In the weeks leading into the August 9, 1999 episode of Raw, a millennium clock counted down the arrival of…something. Or someone. No one was entirely sure what it meant or stood for, but it was apparent that something big would happen in Chicago.
The closer it got to that time, the more anticipation built for the possible arrival of Chris Jericho, who had left WCW and signed with WWE.
At the conclusion of the countdown and amid an in-ring promo from The Rock, Jericho stepped through the curtain in front of a raucous audience and promised fans he would save WWE from the boredom that had engulfed it.
It was an unforgettable moment, one of the signature ones of an Attitude Era that provided plenty of them, and made a bigger star out of Jericho than he had been throughout his WCW run.
It was not smooth sailing for Y2J from there as he dodged backstage politics and initially struggled to make the jump to the bigger company, but he eventually evolved into one of the most celebrated Superstars in WWE history, thanks in large part to his ability to adapt and evolve as a performer.
