credit : WWE and @SpoonyFX
It’s the year 1999, the new millennium is on the way. The world in a panic due to what was referred to as the Y2K bug. Which was the global fear of the coding of computerized systems that was projected to wreak havoc on computer networks around the world at the beginning of the year 2000. It was the tail end of the rebellious and angsty youth movement in young adults across the United States. 1999 saw the release of Napster, which was the first peer-to-peer file sharing service, Eminem’s Slim Shady LP had just released in February and The Matrix just followed it a month later. But the magnum opus of that rebellious and angsty youth would reach its peak at Woodstock 99′.
The WWF at the time was on its way to becoming a publicly traded company that year. But before that was set in stone. There was this one individual who personified all the glitz, glamour, rebellious and angsty attitude that would best describe 1999 and that was none other than the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla himself Chris Jericho.
The WWF in 1999 was at its hottest period ever since the late 1980s. Dubbed the “Attitude Era” the company was filled to the brim with main event level talent at the time from the endearing and loveable Mankind, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment The Rock who was quickly taking the spot of number one ACE of the company from the then ACE, Stone Cold Steve Austin, there was The Undertaker who was nearing a decade of destruction, and the rise of The Game, Triple H.
The company seemed to be looking for a 6th man that they could also slot in when needed for their upper card main event scene. During early 99′ they seemed to try to slot in Paul White AKA The Big Show, who didn’t click just yet with the roster at the time. Kane was that 6th man to some degree just before but was saddled in the tag division with X-Pac going through his whole new arc of becoming humanized, and the company tried to build Billy Gunn but was completely destroyed in his one-sided feud with The Rock.
Over at Turner land in WCW, there was this wrestler who was growing in popularity because of his in ring work and work as a character, and that was Chris Jericho. Jericho had been with the company from 1996 through 1999 and captured numerous title reigns as Cruiserweight Champion and one Television Championship reign. In the spring of 98′ Jericho was probably one of the most over heel acts in the company that was not in the main event scene. His work with Dean Malenko throughout the Summer of that year put Jericho on the map as one of the best on the mic in the company.
Jericho at that point had largely outgrown the Cruiserweight division and was capable of doing more. He was able to get something going with Goldberg at the time but with setbacks from the higher ups. Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Goldberg himself didn’t think Jericho was important enough on the totem pole to warrant a singles match on PPV with Jericho to end their storyline. Jericho would go on to do nothing of great importance at the tail end of 98′ and well into 99′
In April 1999 Jericho was sidelined for a bit with a minor ankle injury that gave him some time off. During that time off, the untimely death of the late Owen Hart had occurred the following month. Chris Jericho’s contract was expiring soon and was looking at all his options, and one of those options was fulfilling his dream of making the WWF like his favorite pro wrestler Owen Hart. Jericho attended Owens’s funeral, and it was there where he made the decision to tell Hulk Hogan, who was in attendance at the funeral, that he would be leaving WCW and signing with the WWF. On July 26, 1999, five days after his final match for WCW, Chris Jericho faxed Eric Bischoff a “Thank You” letter to thank him for the work and opportunities Bischoff had given him for his three years in WCW.
On the July 12th episode of Raw is War, right before the main event of the evening, viewers would be shown a video of a “countdown to the millennium” clock that stated 671 hours and 9 minutes 52 seconds. The millennium clock would play out for the next month on Raw is War. The idea of a millennium clock used to signal the arrival of someone new was a unique spin in pro wrestling at the time, and it went hand in hand with the new millennium that was fast approaching.
According to Chris Jericho from his best-selling book A Lion’s Tale, “I was dropping off some mail at the post office when I saw a clock on the wall counting backward. Underneath the clock, it said, “Countdown to the New Millennium.” It was six months before the year 2000 and the clock was keeping track of the time until New Year’s Eve: 176 days, 17 hours, 8 minutes, 12 seconds, 11 seconds… I thought, “That would be a cool way for someone to come into the — wait, that’s a cool way for me to come into the WWF!” The WWF was famous for airing vignettes weeks before a new character’s arrival to build anticipation and excitement. I’d just discovered my vignette. I called [Vince] Russo, and he promised to run my idea past Vince [McMahon] that day”
27 days later on August 9, 1999, on a hot Summer night in Chicago live from the Allstate arena, the signature WWF Attitude Era intro starts out, which leads in to one of the final “countdown to the millennium” videos being played which had 1 hour, 25 minutes, and 10 seconds. Practically on the dot an hour later, The Rock would come down to the ring to call out the Big Show who had attacked him earlier during the opening of the program.
The Rock who assumes The Big Show would be coming out is then greeted with the iconic sound of the “countdown to the millennium” video being played on the titantron. This time, the clock is at 16 seconds. A good portion of the audience was well aware of who was debuting at the time due to dirt sheets and numerous other things from Jericho appearing on radio and confirming it and WWF.com that day, spoiling it, allegedly.
I remember watching this live at six years old and was fascinated with the whole clock and the mystery behind it. That iconic sound countdown is ingrained in my brain that I can’t help but pop when I hear it, even when watching back older clips. I hear the crowd counting down, and I’m screaming along with them from my couch. The arena lights go dim in the arena and there is ominous music playing to build up even more tension, The Rock is in the ring pacing around, and I’m pacing around along with him in my living room as the arena begins flashing off different colored lights, then everything went dark.
There was about 5 seconds of nothing until the pyrotechnics went off when then the entrance video begins to play showing highlights of New York City when then the lyrics hit “What’s my name BITCH?… BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!” and the word “JERICHO” flashes on the titantron to a huge reaction. Six-year-old me is confused and hype and nodding my head to the song when the lights go on, and we see the back of a long blonde haired individual in a very snazzy sparkling shirt with his arms out to the loudest pop at the time for a pro wrestler’s debut.
Chris Jericho himself said the idea from of his iconic pose with his back to the audience was credited to Michael Jackson, who he saw live once in Mexico City in 1993 while wrestling there. He said Jackson had his back turned to the audience for about 5 minutes and did nothing until he raised his arms and people went crazy. Jericho was able to imitate that successfully and carry that on for about 17 years, as the crowd reaction was something special. There had not been a reaction this loud at the time for someone new debuting during that era.
Jericho, still taking in the audience’s reaction for a bit, then raises the microphone to his mouth with his back still turned against the audience and utters the famous line “… Welcome to Raw is Jericho!” which was a play off of his WCW persona where he would call Monday Night Nitro “Monday Night Jericho” the crowd goes even crazier at the line nonetheless.
Jericho introduces himself as the new millennium for the World Wrestling Federation. Jericho said he would be our new hero, party host, and the most charismatic showman to enter our living rooms via television screen. The WWF needed a new era and Jericho was going to be the one to usher that in. He declared that he was there to save the WWF from numerous things such as downward spiraling of ratings, low PPV buy rates, and silent crowds. In an ironic fashion, the entire promo was way ahead of its time, as the WWE would go through these woes 15–20 years later. But now that the new savior of the WWF was here he had a plan and that plan was the Y2J plan.
Jericho had laid out his intentions and reasoning for coming to the WWF and The Rock had just about had enough and just as The Rock does best he laid the smackdown verbally on Jericho. In hindsight Jericho has gone to say he was not happy with his promo but personally as a fan it worked out. He’s a delusional heel. This was a big deal at the time, in that they trusted Jericho enough to be given a live microphone to go toe to toe with The Rock at the peak of his popularity. Jericho was established as a main player from the offset. Sure, it took Jericho another 6–8 months to truly find his groove in the company, but that debut was more than enough to have a six-year-old me become a Chris Jericho fan for life.
24 years later to the day, Chris Jericho still remains a major player in the world of pro wrestling. Now with All Elite Wrestling, Jericho still remains as the main event fixture he believed he was 24 years ago, in a new promotion. That debut is what made Chris Jericho, who is and would later go on to be in the world of pro wrestling on national television, an eight time world champion and world renown. That six-year-old kid from 1999 still resides in me today, and Chris Jericho will always have a special place in my heart for my fandom of pro wrestling.
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