In Memorium

From 7 September through 23 November, with the exception of eight days, Chris Jericho reigned supreme as the heavyweight wrestling champion of the world. He defeated Batista, Kane, JBL and Misterio to win the World Title, over six years after losing the Undisputed World Heavyweight Title. He successfully defended the title in a steel cage match, against CM Punk, while still nursing injuries from his most recent encounter with HBK. He followed this up by successfully defending the title in a ladder match, against Shawn Michaels.

Following this, instead of gaining more respect, he soon became the most disrespected champion in recent history. As he moved on to Batista, he suffered the indignity of having his challenger laugh right in his face and treat him like an afterthought. In the meantime, he wrapped up his feud with Michaels, by defeating him in a last man standing match. After dropping the belt to Batista, he quickly reclaimed the title in a steel cage match. The point was made quite clear; don't underestimate Chris Jericho.

His next challenger did nothing to earn a title shot. WWE force fed the fans video packages of John Cena, the returning hero. The outcome was quite predictable, from a mile away. Sure enough, Cena prevailed and robbed Jericho of the World Title, in the main event of Survivor Series. He still looked fairly strong, going into his title rematch, last night. However, "Lionheart" was disgraced by having to tap out to Cena's STF. It would seem that the wind is being taken out of his sails. There was no need to have him submit. Now, we'll see if WWE intends to go down the same route, as in 2002, and kill every bit of Jericho's momentum.

In 2002, at Wrestlemania 18, Jericho lost the Undisputed Title to HHH. He defeated The Rock and Austin, on the same night, to become the first ever Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion in WWF history. He held the title for around four months, making him the longest-reigning Undisputed Champ as well. However, afterward, he was pushed into the midcard, to the point where he wasn't even considered a serious threat. It took years to undo the damage they had done. Now, it seems they may do it to him again.