Y2J was underutilized for parts of his WCW career, which is why he sought greener pastures in WWE. The Ayatollah of Rock 'n Rolla has many accolades under his belt in WWE. He is a six-time WWE World Champion, a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion, and he captured many other titles, which led to him becoming a Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion.
However, not everything in Jericho's WWE career was rosy. Some moments left fans scratching their heads, thinking why WWE booked decisions with Jericho, thinking it was a great idea. There was a lot about his WWE career that made no sense.
9 Co-Intercontinental Champion With Chyna
In the fall of 1999, Chris Jericho had his eyes firmly fixated on Chyna's Intercontinental Championship. Y2J lost his Intercontinental Title bout to Chyna at Survivor Series, which was one of the best matches in Chyna's career. However, Jericho put things right at Armageddon by defeating The Ninth Wonder of the World for the Intercontinental Championship.
It was Jericho's first singles title in WWE, which he thoroughly deserved. Jericho and Chyna continued to feud over the title, and on the December 30, 1999, edition of SmackDown, they double pinned each other in Jericho's title defense. Therefore, Stephanie McMahon announced both as co-holders of the Intercontinental Title. It did create entertaining television, but it devalued the gold as Jericho should have had a meaningful run with the title on his own.
8 Never Winning A Money In The Bank Ladder Match
The mastermind behind the Money in the Bank Ladder match is Chris Jericho. Y2J came up with a concept for there to be a ladder match with the winner earning a future World Title shot. It proved to be a brilliant idea as the likes of Edge, Rob Van Dam, and CM Punk reaped the rewards from winning it and went on to become world champions in WWE.
However, Jericho has entered in five Money in the Bank ladder matches and has never won himself. Y2J certainly had the credentials to be Mr. Money in the Bank, as he would have done a masterful job as a heel, and teasing the reigning world champions with the briefcase in hand would have added another layer to his character.
7 Aligning Himself With Stephanie McMahon
In early 2002, Chris Jericho claimed to be "The Living Legend" when he was the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion. In a surprising turn of events, Jericho formed a brief alliance alongside Stephanie McMahon. The two had been at war with each other in 2000 and 2001, which made their alliance shocking.
However, they had a common enemy in Triple H. The Game was challenging Jericho for his Undisputed WWF Title at WrestleMania X8. Stephanie was looking for revenge as she faked a pregnancy, desperately trying to save her marriage with Triple H. This could have been a match made in heaven but this partnership made Jericho look bad. He lost his title to Triple H meekly at WrestleMania, and being the third party in this feud didn't help matters either.
6 Failing To Win The 2012 Royal Rumble Match
Jericho had a habit of making returns in the later stages of his WWE career. Y2J returned on the January 2, 2012 edition of Raw but it was bizarre as he would not speak for weeks. Nevertheless, he entered the 2012 Royal Rumble match, and would reach the final two with Sheamus.
A Royal Rumble match victory is another accolade that is missing from Jericho's superb resume. Alas, Jericho ran into a red-hot Sheamus, who eliminated him to win the 2012 Royal Rumble match. Maybe Y2J was more predictable out of the two to win it, but Jericho deserved to have a Royal Rumble victory to his name.
5 Getting Towels Removed On Raw
Chris Jericho and Christian had tremendously good chemistry together, which is why their brief run as WWE Tag Team Champions in late 2002 was great. The Canadians were feuding with The Dudley Boyz, and Jericho and Christian were bemused when they could not find their bags.
Jericho and Christian sauntered around backstage in their towels, clearly not finding the whole situation amusing. Bubba shouted, "Spike, get the towels!" Spike snuck up behind Christian and Jericho and removed their towels. This was nonsensical, with Christian and Jericho embarrassed as they ran backstage holding their private parts. There could have been serious repercussions if this angle had gone wrong.
4 Losing To Fandango At WrestleMania 29
Jericho had already reached legend status by the time WrestleMania 29 rolled around. The veteran squared off with the repackaged Fandango, who was formerly known as Johnny Curtis on NXT.
Y2J wasn't too best pleased to lose to Fandango, and rightfully so. Nonetheless, Jericho did what was best for business and he did the job for Fandango. To earn a monumental win on The Grandest Stage of Them All against a six-time WWE World Champion should have seen an upward trajectory for Fandango. It never worked out for him though, which made the whole program pointless.
3 Winning The Tag Team Championships With The Rock
Despite the Invasion angle seeing WWE square off with The Alliance, there was still animosity amongst the ranks, between two of WWE's biggest stars. Chris Jericho and The Rock clashed over The Rock's WCW Championship. The Great One mocked Jericho as he had never won the "Big One."
That all changed at No Mercy 2001 when Jericho defeated Rock for his first World Heavyweight Championship, which was Jericho's first run as a world champion. Moreover, the two bitter rivals put their differences aside when they defeated The Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship just 24 hours later on Raw. It was a pointless title change as Jericho and Rock did not need the belts to further continue their feud.
2 Not Competing With Kevin Owens For The Universal Title At WrestleMania 33
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens' partnership was a breath of fresh air as the duo held down the fort on Raw from late 2016-early 2017. The Prizefighter was the reigning Universal Champion, and Jericho captured the United States Championship which had eluded him during this time frame.
However, Owens did the unthinkable by turning his back on Jericho, assaulting him in their Festival of Friendship segment on Raw. Moreover, Owens lost the Universal Title to Goldberg at Fastlane 2017, which is why their clash at WrestleMania 33 was for the United States Championship. Goldberg and Brock Lesnar's Universal Title match was a marquee match, which did not need to be for the gold. Jericho and Owens' bout should have been for the Universal Championship, which would have been a great payoff to their story.
1 Dropping The World Heavyweight Title To Batista
2008 is arguably the greatest year of Chris Jericho's illustrious WWE career. Y2J was head and shoulders above the rest of the Raw roster, as he donned a suit and reverted to being heel. His feud with Shawn Michaels that dominated the year was remarkable.
Therefore, there were no qualms when Jericho rightfully won the 2008 Superstar of The Year award at the Slammys. Unfortunately, there was a blemish that Jericho did not need in his stellar year; dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista at Cyber Sunday. Y2J should have prevailed and continued his momentum as World Heavyweight Champion. The Animal's reign only lasted eight days with Jericho regaining the title in a steel cage match on Raw, which should how nonsensical the title switch was.