The Love Story WWE Never Pulled The Trigger On

It’s that time of year again, as romance is reportedly in the air and apparently you’re supposed to treat your significant other nicely one day of the year. You could try that, or you could try doing what I do most of the time and thinking about how the holiday can be tied into professional wrestling. That’s what I’ll be doing this Valentine’s Day and as usual, it means we’re taking a trip back to the past.

Flash back with me to around 2000. The WWF was changing rapidly and that was mainly due to an incredible influx of new talent. In the span of about a year, the Big Show, the Dudley Boyz, the Radicalz and Kurt Angle all debuted. That’s not counting some of the other names who popped up around that time (Tazz) and others who rose up through the ranks to get even bigger (The Rock, Triple H). However, there was one more newcomer who would turn out to be an all time legend.

In August 1999, Chris Jericho made his debut with the company in what is still one of the greatest first appearances ever. After something of a rocky start, Jericho took off in the year 2000, becoming one of the hottest stars in the company. This included a feud with Triple H and the memorable moment of Jericho almost winning the WWF Title, but there was something else going on at the same time, which is where we’re going today. This one isn’t quite the same direction, but that’s where the fun begins.

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While Jericho was feuding with Triple H, he also started a verbal rivalry with Triple H’s wife Stephanie McMahon. This led to some of the most entertaining exchanges you would find in the company, as these two absolutely could not stand one another. Jericho mocked her every chance he had in almost every way possible, with McMahon usually trying to abuse her power to get back at him. This went on for a rather long time with others getting involved, but the general theme stayed the same.

But what if that’s not what happened, and things went in another direction?

One of the most interesting recurring tropes in storytelling is a pair of people who can’t stand each other but wind up together in a romantic pairing. In short, imagine how that could have gone with Jericho and McMahon. It’s something that could have been done in all kinds of ways, but one of the easiest would have simply been to have the two of them argue again, get closer and closer to each other, and finally kiss to break the tension. It worked in the first season of Cheers with Sam and Diane and it could certainly work well with these two.

Just imagine the possibilities between these two. You could have the two of them stay together as a reluctant pair who hate each other but can’t resist. Triple H would hardly be pleased with what was going on and have yet another reason to go after Jericho, just in case he didn’t have enough already. That leaves Jericho happy to get underneath Triple H’s skin and potentially have McMahon left to pick which one of them to side with, which could lead to some potentially hilarious moments as she gets mad at herself for being attracted to someone she absolutely cannot stand.

That’s not even considering the possibilities of watching McMahon going nuts as she tried to make her mind up. Having her be interviewed and screaming at the possibility but then pausing to think about where everything could go, perhaps with a hint of a smile on her face at the time. It’s the kind of thing that can be built up for the big moment where she has to make her decision, though McMahon could also show signs of going either way before the whole climax took place.

Or there’s the other option of just having the two of them together as a newly formed romantic couple. This would have been a better version of what eventually happened between the two of them 2001/02 when they became business associates. That was quite the lame way to go, as it felt like little more than a way to have Jericho involved in the McMahon/Triple H feud.

Having McMahon actually join up with Jericho on a more personal basis would have tied them together in a better way, as it just makes the whole story feel more connected. The WrestleMania X8 match felt more like two people being forced into a match that happened to be taking place.

As usual, personal issues make things that much more interesting, and what is more personal than Jericho stealing Triple H’s wife?

The thing to remember is that WWE even tried to do this with Kurt Angle in 2000. Angle even kissed McMahon in a backstage segment, though it never really went anywhere after their match at Royal Rumble 2001. While Angle and McMahon worked well together, their chemistry wasn’t even close to the level that you would see between McMahon and Jericho. Those two could tear into each other like no other and my goodness the possibilities of seeing them give in to each other after years of screaming at each other could have been remarkable.

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Or even in 2002, when McMahon was the General Manager of SmackDown and in a huge rivalry with Eric Bischoff, who was in charge of Monday Night Raw. This led to a Halloween party, where Bischoff kissed her, seemingly against McMahon’s will, but she did seem to be interested later on. She later found herself looking at a video of the incident (which saw Bischoff dressed as her father to add an even creepier aspect to the whole thing, though thankfully that wasn’t addressed).

Much like the Angle situation, it was something that could have gotten that much better but it never wound up getting to a bigger stage. This one didn’t even have Triple H involved as the couple wasn’t together on screen at the time. It’s another case where something could have been a much bigger deal if the timing was better, but the pieces were right there in front of them.

While WWE seemed to tease the idea of McMahon having a non-Triple H on screen relationship, the samples that we got never went all the way with what could have happened. There was a perfect candidate for the whole thing and it was the person that had driven McMahon crazier than anyone else had in her entire career. It’s the kind of thing that could have made for one of the most entertaining moments in WWE history, with the reaction for that first kiss being nothing short of remarkable. Let the two of them go into the direction that could have been amazing, because it isn’t something you get to see that often.