Chris Jericho may have been involved in SummerSlam ‘s opening match this past Sunday night, but he seemed much more concerned with the main event by show’s end. The fireworks didn’t stop going off once the dust settled from the Brock Lesnar bloody beat-down on Randy Orton, either. As seen, the Lesnar-Orton match ended with a TKO decision after Lesnar opened up Orton and referees and trainers determined that Orton could not continue.
In this case, the term “determined” is used loosely because the TKO finish was planned, except Jericho was unaware of that fact. The forearm from The Beast to The Viper’s head opened up a gash far exceeding what WWE officials hoped, but it was predetermined that the match would see blood at the end. The wound required 10 staples, but Orton even assured Jericho that it was a work and that he knew it was coming, just likely not that severe.
It’s been noted that Jericho and Lesnar then got into an altercation once Brock came back through the curtain. It got to a point where Triple H and Vince McMahon had to break things up before they escalated further with Vince finally being the one to tell Jericho that the finish was planned, and not a shoot.
Adding to the story, however, Wrestling Inc is also reporting that many backstage witnesses to the incident are calling Jericho a “bada**” for confronting, standing up to and pushing Lesnar up against a wall. It was the latter that invoked Lesnar to tell Jericho to “punch him or kiss him.” Triple H informed Vince that it was Lesnar who was responsible for things getting somewhat physical, as a comment he made further infuriated Jericho, though Brock wasn’t all that aware that Jericho was upset.
Jericho is older and much smaller than Lesnar, which is why some who were backstage called him a “bada**” and may have been surprised by his willingness to stand tall to the beast. However, Jericho is famously known for taking down Goldberg when the two were in the WWE together in 2003 during another real-life altercation backstage. What’s especially noteworthy about this latest incident is that Mike Johnson of PWInsider claimed that he received more emails from people within the WWE about this than anything else in the company since the famous segment where a limousine went up in flames with Vince McMahon inside of it.
As for whether any heat has been placed on Lesnar or Jericho, it appears not. Lesnar flew home early Monday morning and didn’t have much, if any, communication with WWE management after the scuffle was broken up. Jericho reported to RAW Monday and faced no consequences, either. Y2J was even booked in the main event of the show, though he did lose to Roman Reigns for a spot in next week’s fatal four way to determine the new WWE Universal Champion.
While Lesnar likely won’t be returning to WWE programming until late 2016/early 2017, Jericho is nearing the end of his current run as well. It’s expected that he’ll either re-team with Kevin Owens in another match with Enzo & Cass, split up and develop a singles program with Owens, or both, depending on how much time is left on his 2016 deal.
We reported earlier Tuesday that the WWE was planning Lesnar’s comeback feud to come against Shane McMahon, as the seeds were planted for that huge match at the end of SummerSlam . But knowing how Vince McMahon enjoys bringing real-life animosity and exacerbating it onto television, a Lesnar-Jericho program (which has never happened) could easily be drummed up instead, or in the interim. Again, that would all depend on both of their schedules for those stars to align.
Many other WWE officials are brushing this off as boys being boys, but this incident will likely live on in wrestling lore for years to come.
[Image via WWE]