Chris Jericho and Triple H clashed a number of times during Jericho’s run with WWE and together they managed to put on some classic matches. Back in May of 2001, Steve Austin and Triple H defended the WWE Tag Team Titles against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit on Raw, and the match is remembered for Triple H suffering a torn quad and working through it.
Recently on Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho reflected on the match and he explained that he knew something wasn’t right when they were supposed to go into the finish of the match and Triple H was suddenly gone.
“The finish of the match was going to be that a bunch of different things happen. I end up hitting Austin with the Lionsault, Triple H comes in with a sledgehammer, I move, he hits Austin with the sledgehammer, I take Triple H out, Benoit does a diving head butt, 1-2-3, we win, and this was going to be our coronation to the next level. But then Triple H tore his quad moments before going into the end of the match.
“Suddenly he’s gone. And when that happens, you know ‘uh oh, something’s not right here,’ because these are four pros amongst pros, you don’t forget spots or you don’t do stuff. I went onto the floor and he’s just laying there, not even screaming, he’s there saying like, ‘I think I tore my quad.’ And I was like, ‘What?!’ ”
Jericho went on to say that when he asked Triple H if he still wanted to be put in the Walls of Jericho he was adamant about carrying on with the match as planned, and The Game let out a real grunt of true pain once the hold was locked in.
Jericho added, “I am not Triple H’s biggest fan, but this guy earned my eternal respect by just how tough he was to go through that.”
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