In the summer of 2008, WWE made the decision to change the rating of their content from TV-14 to PG-13. The decision was certainly met with resistance from fans and was even a topic of resentment among the workers. Performers like Batista, Chris Jericho, and The Undertaker all felt that the child-friendly rating crippled them to an extent. Blading during matches was no longer acceptable, and several maneuvers that were deemed too violent were banned from TV. Despite all this, the company still managed to boast many high-quality matches and feuds at the time. 3 MVPs of this era were The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, and Shawn Michaels. It seemed that even with the handicaps of a PG product, these 3 could still manage to create compelling stories week in and week out. However, the 3 were also nearing the end of their physical primes, meaning the door was closing on any possible dream matches they had left to the imagination. With Jericho and Michaels having their feud in 2008, and HBK and ‘Taker having a WrestleMania classic in 2009, the only dream match left in November of ’09 was Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker, a first-time meeting between the 2 legends on a rogue episode of SmackDown from the United Kingdom, just before the triple threat match the 2 would have with Jericho’s then fellow Tag Team Champion Big Show, for The Undertaker’s World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series.
The First Reinvention of Y2J
During his feud with Shawn Michaels in 2008, Chris Jericho underwent his first major transformation from his classic rockstar persona. Taking inspiration from all-time great Nick Bockwinkle, Jericho became a reserved, intellectual, and cunning heel, abandoning the persona that had made him so lively and beloved by the audience. It was a truly jarring switch over, as Jericho truly turned his back on everything that he was once known for, taking a large career risk in doing so. In time though, the risk paid off, and the feud between him and “The Heartbreak Kid” became the best rivalry in the company for the year of 2008 and would brag some of the best matches of that year as well. Coming out of it, there was no doubt that Jericho was the top heel in the company and had a large amount of upwards momentum. It wasn’t long before he won the World Heavyweight Championship and finished off his feud with Shawn Michaels in winning fashion, finally setting him up for the main event spot he had always wanted so dearly. After another year of great programs with Rey Mysterio, Big Show, and even Ricky Steamboat, by the end of the year Jericho was the strongest he had ever been at this point of his career and was looking to capture another World Heavyweight Championship reign away from The Undertaker in a triple threat match with his tag team partner at the time, The Big Show. Before this would happen, however, Jericho would need to get through one more match; a one-on-one competition with “The Deadman” himself, a match that up until then had never happened. It was both a chance for Jericho to scout the champion ahead of their match and a chance for The Undertaker to do some damage to one of his challengers beforehand.
Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker
Jericho is out first to a warm welcome from the hot UK crowd. The Undertaker, the champion, enters last to a huge reaction and unsurprisingly takes a full minute just to walk down the ramp to the ring. Once the bell rings, Jericho plays a game of cat and mouse with Undertaker a bit, trying to avoid the big lefts and rights from “The Deadman,” even landing a few shots of his own. ‘Taker catches him around the throat however and does the big switch in the corner before punching away at Jericho anyway, who covers up in the corner, begging the referee to pull Undertaker off of him. After getting whipped into the ropes, Jericho catches a bent over ‘Taker with a big kick to the face, but it seems to anger the champion more than anything else, who clotheslines a backtracking Jericho over the top rope to the floor before sending him back in the ring for the big guillotine leg drop on the apron. Fully in control of the contest, ‘Taker grabs Jericho with a wrist lock, wringing his arm and nailing him with big shoulder blocks to set him up for the Old School of the top rope. ‘Taker goes to the top rope with Jericho’s wrist still in hand, but “Y2J” suddenly pops up to the second rope and pulls the 300-pounder off the top rope to the mat below, flat on his back, switching the momentum to Jericho’s corner as we go into our only commercial break of the match.
Jericho Wears Down the Champion
As we come back, we see Jericho on his knees pounding away at The Undertaker’s head, trash-talking and screaming in his face as he does so. Jericho maintains control of the match, methodically wearing the champion down with punches, kicks, and holds, doing everything in his power to keep the big man off his feet and thwarting multiple comebacks in doing so, even managing to beat him out of the ring. Ironically enough, the match is paced much like an old Nick Bockwinkle American Wrestling Association match against a bigger man, where the smaller heel must take any shortcut possible to gain an advantage on his larger opponent. Eventually, ‘Taker outpunches Jericho and manages to finally mount his comeback, nailing “Y2J” with a big splash in the corner as well as a snake eyes, but when coming off the ropes for the big boot, Jericho catches the champion off guard once again with a big dropkick to the face for a close near fall. By now, the tone of the match is more than clear; Jericho has clearly done his homework and is doing everything he can to avoid Undertaker’s signature move set.
The Deadman Struggles to Victory in Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker
When rising to their feet, ‘Taker manages to grab Jericho’s throat for a chokeslam, but “Y2J” manages to elbow his way out of it. He gets overzealous however and is caught coming off the ropes with a big boot, putting the momentum once again in The Undertaker’s corner. ‘Taker misses a big boot in the corner, getting hung up in the top rope by his legs, allowing for Jericho to mount more offense in the corner. When going for the ten punches in the corner, Jericho gets caught in a Last Ride by “The Deadman.” Jericho manages to slip out behind him, though, and nail a huge Codebreaker for the closest near fall of the match. Sensing the end may be near, Jericho wants to finish the champion with his own move and signals for the Tombstone Piledriver. Undertaker gets out of it, but Jericho once again slips out of the Undertaker’s grasp and nails a big chop block and a Lionsault to the face. “The Deadman” sits up, though, and immediately clasps his gloved hand on Jericho’s throat, only to have the chokeslam AGAIN countered by the wily Jericho, who catches the Undertaker with a victory roll into the Walls of Jericho. The Undertaker uses his long limbs and tall body to his advantage though and manages to turn the hold over back to his back and grabs Jericho by the arm, catching him in his most recent addition to his repertoire, the Hell’s Gate submission hold, commonly known as the gogoplata, for a sudden submission victory.
While the victory feels like it comes somewhat out of nowhere, this is done by design to make Jericho look strong even in defeat as he had control of much of the match. The finish also works on another layer, as “Y2J” had done all he could to avoid the Undertaker’s well-known signature move set throughout the match, and so it only made sense that he would be defeated by the most recent and unknown move the champion had.
While many may not remember Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker, it is somewhat of a hidden gem in the history of SmackDown’s 20+ year run on TV and has the distinction of being the first-ever occurrence. However, it isn’t perfect, to be sure. The commentary from Matt Striker and Todd Grisham is lackluster, to say the least, and the match itself, while very good, probably should have been saved for a bigger Pay Per View event considering both men were bonafide main event acts and had never faced each other in singles competition before. Still, the match itself is an easily enjoyable TV main event, with good-looking action, great near falls, and a spectacular crowd. The UK audience really does make the match feel just that much better from their reactions. All in all, Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker is a lesser-known match that more people should take time out of their day to find.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
