When Chris Jericho used Sin Cara’s mask on this week’s Monday Night RAW , ostensibly a reference to a real-life fight they had earlier this month, many had assumed that it was an attempt on Chris’ part to further mess with someone he has beef with. But nothing can be farther from the truth, as “Y2J” himself suggested on a recent episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast.
The Chris Jericho vs. Sin Cara “backstage” feud, in actuality, did not literally happen backstage. Citing the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer, Cageside Seats reported earlier this month that the fight between both men took place on the bus after WWE’s November 6 show in Leeds, England. And it wasn’t as much of a brawl as it was a “brief altercation,” meaning it was more of a minor misunderstanding between “Y2J” and the wrestler formerly known as Hunico. But, as Cageside Seats called it, it was the type of dispute that could “occur between seventh-graders” and not adult men, as it started when Sin Cara (a.k.a. Jorge Arias in real life) was allegedly getting on the nerves of his fellow wrestlers by “making annoying noises.”
Meltzer added that Arias had “quickly snapped without warning,” telling Jericho to “f— off” and triggering a physical altercation between the two. Chris Jericho then bit Sin Cara in the finger in the heat of their brief fisticuffs, as other wrestlers tried to separate both men.
As punishment for his actions, Sin Cara, who competes for the RAW brand, was reportedly “exiled” to the SmackDown brand’s leg of the WWE European tour. Wrestling Inc added that the masked wrestler had to drive to the November 14 television tapings in Buffalo, instead of joining his fellow wrestlers on WWE’s chartered flight. He also wasn’t allowed to change in the regular locker room for wrestlers and had to use the “extras” room as further punishment for being the aggressor in his fight with Chris Jericho.
Chris Jericho Shares Why He Wore a Sin Cara Mask During Raw Show https://t.co/HShHYYUVNw #chrisjericho #sincara #wwe
— ??Wrestling News Source (@WNSource) November 25, 2016
With Sin Cara seemingly in the doghouse and Jericho getting away without any known punishment, many fans had noticed that Chris may have been “trolling” his alleged off-screen foe from a couple weeks back on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW . That was because Jericho was wearing a Sin Cara mask to allow him to interfere in the Universal Championship match where his “best friend” Kevin Owens defended the belt against Seth Rollins.
It wasn’t trolling, moron. It was a sign of respect. https://t.co/M4xeQfmONk
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) November 23, 2016
However, it wasn’t a trolling attempt at all, as Chris himself said on Wednesday’s episode of Talk is Jericho . Adding to a tweet he posted saying that it was a “sign of respect” to Sin Cara, Jericho said that the spot represented “an F.U. to the internet (wrestling) community that knows everything but doesn’t know s—.” He also put over Sin Cara as a good friend, despite what many sources portrayed as a serious confrontation between both men during WWE’s European tour.
“Sin Cara’s a great guy, he’s a good friend of mine, and he actually lent me that mask.”
Sin Cara also took to social media to address Jericho’s use of his mask, posting a succinct tweet to acknowledge its use and compliment Chris on a job well done.
Beautiful mask!!! ??? https://t.co/BeTwQrTZi9
— CintaDeOro (@CintaDeOro) November 22, 2016
While it wasn’t the biggest backstage beef of all-time, Chris Jericho vs. Sin Cara was nonetheless one of the more talked-about behind-the-scenes altercations of the year, albeit one that may not have been a big deal after all. And now that both men have apparently put their differences and the incident behind them, it can be said that Jericho, in his current character, will continue focusing on putting more people on his “list,” while Sin Cara seeks to redeem himself, hopefully en route to a solid mid-card push like he’s had in the past.
[Featured Image by Simon Hofmann/Getty Images]
