WWE Vengeance: Chris Jericho and the 15 Greatest Moments in Vengeance History

WWE Vengeance returns after a three-year dormancy.  The WWE pay-per-view brings a surprising amount of prestige with it, although given yet another brief build-up period leading up to Survivor Series the 2011 edition of Vengeance figures to be rather underwhelming.

Perhaps this makes it all the more important to take a look back at some of the more memorable moments in WWE Vengeance history, as this was the pay-per-view that played host to great matches, bitter rivalries, and an impostor Kane. 

WWE Vengeance's unheralded return to pay-per-view will not be without hype and fanfare, even if all of it is apparent in a single article recalling its history. 

15. Real Kane Clashes with Impostor Kane

This was a great moment based upon the nostalgia value only.  The brief run for the impostor Kane (played by Luke Gallows) reminded fans of the days of the Big Red Machine in his truest form.

This was the Kane who ripped a cage door off its hinges.  The Kane who tombstoned Pete Rose.  Then tombstoned Pete Rose again.  Then choke slammed the WWE Hall of Famer just for good measure. 

Sadly, the impostor Kane failed to live up to any the nostalgic hype that preceded it, and the gimmick was axed despite the fact that he was victorious over the real Kane on this night.

14. Slaughter and Snuka Team Up, Compete for Tag-Team Titles

This moment would have been made greater had Slaughter and Snuka pulled off the upset, but the WWE Hall of Famers came up short in their quest to become one of the oldest, and most feel-good, WWE tag-team champions of all time. 

Slaughter and Snuka lost to Deuce and Domino, a tag team where one of the participants (Deuce) was the biological son of Jimmy Snuka.  

13. Eugene Accompanied by WWE Legends, Still Squashed

The luster of the Eugene character lasted for quite some time and could have lasted even longer had it not been for Nick Dinsmore's demons. 

One of the appeals of Eugene was his reverence of legendary WWE performers as he was always paying homage to WWE Hall of Famers through his in-ring work and antics. 

Eugene had a dream come true when Eugene was accompanied by Jim Duggan, Doink the Clown, and Kamala.  Unfortunately, the dream turned into a nightmare when he was squashed by upstart monster heel Umaga. 

12. APA Hosts Bar Room Brawl

The Acolyte Protection Agency's gimmick of drinking beer and protection for hire was made even more awesome when the Attitude-era tag-team hosted a bar room brawl featuring some of the more proficient brawlers of that era.

The brawl was certainly something to behold, and was aptly won by Bradshaw. 

11. Johnny Nitro Wins the ECW Championship

After WWE decided to bring back Extreme Championship Wrestling, it became necessary to crown a new heavyweight champion.  Johnny Nitro helped further what has become a rather modest career to this point, however he achieved the milestone of capturing the WWE's bronze medal against CM Punk in 2006.

Sadly, an otherwise proud moment will forever be shrouded in glum controversy as Chris Benoit had been booked to compete in the tournament finals, only to no-show the event.  This would be Benoit's final scheduled pay-per-view appearance as it was later announced that the former world champion had taken the lives of his wife, son, and his own in his home.

10. Hardy vs. Hardy Feud Pits Lita in the Middle

Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy's feud was certainly intriguing, however their match didn't exactly live up to the hype.

In any event, the match between Matt and Jeff with Lita as the special guest referee definitely peaked the interest of WWE fans and longtime fans of the legendary tag team. 

9. US Title Tournament Crowns New Champion in Eddie Guerrero

The late Eddie Guerrero defeated the late Chris Benoit in the finals of WWE's United States Championship tournament held to crown a new US Champion. 

The title continues its existence to this day as Dolph Ziggler, who the WWE seems to be grooming as a future WWE Champion, reigns as champion. 

8. Flair-Foley Bitter Feud Necessitates a 2 out of Three Falls Match

Ric Flair and Mick Foley's real-life turned storyline (turned real-life) hatred of one another featured perhaps the most bitter feud of 2006.

The two battled in an intense two out of three falls, in a match billed as a "wrestling match."  Unfortunately, Foley lost the opening two falls, but not before bloodying Flair with a barbed wire baseball bat. 

7. Sable and Stephanie McMahon's Catfight

Two of the most prolific female wrestling personalities in WWE history waged war in a no-countout match. 

The match served as one of the many embodiments of the Attitude Era as it peaked with a "wardrobe malfunction" when McMahon ripped Sable's top off. 

Sable would manage to recover and defeat McMahon with a little help from Prince Albert. 

6. Mick Foley Returns to the WWE Title Picture

In 2007 Cena was virtually unbeatable as WWE Champion.  The fact that he was able to win that year's Vengeance main event proved just that as he defeated four other men in a five-pack challenge for the WWE Championship. 

The four other combatants included King Booker, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, and Mick Foley who competed in his first WWE Championship match in several years after his prime years were well behind him. 

Foley contributed a sufficient effort in his return to the top of the card as he used a steel chair to better his title chances like only he can. 

5. Cena Wins in Another Hostile Environment

With ECW hysteria still fresh coming off of the second annual One Night Stand pay-per-view of 2006, Cena was faces with the task of competing against ECW Original Sabu in an Extreme Lumberjack's match. 

The individuals surrounding the ring for Cena's tough task wasn't an independent wrestling convention, but rather former ECW stars whose main purpose was to intimidate the polarizing WWE star.

Cena would not be phased on that night, defeating Sabu clean despite the otherwise damning obstacles. 

4. Degeneration-X Teams Reunites on Pay-Per-View

While their run was quickly degenerated (pun intended) into a campy, shell of what DX used to be, Shawn Michaels and Triple H's DX reunion was in high demand at the time of its inception.

The duo's first pay-per-view match was against all five members of the Spirit Squad.  Michaels and Triple H were victorious in their contest against the Spirit Squad as their triumphant return would soon spell the demise of the five-man cheerleading team. 

3. Batista Solidifies World Title Push with Another Win over Triple H

Batista captured his first World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21 against Triple H, and he would go on to become one of the WWE's biggest stars of all time.

An instrumental step in Batista's top-star status was Triple H putting him over in a trio of solid matches on pay-per-view. 

This particular match at Vengeance was inside the confines of the dangerous Hell in a Cell.  Batista defeated Triple H for the third consecutive time on pay-per-view, solidifying his status as a top guy. 

2. Undertaker, Rock, Angle Compete in Fantastic Triple Threat Match

Three of WWE's biggest stars combined for one of the most soundly booked triple threat matches of all time.  Few triple threat contests can hold a candle to this match - a sea saw battle saw the competitors use each other's finishers and throw everything but the kitchen sink at one another for the right to wear the company's richest prize.

After countless twists and turns, the Rock captured the WWE Championship from the Undertaker at the match's scintillating conclusion. 

1. Chris Jericho Defeats the Rock and Austin in the Same Night to Win WWE Title

You've heard the story come from the heel lips of Christ Jericho countless times.  It was the time where Jericho defeated two of the WWE's biggest stars, back-to-back, in the same night to capture his first ever WWE Championship. 

This wasn't just any championship.  Jericho's win signaled the crowning of a new, Undisputed WWE Champion following the merger of the WWE and WCW. 

Jericho had all the power for months on end as the WWE Champion following this night, and the first Vengeance pay-per-view ended with quite possibly Chris Jericho's greatest moment. 

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