Chris Jericho vs. Christian

[8.0] "An extraordinary 8/10 midcard clinic that seamlessly blended crisp technical wrestling with one of the most memorable storyline twists in WrestleMania history. Chris Jericho and Christian had effortless chemistry after years of traveling and teaming together, and they worked this grudge match with sharp intensity rather than treating it like a throwaway comedy angle. Every exchange had purpose--crisp chain counters, stiff chops, near-falls off the Unprettier and Lionsault, and electric heat inside Madison Square Garden. And then came the iconic climax: Trish Stratus rushing down to ringside, catching Jericho with an "accidental" elbow so Christian could steal the roll-up victory, and immediately unmasking her true colors by slapping Jericho across the face and kissing Christian on the stage. Peak Ruthless Aggression storytelling backed by top-tier workrate"

[8.0] "This match broke my heart in 2004 when I saw Trish turn heel on Chris Jericho. But Jericho and Christian had one of the better matches of the night here early in the card. These two had been a tag team for a while until Trish and Litsa came in between them. This was the payoff for the most part, though the feud would continue for a little longer."

[7.0] "A good match here between two great workers. Good back and forth action and the finish was creative too."

[7.0] "Very good match. I was fine with the ending because Trish was ridiculously hot here and it fit in perfectly with the story. The action leading up to it was very good with each guy getting their chance to shine. The feud continued with Jericho getting his win back. That was probably the biggest win of Christian's career up to that point. He'd held the IC Title, but beating a guy like Jericho that was a former World Champion was a big thing for him. Trish's heel run from here lasted a little over a year before she hurt her back and then came back as a face later in 2005. I enjoyed her heel work a lot although she was the definitive babyface in WWE in the 2000s too. It's a fun match and even better angle surrounding it."

[8.0] "There is great back and forth action throughout, with some good pacing and nice intensity throughout the bout. Great match, great story progression and character work. Good all around."

[7.0] "These two have good chemistry and the twist with Trish siding with Christian was well done, a solid if unspectacular match"

[8.0] "Really solid match which would be even better with slight modifications in certain moments, especially in the first half. However, good execution of an interesting feud."

[7.0] "As others have said, I definitely feel like this lacked a bit of intensity. Ring work was very good and I liked the story going into the match, but it just didn't feel as intense as you'd expect. Huge, huge fan of the Trish heel turn, however. At the time, that come out of nowhere for me and I remember being shocked. A good match but I do think it's missing something."

[9.0] "A really great match between both men, had some great in ring work and psychology and the story behind it was pretty fun too."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match with a good heel turn after. Good chemistry and psychology, storytelling, and the pacing of the match does a pretty good job of doing a good job of keeping you invested up until the swerve."

[8.0] "A very good match with a solid story and a shock turn after the finish. My favorite spot of the match is when Jericho holds onto the Walls after getting pulled under the bottom rope to the floor and the finish really worked with the story they were telling. Solid 4 stars."

[6.0] "Although I loved the finish as it was executed perfectly the whole match lacked more heat. It didn't feel like a grudge match, but just two good wrestlers trying to get a win, which is not a bad thing as the work was good, but I wish they would make me more emotionally invested in this."

[9.0] "Fantastic bout, totally underrated. Both guys are super on point with the story telling, and the twist with Trish is perfectly executed. One of the most underrated 'Mania matches ever, no doubt."

[7.0] "Some fun wrestling, a creative finisher, some good false finishers and two all time greats doing some very fun sequences, they could have done more, but good enough"

[8.0] "A very underrated mania match. I remember really liking this match as a kid watching this on dvd and watching it years later this might even be better than I remember it being. Just a really well paced and action packed match. They made every minute count no rest holds this was all action. Both guys showed great chemistry together and they pulled out some great moves. Of course cant forget about the finish and the aftermath just a very well done story love the Trish heel turn. 4/5"

[7.0] "I always considered this to be an underrated match due to how stacked this card is. On another night, this might have stolen the show. But at Wrestlemania 20, it gets lost to all of the other higher profile great matches. The storyline is good, and the finish gives it a great twist. Both of these guys are hitting big moves, and taking bigger bumps on normal moves that gives it more weight and impact. It has a really good flow, and it starts to feel like a huge match despite just being a sort of mild grudge match. I think Trish had some really good heel work following this turn. My critique is that I think the turn should have directly cost Jericho the match. Instead, they make it initially look like an accident from Trish only to complete the turn when it's all said and done. I would have liked it more if it was a deliberate hit to get that guttural turn reaction before the finish. Honestly, this might be the best singles match Christian ever worked. For me, Christian is always a solid worker, but there are very few Christian matches that blow me away. This is him at his best. There aren't many holes to point to about this match, though. Just an overall great match from extremely good performers that absolutely overdelivered what I think most would expect."

[7.0] "I liked the moment where Jericho Walls Christian and takes him outside the ring without letting go. The finish is great, you have to see it with the after match. (3*3/4)"

[8.0] "Really good match here with one of the more enjoyable storylines that had been cooking for months. Before the big betrayal at the end, I thought this was a very well worked match. You could tell these two know each other very well because they have great in ring chemistry together and I just enjoyed how the momentum was swinging throughout the match as well as some great heel work from Christian throughout the match where he targeted the neck. Trish getting involved for the seemingly accidental assist to Christian was a good finish, but even better was the heel turn that shocked everyone after the match. It's very well executed and despite nobody seeing that coming, there was definitely some good subtle moments that built it up really well."

[7.0] "This match wasn't as heated as it should have been due to build-up, but this was still a good match. Christian performance as a sleazy heel was good, and he also did good neck work on Jericho. Jericho had an okay babyface performance. Nothing he did was bad but he didnt exactly impress here. The ending is a bunch of back and forth fast paced moves until Trish hits Jericho and Christian capitalizes. Trish going with Christian makes no sense unless they were in cahoots but whatever.***1/2"

[5.0] "Another Jericho Mania match that doesn't match the intensity going in. Fine stuff, not that interesting - **1/2"

[8.0] "The in-ring action us as crisp as can be expected from these two bringing it to a 7, but the extra point goes to the story with Trish. This is absolute soap opera gold, pure wrestling storyline hamminess and I love every second of it hahaha."

[7.0] "This was a very solid match with a fantastic post-match heel turn. Christian is always at best as a heel and this was one of his best heel performances."

[8.0] "Very good match, would have given it a 7 but the heel turn was very well executed. Crowd was mainly lame throughout, but this was a technically very good match, sensible moves, fluid, wwe style build up, to a kind of lame ending but the after match made it worth it. First match on this mania worth going out of your way to watch"

[6.0] "Although this was fast-paced and back-and-forth, it was lacking the heat that this blood feud required and just felt like your typical 2000's Jericho match. Jericho looked like he was wrestling for the IC strap and not like he looking for revenge against his former friend. Christian rips out some of Jericho's hair and is great at being a smug and sleazy heel, but Jericho's half-hearted attempts to get over the 'C. L. B' nickname felt massively out of place. The Trish turn went off well, even if it lacked logic (Christian had Trish in the Walls Of Jericho just a few weeks previously)."

[8.0] "Great match. Jericho played a good face here, keeping things clean, while Christian was the rule-bending, aggressive heel. Christian's targeting of Jericho's neck was very good, and Chris sold it well. The ending was solid as well with Trish "accidentally" elbowing Jericho, before turning heel by attacking him after the match, which served to progress the storyline. Very enjoyable match. ***3/4"

[7.0] "Felt like it went a few minutes too long, but it was a good competitive bout. Not sure what purpose there was for Trish to turn heel, but it was a good match nonetheless."

[5.0] "Really average match that dragged and was even kind of awkward in spots. The tacky soap-opera storyline with Trish didn't do it any favors either, let's just put it that way."

[6.0] "This match had some pretty solid in-ring action, but dragged on a LOT. There was some pretty impactful action and a few exciting spots, but there was a lot of dead time alongside that, and this match definitely went on longer than it needed to. And though I was able to buy that these two hated each other, Trish's turn just didn't make any sense other than being done for shock value. ***1/4"

[7.0] "Christian is without a doubt the more compelling performer here, with his sneaky neck targeting throughout, and he sells well for Jericho's forgettable stuff too. Not that Jericho was bad or anything, far from it actually, but he certainly isn't the most interesting babyface wrestler out there, to say the least. With that being said though, this was a rock solid midcard bout. ***"

[9.0] "Excellent match. Very competitive from the start but both are clearly going about it in different ways. Chris Jericho was very sportsmanlike and generally keeping it clean whereas Christian is far more aggressive and breaks a few rules along the way. Christian throughout the match constantly works on Jericho's neck in a great way. Hitting neck breakers, DDT's, neck cranks. Basic stuff, but it works so well and Jericho's offence plays into it perfectly as it's a very defensive type of offence. Everything is done out of desperation by Jericho. The ending was good, it made sense a progressed the storyline very, very well. ****1/4"

[7.0] "Great back and forth match, Christian and Jericho have surprisingly good chemistry, but I guess that shouldn't be too surprising considering they were a tag team. I was hoping to see more of a story where the two know each other's movesets in and out resulting in tons of cool counters but the match we got wasn't disappointing at all. The Trish interference at the end leads into the post-match betrayal which to be fair was extremely unpredictable, so it gets a pass. ***1/2"

[7.0] "very good, solid match. Started off with the two getting in each others faces. It seemed very heated which is good. Jericho nailed Christian with a punch in the face that looked really hard. Jericho controlled the match for a lot of the early going and the crowd was chanting his name. He made smart counters to Christian's offense. naturally though it was an even match and Christian gained an advantage after dropping him over the top rope. he kept control through heel tactics like choking, eye raking, and hair pulling. They were pretty good. Christian hit a really nice inverted DDT from the turnbuckle for a two count. Christian hooked in the Texas Cloverleaf on Jericho which was nice. Jericho did him one better by countering it into the Walls of Jericho. Christian got to the ropes but Jericho held on all the way to the floor and put him back in the Walls. I thought that was really cool. Jericho followed up with an awesome Butterfly suplex from the top rope. Christian hit a brutal looking impaler DDT for close near fall. Trish stratus came out and got involved and lead to Jericho losing after she elbowed him in the face and Christian rolled him up for the win."