The Undisputed WWF Championship was defended at only one Royal Rumble, before the first-ever brand split saw the “undisputed” dropped from the title name, and its first-ever champion, Chris Jericho, defended the gold against The Rock at the 2002 edition of the event. The belt had just been unified weeks earlier, when Jericho defeated both Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Vengeance Day.
It was Jericho’s first run as a main eventer in the then-WWF, and he was able to pull out an impressive victory in a solid match against Rock, who had grown to prominence as a top babyface in the company over the years, who held the WWF Championship numerous times himself at that point. The pair had been linked from the start of “Y2J’s” time in WWF, as it was Rock’s in-ring promo he interrupted when Jericho’s countdown clock hit zero on “Raw” and he officially debuted in the company.
The Rock defeated Booker T to become number one contender for the title, and it was at the peak of how many fans of a certain age remember “The Brahma Bull” the best, in his “size 14 boot up your a**,” “if you smell what The Rock is cooking” era, though he warned Jericho he wasn’t taking him as a joke. The crowd was behind him throughout the almost-19 minute match, chanting “Rocky” at various points.
The match was one of Rock’s when he was at his best and he kicked off the match hot after the heel Jericho taunted him to “just bring it” to start things off. Jericho took the turnbuckle cover off quickly, which would come into play at the end. Jericho hit two lionsaults and the crowd exploded when Rock got an arm up to kick out. The champion’s buddies, Lance Storm and Christian interfered in the match, causing referee Earl Hebner to miss a Jericho tap out to Rock’s sharpshooter.Â
In a huge spot, The Rock cleared the Spanish announce table, but it was Jericho who looked for the Rock Bottom on top of the desk first, though Rock reversed it to land his own move. The challenger looked to have the match won for a moment before having to fight out of the Walls of Jericho and overcoming a ref bump. With Hebner down, Nick Patrick, a heel referee, came down, and wouldn’t count Rock’s fall on Jericho.
In the end, it was Jericho to hit a low blow and send Rock face-first into the exposed turnbuckle. He used the ropes as leverage where a still-downed, yet counting, Hebner couldn’t see, and pinned Rock for the big victory, one that oftentimes gets overshadowed by Triple H’s first Royal Rumble win.
Written by Daisy Ruth
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