On This Day 20 Years Ago, Chris Jericho Won The WWF Championship, Sort Of

This day, April 17, 2020, marks 20 years since one of the shocking, most exciting title changes in the history of WWE. 

Emanating from State College, Pennsylvania, Monday Night RAW kicked off in a major way, with Chris Jericho, ever his arrogant self, mocking Stephanie McMahon and eventually goading WWF Champion Triple H to put his title on the line.

Realizing he had the entire McMahon-Hemsley regime against him, Jericho wisely hired protection in the form of the APA, and after one suspicious count from Earl Hebner (who had been belittled by the Game), a new WWF Champion was crowned.

Unfortunately, Triple H and the rest of his associates would "convince" Hebner to reverse his decision, as it was clearly a fast count, and promised not to lay a finger on the much-beleaguered official for as long as he was with the company.

Forcing Jericho to hand the title over, Hebner awarded the gold to the Game, who responded by promptly firing him, before levelling the controversial referee with yet another beatdown. 

Though this win was stricken from the records, the victory went a long way into helping Jericho prove himself to the WWF crowd, and after a few shaky months following his 1999 debut, this proved Y2J was here to stay. 

Ultimately, the decision would be reversed, and Jericho would have to wait until October 2001 before holding a World Championship again, defeating then-WCW World Champion The Rock in the midst of the Invasion.