Today we take a look back at Monday Night RAW from June 9th 2008. Many things happened on that program which took place nearly three years ago, but what we will be specifically looking at is when Chris Jericho severely injured the eye of Shawn Michaels after smashing his face into the Jeritron5000.
Shawn Michaels was Jericho’s hero when he first started watching wrestling as a kid. Later, Shawn inspired Jericho when he first started out being a professional wrestler. At that point in time Shawn Michaels what something of a mentor to him as well as a friend.
However, the fans still cheered Shawn Michaels, even though he openly and admittedly faked an injury for over a month. At the same time they booed Chris Jericho for not doing various things, the best example of this being when Chris picked up a steel chair and appeared as if he was about to hit JBL with it. However, Chris had some sympathy for his fellow wrestler, decided that he was beat up enough, and put the chair down.
The fact that the fans booed this act of good sportsmanship is why Chris Jericho was correct in calling them “hypocrites” because they continued to cheer on Shawn after he admitted to faking an injury to gain an advantage in a match. Yet they booed Jericho for showing some mercy for JBL. Now granted, JBL wasn’t the most popular person in the world at that particular moment in time, but he is a person, a living and breathing human being just like the fans. And the fact that they wanted Chris Jericho to attack the defenseless JBL is disgusting.
Jericho should be thanked for smashing the face of Shawn Michaels into the insanely expensive Jeritron5000, because by doing so Chris held him accountable for his actions. The fans weren’t going to hold Shawn Michaels accountable for using an underhanded tactic to get an unfair advantage. The fans said that they would cheer for him no matter what. Jericho was also right in calling Shawn Michaels “one of the greatest performers of all time and one of the most highly decorated superstars in the history of this business [who turned] into such a lying, cheating, and pathetic little worm of a human being.”
Furthermore, Shawn Michaels deserved to have his eye severely damaged after causing similar injuries to Marty Jannetty over a decade ago.
At the end of the day, Shawn got what he deserved. He deserved it not only for attacking his tag team partner in a manner similar to which he was on the receiving end of at the hands of Chris Jericho, but also for lying directly to the fans. Those very same fans, who are hypocrites for cheering a man who of his own free will admitted to faking an injury for over a month, booed an honest man. A man who held Shawn Michaels accountable for his actions, a man who is to be thanked for this act of bravery and calling out Shawn Michaels, a man who is known as Chris Jericho.