Chris Jericho had what he still considers one of his best-ever creative pitches for WWE — a Wyatt Family vs. Jericho and Shawn Michaels program aimed at SummerSlam. The angle never happened, and the reason it was killed is exactly as bizarre as you’d expect from a Vince McMahon story.
Speaking with GamesHub, Jericho recalled walking into McMahon’s office to pitch the concept, immediately noting two bad omens. Triple H was present — never ideal when you want one-on-one time with Vince — and McMahon hadn’t eaten yet. “When Vince is eating, he’s not paying attention to anything else,” Jericho said.
Chris Jericho’s Wyatt Family and Shawn Michaels WWE Pitch Deserved Better
The premise of the pitch was genuinely compelling. The Wyatt Family would attack Jericho, forcing him to reach out to Shawn Michaels — the one man crazy enough to have his back despite their history as rivals. “He comes back to confront me, and just as we’re about to go at it, the Wyatt Family attacks us both. Now you don’t know whether Shawn was going to take my offer or not, but he’s involved. It would be Jericho and HBK against the Wyatt Family, with a SummerSlam match in mind,” Jericho explained.
McMahon’s feedback was characteristically surreal. “Vince just sat there eating his steak, and when I finished he said, ‘Bad cow.’ I said, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘Bad cow — the steak is tough.’ I said, ‘What do you think of my pitch?’ He goes, ‘What else you got?’ The steak killed the whole angle.” Jericho acknowledged it’s simply the nature of the business. “If he doesn’t like it, you’re done. Same with Tony, to a degree. You have to please your boss.”
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