At Wrestlemania XX, Christian and Chris Jericho faced off in one of that evening’s better matches but what is often forgotten is the compelling build-up to the match and aftermath of a year-long story that involved love, betrayal, gambling, good deeds and championships. 

2003

It all began in the autumn of 2003. The former WWE Tag Team Champions and friends Chris Jericho and Christian would begin their yearlong story by randomly saving Trish Stratus and Lita when they were being doubled teamed by Molly Holly and Victoria. This would start a trend of the Canadians coming to the aid of Trish and Lita. 

The night after Survivor Series 2003, after being dumped by her boyfriend Matt Hardy, Lita’s night would become even worse when she lost her match; a match where the stipulation was if she lost, she would be fired from WWE.

Lita's evening was turning from bad to worse when Christian approached Eric Bischoff, as part of Team Bischoff victory the evening before at Survivor Series; each member was granted a favour by Bischoff and Christian used his to save Lita’s job. Why do you ask yourself? 

A few weeks after his good deed, we discovered that reason; a very sneaky Christian and Jericho were in the back discussing how they had made a wager on who would be the first person to sleep with either Trish or Lita. Unfortunately for them, Trish was listening to the two discuss their wager. 

The following week: Y2J and Captain Charisma tried to apologize with flowers, but Trish and Lita wouldn’t accept their apologies and along with The Dudley Boyz would deliver a double ‘Wazza Up’ and gain some payback. 

A match was set for Armageddon putting Christian and Chris Jericho against Trish Strauss and Lita in a mixed tag team match. During the match, Christian would knock Trish down. Jericho expressed compassion for Trish and helped her up but as this was happening Christian rolled Lita up for the win.

The next night on RAW, tensions and feelings would reach boiling point with a rematch taking place from Armageddon. Jericho would get the match stopped after Christian delivered the Unpritier on Trish. As Christian celebrated delivering the move, he and Jericho got into a war of words which ended with the future ‘painmaker’ shoving his partner. He would also berate Eric Bischoff for making the match in the first place and in retaliation Bischoff booked him in a match against Kane. After Kane had defeated Jericho, Christian would come down and help Jericho to his feet making it look like they had put their troubles from earlier in the evening behind them but to Jericho’s surprise Christian would shove him down, like what happened earlier in the evening.

2004

As we transitioned into 2004, Chris Jericho displayed his true feelings for Trish Stratus in an effort to earn her trust to the dismay of Christian. On an episode of RAW, Trish was due to face Kane in a match. Protecting Trish, Y2J used his favour with Bischoff and had the match stopped. But a week later, Eric Bischoff would book the match again. This time, Jericho would run down to the ring and attack Kane seconds into the match, saving Trish again. 

With Jericho and Trish growing closer, Christian started helping Trish in situations too. He would help Jericho and Trish pick up a win in a tag team match while also preventing Trish from being attacked by Test. Meddling in the whole triangle, General Manager Eric Bischoff would book a match between Trish and Christian. Christian told Trish before the match he would lay down for Trish so they wouldn’t have to go through with the match. But the match didn’t go down that way, Christian would kick out at 2 and apply the Walls of Jericho on Trish. To add insult to injury, he held onto the hold after she tapped out.

A gloating Christian would host the Highlight Reel the following week, where he stated that last week was tough love for Trish and insinuate that they met up in a hotel following the match. An irate Chris Jericho would rush to the ring and attack Christian, who would bail. A match was made between the two for Wrestlemania XX.

WrestleMania XX & Beyond

The match between Jericho and Christian is quite undervalued when reflecting back at past WrestleMania matches. Overlooked is the gradual build and break up of best friends and tag team partners over one partner falling in love. The face turn of Jericho was perfectly executed as the moment he attacked Christian was the exact moment we despised him the most.

The match at Wrestlemania displayed the aggressive side of both competitors. The finish came when Trish, who was at ringside, hit Jericho thinking it was Christian. Christian used this to his advantage and picked up the victory. Afterwards, Stratus tended to Jericho only to turn on him, slapping him many times and allowing Christian to deliver the Unprettier. Christian and Trish would then passionately kiss on the stage as a devasted Chris Jericho would be subjected to watch from the ring. 

The turn at Wrestlemania was a shocking twist that nobody saw coming while the audience in Madison Square Garden audibly gasped. Jericho and Trish looked all set to finally become a couple after defeating the thorn in their side but unfortunately, things didn’t have a happy ending for the former World Champion. 

Trish would recall backstage discussions regarding the match 

“Originally the plan was for me and Jericho to finally ride off into the sunset together, a move the crowd had been pining for after weeks of encounters with us and at this point, the crowd had basically turned Jericho into a babyface. WrestleMania day, Jericho, Christian and I met with Vince backstage in the afternoon to discuss how it would go down and that’s when he hit us with it. We were hours away from going live and the whole plan was scrapped! Vince said he thought the right move was to turn me heel and side with Christian.”

“ He said the crowd would never see it coming… and he was right (like he always is!). We actually all weren’t feeling it at first – we were set on this new babyface couple of Trish-topher… but Vince was right, creating Trishtian – was a far more effective move. It was the beginning of one of the best phases of my career. After being a babyface for so long during my rise from valet to competitor, this was a new challenge for me that I was excited to embark on. My previous run as a heel was fun – but now I was a 4-time champion, so it was on like Donkey Kong… I love being #heelTrish”

The following night, Christian and Trish informed the Monday Night RAW audience that the reason Trish chose Christian over Jericho was the fact she didn’t want someone bringing her flowers and candy. She was looking for a fling that was a little “more rough”. The two concluded the segment with a kiss.

A match was made for Backlash a few weeks later that would see Chris Jericho in a 2 on 1 handicap match against Christian and Trish Stratus. Jericho would pick up the victory after he pinned Christian by knocking Trish to the floor. 

Another rematch was made for RAW where Y2J went one on one with Christian. This time, Christian scored the pinfall. With the Walls of Jericho locked in and the referee distracted, Tyson Tomko made his debut and kicked Jericho in the head which allowed Christian to pick up the win. Christian announced that Chris Jericho was a problem to him and that he required a problem solver. His problem solver was Tyson Tomko. 

During an episode of the Highlight Reel Christian, Tomko and Trish would attack Jericho leaving him laid out. This would lead to General Manager Eric Bischoff announcing Christian versus Chris Jericho in a steel cage match. 

The match would be the main event episode of RAW and was even included in the WWE DVD of The Greatest Steel Cage Matches of All Time. The match saw Tomko ejected from ringside as he attempted to prevent Jericho from escaping. The finish would come with Jericho picking up the win via submission.

During the match, Christian picked up an injury that would keep him out of action. Whilst Christian was out, Trish would continue to verbally assault Jericho and Tomko would do her dirty work. This ultimately led to a match at Bad Blood where Chris Jericho would defeat Tyson Tomko. On the same event, as a rejuvenated heel; Trish Stratus won the WWE Women’s Championship and she continued to flourish in this new role for the foreseeable future. 

The feud continued for one more match upon Christian's return from injury. With the WWE Intercontinental Championship vacant, Captain Charisma and Y2J squared off in a ladder match at Unforgiven. Chris Jericho would retrieve the belt to become the Intercontinental Champion which officially marked the conclusion of this rivalry.

The feud between Chris Jericho and Christian spanned for nearly a year in total and involved various other performers. The unexpected twist in the love story also added an additional layer to Trish Stratus's character which would push further propel her into stardom. The storyline was a great example of long-term planning that elevated each performer involved.

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.