When we look back to 2016 and Monday Night Raw brand after the brand split happened, the best storyline that this show was able to produce was the partnership that Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho had. Every single week Chris Jericho was able to produce some of the best moments on the show with his ‘List’ gimmick while Kevin Owens was there to be a perfect partner that is able to entertain with his promos and great matches as the Universal Champion.
There is no doubt that these two had a really good thing going for them as everybody wanted to see what they are going to do next. But, just like every act, this one got stale after a while, and everybody knew that these two are eventually going to split and fight. The WWE did a good job of teasing that, and nobody really knew when that is going to happen. The partnership probably lasted longer than anyone expected.
The ending to the duo of Jericho and Owens was great. Festival of Friendship segment was constructed after Jericho accepted Goldberg’s challenge for Owens Universal Championship. Kevin then destroyed Jericho in a segment and laid him out brutally. Many people don’t know this, but Jericho was the one that pitched that idea to Vince.
“I had that idea months earlier, to do a big spectacle with dancing girls and the whole thing, and then it was constantly being changed. Even the day of the show it was changed and I didn’t like it and I know my way was better. I stood up for it, even to the point of calling Vince when he was on a plane in the middle of the air and pitching my case, not taking no for an answer, not allowing my vision to be changed.”
