WWE Classic of the Week: The Rock vs. Chris Jericho from Royal Rumble 2002

The 2002 Royal Rumble may best be remembered for Triple H's return to the ring and his monumental victory in that night's marquee match, but it was the WWE Undisputed Championship match between The Rock and Chris Jericho that both stole the show and remains one of the best heavyweight title bouts in the history of the annual January pay-per-view extravaganza.

Built on the back of one of the best feuds of 2001, the contest featured the cocky and arrogant Jericho attempting to retain his newly won title against one of the men he defeated to capture it in the first place.

The booking of Y2J, despite his status as champion, had been anything but strong, and this match was very much the first opportunity WWE Creative had to try and right the ship.

Would he be portrayed as a strong champion, one who could not only hang with the top stars in the company but also convincingly defeat them?

Or would he go down in history as yet another cowardly heel?

Fans got their answer on January 20, 2002.

Before reliving the underrated, nearly classic match, take a stroll down Memory Lane with some of the events that led The Great One and The Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla to the Royal Rumble.

Background

The fall of 2001 brought with it the biggest push of Chris Jericho's career. After years of cementing his reputation as one of the best workers in the world via outstanding matches in both WCW and WWE, Jericho enjoyed his first sustained main event run as he feuded with The Rock over the WCW Championship.

At No Mercy in October, Jericho and Rock battled in a Match of the Year candidate marred only by the interference of Stephanie McMahon late in the match. Jericho would go on to defeat The Rock in what was the biggest win and greatest moment of his career to that point.

Unfortunately for Y2J, the happiness and elation he felt would be short-lived, as he dropped the title right back to wrestling's most electrifying star just weeks later.

The Survivor Series should have featured a Team WWE that was united in their war against The Alliance. Instead, Jericho turned heel, attacking The Rock following his own elimination from the huge Winner Takes All match, putting the company's future in jeopardy.

A month later, they again battled for the WCW Championship. For the second time, Jericho capitalized on outside interference to win the title and advance to the Vengeance main event, where he defeated Steve Austin to become the first undisputed champion.

The Rock's win over Booker T on the January 3, 2002 episode of Raw earned him a title opportunity and one last shot at shutting the overbearing Jericho up and taking the greatest prize known to sports entertainers.

The Match

Analysis

By exposing the turnbuckle early in the match, Jericho foreshadowed the finish, a neat little bit of booking and storytelling that less talented stars simply do not utilize. By the time Y2J blasted his opponent with a low blow and sent him into it, fans suddenly remembered that Jericho had set that spot up earlier in the contest.

Rock and Jericho had such chemistry that every match they wrestled had the potential to be a classic. Their two prior pay-per-view bouts, at No Mercy and Vengeance 2001, had both been extraordinary contests, so it was only natural that fans would expect something similar from the performers here. Not only did they deliver, but they improved upon the two prior contests.

The interference from Lance Storm and Christian, as well as the presence of evil heel referee Nick Patrick, did little to solidify Jericho as a legitimate champion, but it did elicit outstanding heat from the fans in Atlanta, the majority of whom wanted to see the overbearing Canadian get his comeuppance.

Unfortunately, those fans would be disappointed as Jericho continued his title reign at the expense of Rock, who would move on to bigger and better things come WrestleMania X8.

Y2J, on the other hand, would ultimately see his title reign descend into creative disappointment.

Aftermath

The Rock would begin a rivalry with the returning Hulk Hogan and the New World Order, leading to one of the most epic and iconic matches in wrestling history at WrestleMania.

Jericho, on the other hand, wrestled an incredibly underwhelming match against Steve Austin at February's No Way Out pay-per-view. The contest was disjointed, sloppy and marred by interference from Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

From there, Jericho would find himself overshadowed by No. 1 contender Triple H and his wife Stephanie, whose rivalry became the centerpiece of WWE programming.

At WrestleMania, Y2J's title reign was put out of its misery by The Game, who delivered a Pedigree to complete his comeback from injury in triumphant fashion.