There are more details in the recent Wrestling Observer newsletter on what happened backstage between Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho. There is a backstory with both men that dates back to this year’s Royal Rumble. Lesnar stiffed Jericho with punches and around the same time he hurt Alberto Del Rio’s back. Del Rio is one of the most popular guys in the locker room.
Jericho was the person who gave Orton the “no enhancements required” line that he used at Battleground. That could have played a part in what happened backstage on Sunday night. As noted earlier this week, Jericho went to the Gorilla position to check on Orton and when he didn’t get an answer from Michael Hayes on whether or not that was the planned finish, Jericho said, “That’s bulls*it.” Lesnar heard Jericho and apparently thought that he was talking about the match.
There are different accounts on what exactly happened but they are relatively consistent. Lesnar called Jericho a p*ssy (or something worse than that) and then told him to shut up and mind his business. Jericho yelled back and that’s when he and Lesnar got face to face.
Lesnar pushed Jericho back with his fingers and Jericho pushed Lesnar back. Both men then got into a skirmish against the wall and Lesnar then told Jericho to either punch him or kiss him. One version of the story is that Lesnar put his arms behind his back while daring Jericho to take the first shot. Triple H tried to break it up but they were up against a wall and then Vince McMahon came in and yelled at Jericho, telling him that it’s a work and he needs to be a professional. That’s when Triple H told McMahon that Jericho was standing up for himself and Lesnar started it.
Orton assured Jericho that he knew what was coming. One person said that Orton was told to go along with the finish of the match but he was not expecting things to play out the way it did. Orton arrived at the arena on Sunday thinking that he was going to do a regular main event with Lesnar so he didn’t know about the blood finish until the day of the show. Click here to read about what Orton was told about the finish for his match with Lesnar.
There is tons more on this story in the latest Wrestling Observer newsletter.
