleanly by hitting the chokeslam after Taker attempted a last ride and Kane is awarded the #1 Contendership and he will face Chris Jericho for the WWF Title at No Mercy. Backstage, Kane begins to stalk Jericho around, Jericho accidentally throws hot coffee at Kane with Kane attacking Jericho backstage, Kane says that he attacked his own brother and Chris Jericho because he is a monster and he will be the WWF Champion and end Jericho's dream as champion.

On the RAW before No Mercy. Jericho successfully defends the WWF Title against Edge, and then he's attacked by Kane. Kane attempts to Chokeslam Jericho through the announce table right through the steps but Jericho fights out of it and hits Kane with a steel chair taking Kane down. On the SMACKDOWN Before No Mercy. Jericho and Kane brawl backstage after fighting in a tag team match with Kane hitting Jericho with a led pipe and tombstoning him on a wooden pallet. The two face off for the title at No Mercy with Kane dominating the majority of the match. Jericho fights back however and survives two chokeslams, the first one through an announce table and the second one, Jericho retains the title by hitting Kane with the lionsault to get the victory, Jericho still fights on for another day, meanwhile, Kurt Angle cashes in his King of The Ring Clause to face Chris Jericho at Survivor Series for the WWF Championship. Angle says that he's accomplished everything in one year winning the Intercontinental and European Title and the 2000 King of The Ring, but there's something he wants, the WWF Title.

Jericho says that for the past six months he's beaten challengers and they've all come and gone, and ever since WrestleMania. He's held on to that title because he's a fighting champion, he went through the entire McMahon Family to get the title, he went through Triple H, he went through The Rock, He went through an ogre known as The Big Show, Chris Benoit, Undertaker, and Kane, but Kurt Angle is just another person on that list and he will not have Kurt Angle represent the WWF as the WWF Champion. Angle differs saying that he refuses to let Chris Jericho walk around with that title because Jericho is just an embarassement to America even though he's from Canada and he parties around like he's the millennium man. Jericho takes offense to this saying that Angle likes to screw people's lives including Triple H and Stephanie's marriage, But Jericho's not going to let Angle take the WWF Championship away from him. Because for 7 months while Angle's ran around with Stephanie McMahon and becoming the Lion King like Simba, he's ruled the roast around here. Angle says that Jericho has no class or morale, at Survivor Series, he is taking the championship, the two have a back and forth contest and even though The Game and Austin were next to last, both Angle and Jericho main event the show, It's a 30-35 minute match. Jericho almost puts Angle away with the lionsault but Angle's feet is on the ropes.

Angle hits the Angleslam but Jericho kicks out, Angle hits another Angleslam but still Jericho kicks out. Angle counters Jericho's walls of Jericho by hitting one more Angle Slam cleanly and pins Jericho to get the win ending Jericho's 7-month reign as WWF Champion. Angle wins the WWF Championship and thus that ends Chris Jericho's reign as the WWF Champion. Angle would hold on to the title before losing it to The Rock at No Way Out 2001, Jericho goes back to the Intercontinental Title midcard in 2001 and he wins back the WWF Championship in the Summer of 2001 as he joins the reformed WCW by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin at Summerslam turning him heel in the process. The heel turn by Austin at WrestleMania 17 never happens by the way. And that wraps up Jericho's WWF Title Reign from April of 2000 to November of 2000.