A former WWE star has looked back on some of the most painful moments of their career and admitted that Chris Jericho ranks at the top.
Getting his spot on the main roster after winning the first-ever Tough Enough, Maven has looked back on some of the most painful receipts he received on his YouTube channel. Although the former Hardcore Champion has been hit with chair shots to the head by The Undertaker and worked many stiff matches with Hardcore Holly, one match against the AEW star ranked above the rest.
In January 2002, Maven challenged Jericho for the Undisputed Championship on Raw. The finish of the match saw the Tough Enough winner tap out to the Walls of Jericho. Beginning his recollection, Maven revealed that although he had seen the move in action, this was the first time he experienced it:
“On Monday Night Raw I found myself in an Undisputed Championship match against Champion Chris Jericho. Now, the finish of the match called for the Walls of Jericho. I have never been placed in the Walls, I had no clue what the Walls felt like. I had obviously seen him put this move on other competitors, but you don’t know how something feels until it happens to you. I have learned this lesson that night.”
Continuing, the former WWE star described the pain he experienced in the submission hold and that Jericho put the hold on a little bit tighter as part of the rookie paying his dues:
“What the Walls feels like for those of you who will never be a wrestler, I know you have all jammed or bent your finger back and you get it to the place where it won’t go any further. That’s what the walls felt like that night as I saw my boots from an angle that I have never seen before. Chris locks it in and goes back to a specific point, a point he normally goes to with other guys. Then from that position, he sat back a little bit further and I am sure it was to teach me a lesson.
You can see on my face as I tap out I am completely done, that’s not an act. That’s not me selling, that is sheer pain, that is the most pain I was ever in [while] in that ring. I can still remember it. I remember my body going to a point where I didn’t think it could bend any more. When I thought that, he bent it a little bit more.To add insult to injury, Chris made sure that he kept it locked in even after the bell rang, just to help me pay my dues a little more.”
Maven then brought up the point that Jericho might have applied the Walls with as much pressure to everyone as he did to him that night. Concluding his recollection, the former Hardcore Champion added that he faced Jericho again a few years later and would once again be placed in the hold. However, this time the Walls of Jericho was not put on as tight as before. When they got backstage, Jericho confirmed what he had suspected about their first match:
“Three years later I would wrestle Chris again, by this time I was no longer just the Tough Enough kid. I had paid some dues at this point. Again, I would lose to Jericho and I would lose to the Walls of Jericho. This time he didn’t put it on [anywhere] near as tight as he did the first time. I remember getting backstage, I didn’t tell him prior to the match, because I didn’t want him to try it again and put it in even tighter.
But once we got backstage after the match was over, I did tell him about that first match, I’m glad this one didn’t resemble that one. In true Chris form, he grinned at me just to tell me ‘Of course kid. I have to make you earn it kid.’ He laughed and walked on. Chris did me a favour that night. All these lessons I had to learn made me better at what I did. I am grateful to everyone who helped me not only pay my dues but who gave me receipts when they were warranted.”
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