Breaking The Code: The Cryptic "SAVE US 222" Videos

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To mark the return of a certain well-established superstar on WWE television, the compared aired a bunch of videos known collectively as the "Save Us 222" videos or the "Save Us" videos. These short vignettes would feature a ton of information flashing at the viewer and, upon first glance, the information seemed like nothing but a bunch of random text screens. Upon closer inspection though fans noticed clues getting left in the videos and it looked like these clues would lead to a reveal of some sorts or possibly a comeback. The internet began buzzing, what did the "Save_us.222" code mean and who was putting out these videos?
The company would make things even more cryptic by adding red herrings in the videos, sending viewers in the wrong direction as a way to keep interest high. From Billy Gunn to Al Snow, from Hart Foundation 2.0 to Shawn Michaels, fans guessed and created wild theories while the videos continued airing on television. Updated videos stated this was a "2nd Coming", this return was "Upon Us", and all will be revealed when fans realize "The Answer is The Code."
00:00 - Intro
02:02 - The First Save Us 222 video
05:10 - Savior.Self
07:12 - The 2nd_Coming
09:07 - Upon_Us
11:17 - Next_Monday
13:03 - Breaking The Code
15:10 - Chris Jericho's Disappointment
18:18 - Jericho's Career continues on
21:02 - Outro / Credits
#WWE #WRESTLING #Y2J

[@ChiseledAdonis]

The beginning of the video caught me lol; I was ready to tweet @TeamKZbin about the injustices against your channel, but like Roddy Piper just when we thought he had all the answers... you changed the questions! Great video! I think this is Jericho's best return EVER!!

[@F7GOS]

Got me too!

[@ItsShaz1]

Me too!

[@Waynestarr]

Me three!

[@AlanNadeauIII]

Lol that was awesome

[@JokersVsZombies]

YOOOOO ITS CHISELED ADONIS

[@louisvelez40]

One of Jericho’s better returns. I actually thought the video was taken down due to a code issue lol in the beginning 😂

[@sethkaplan]

I didn’t like that new hair cut 😒

[@HaussmannComics]

Me too!

[@joshk1817]

got me too 😂

[@kageakuma3009]

got me as well, lol

[@khathide22nd]

He got me too. Good one

[@reallyretro]

It wasn’t until he turned heel on HBK in June 2008, that his return really gained steam and went on a tear with the suit and tie gimmick.

[@toptenguy1]

Yep, one of the first times where his character was almost 100% serious. It worked!

[@tommyjennings500]

This is more than accurate

[@shootwithaws5185]

No one asked but thanks any way

[@tommyjennings500]

@@shootwithaws5185 stop being a miserable dbag. No one asked for any comments from anyone, but they’re allowed bc want to comment. If you don’t care for comments, then don’t look at them. You’re being a miserable annoyed count for no reason

[@IntrovertedOreo]

​@@shootwithaws5185 and no one asked you to speak for the rest of us 😂

[@Makoto03]

I really enjoy most of Chris Jericho's various 'debuts' in WWE. He always seemed to reinvent himself each time.

[@countjobula]

the Madonna of wrestling

[@patrickwilliams6143]

Agreed, then he went to AEW and reinvented himself as a bloke who can't work! But yeah from 1999 through to "the list" Jericho was superb.

[@gewitterhund3164]

@@patrickwilliams6143 I actually called myself a Jerichoholic once... *sigh*

[@larkan511]

He's quite literally the same every time, just picks different clothing and gets a little chubbier each time

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@@patrickwilliams6143 nah he can still work. After loosing weight he had great match with eddie kingston on ppv opener. And on last double or nothing which was old school brawl got 5 star. He could still go

[@chrisperez4199]

The beginning got me there. LMAO!

[@JSmithRecords]

Me too!!! I was like wtf is secret code? 🤣

[@ViraL_FootprinT.ex.e]

Hands down one of my favorite things the WWE has ever done *after* his debut from 1999. I wanna say that the 2007 return was around the time I got a signed copy of Jericho's first book too. He was doing a book signing at Borders when that used to be a thing.

[@WrestlingBios]

His first book is brilliant too. Probably my favourite wrestler autobiography.

[@cherrycakes6411]

I actually thought Chris got a very good pop when he returned. During this era you weren’t getting much big pops and the crowds were slowly dying. I remember the 15th anniversary crowd being dead af.

[@carter3369]

The crowd pops started to die as far back as 2002. Even Rock and Austin weren’t getting the type of reactions they had before.

[@jabroni_z2686]

I don’t think Chris himself was the problem but the two other reasons he came up with I will agree with him. Y2J debuted in the middle of the AE and quite possibly the hottest time in the business, in one of the best wrestling markets in Chicago. Also Cena did pull in a lot of younger fans during 04-08 while also running away the older fans who grew up with either the golden, new generation or attitude era. It’s believable that some of the young fans didn’t know who he was even though he was in the company only two years prior to the 07 return. That goes to show you how rapid WWEs audience was changing during 03-07 time period.

[@SonnyGuillory]

Nah he's pretty good at reading a room man it's his best talent

[@SonnyGuillory]

@@lexkanyima2195 cus Cena was lolol

[@dm7744]

Yes most millennials stop watching during beginning of ruthless aggression (middle school/high school), and we were barely watching it was more so smack down vs raw video game being played

[@dm7744]

I remember hating seeing the changes 2003-04 and beyond

[@JRKTM93]

Love this "mystery code" period

[@jackkitchen737]

I agree with you at 13:30. They shouldn't have shown Jericho yet.

[@explosivepoptart3261]

you should cover his 2012 return vignettes next. loved wondering what all that was about as a kid growing up during that weird time in wrestling. love this video and keep up the amazing content! gets me through the week daily

[@ChrisManley1994]

“There are other variations of course depending on which version of the bible you’re checking up for you pro wrestling knowledge.” What a sentence 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@snubby4624]

lol

[@venomsnekko]

I love learning about eras and angles I've never seen before, but it's equally as awesome when I see a video on this channel covering an event I was actually there for. Thank you Wrestling Bios man, very cool.

[@TheDeadlyTikka]

This was a period of time where my dad and I watched both WWE and TNA religiously and I guessed Jericho pretty quickly. I’m guessing my dad knew from forums and slightly fed me tips

[@irishpanic]

I was like damn Vince is watching his channel closely. I thought they took his video down in just a few min

[@jayowyn1054]

🏆🏅🤣

[@SwankDaSauce]

I remember watching this live, I had no idea who jericho was beforehand but I sure knew who he was after!! One of my favorite wrestling moments

[@shenanitims4006]

I would say “the failure” of his return likely was what he surmised, they flogged the dead horse once too many times. As you pointed out, by the code’s third appearance, most had a good idea of who it was. Leaving them hanging week-after-week afterwards likely didn’t do anyone favors. Not to mention, although he says the first code had no intentional codes, as someone who was around for the Y2J introduction back in the day, using code at all was indicative of his character.

[@nu-metalfan2654]

I remember this and I pretty much knew who it was straight away. I started watching WWE just before Jericho left in 2005, so I just managed to see his 2005 feud with Cena. Then in 2007 these code videos would appear, and I thought to myself, Jericho?, and it was. His 2007 return imo is Jericho’s best return.

[@antbanks415]

And his lack of pop was due to the lack of surprise. No one thought Jehrico was gonna go to WWE in his initial debut. The second time, alot of people knew he was coming. The bigger the surprise, the bigger the pop. You should do the rock returning to WWE in 2011.

[@WrestlePlanet]

I remember being on the boards trying to unravel this. Good times.

[@HHHBFResurrected]

Fun times these. I did think it was Jericho once it became clear they were advertising a wrestler return, his ideas always feel like his (there's a creative yet very nerdy element to them) & these promos reeked of him, but was still awesome none the less.

[@Randimichelle1]

You got me there with the intro. I was like "What the hell man !"

[@krisisnWo]

You got me with this intro I was like “damn, the video got taken down already that sucks”. Best intro to date love this.

[@johnlegrano4723]

Hell yes. Love getting notifications when you drop new videos. Thanks for the great content.

[@alexd9134]

8:05 "Behold, I come quickly" 😂

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I keep saying that I save your videos as workout videos so I rarely see them on release. They are always interesting, funny and honest. I've been trying to get through the Reliving the War videos to try and catch up. One of your other ones that I recently watched was Superstars of the WWF New Generation. Really interesting video and I liked the way you structured it. So... my advice to anyone new to the channel... start at the beginning, you'll get to that one eventually.

[@Snake_0_]

I think Jericho summarised the reaction fairly accurately. This was a weird time in WWE. I think this period up to around 2012 saw a huge transition in terms of the demographics of the fan base and the roster itself. I would hazard a guess that many people in the arena that night either didn’t know who Jericho was or only heard of him and so didn’t really know how to react. The days of big pops ended around 2002/2003 and have never really returned, except for some of the AEW reveals maybe and there were a couple of big pops at this year’s WM.

[@staceyworkman4944]

God bless you for doing this…always wanted you to do a video on at least one of Jericho’s cryptic vignettes

[@DJDoubleCee]

At least Jericho’s CodeBreaker finisher looked pretty cool. By this point, I was getting bored of seeing him use the Walls Of Jericho as his finisher.

[@Rieky22]

I love that move

[@KlausOG7]

and what about lions assault move..

[@bradleyjohnson1702]

You got me. I got here 8 minutes after video was posted and thought wwe had already copyright claimed lol.

[@benjaminkim331]

Oh man... 2007, right? I was back to watching pro wrestling on a weekly basis at this point, mainly Raw. All sorts of vivid memories and sensations I felt back then were felt again as I watched this vid. I was also thick in the weeds of the dirtsheets at the time. If I'm not mistaken, the two biggest topics around this era of late 2007 was Ric Flair retiring (and who'd be the one to do that as HBK wasn't reported as a lock just yet) and the "Save Us" vids. The latter wasn't so much for the mystique but rather the impatience that began to boil over with many fans in the IWC waiting for Chris Jericho to return. I remember it wasn't a full week after the initial clip aired when Y2J was seen as the answer. I was shocked! "How did they figure it out? No way! Is it really him? He has been gone for a while now," were my thoughts. So really, I watched out for those vids to see if the internet was right and goddamn they were! LOL

[@drewfava6455]

Congratulations on 300k I been with u since the beginning.

[@playstationgroup3413]

All I remember about this segment was feeling my smile diminishing as it went on. The late 2000's was a very different vibe staring in '07 onwards. The second coming of Y2J was an out of touch moment with reality for Jericho. Nobody talks of this moment in time when we think of the name Jericho. Nobody needs to unless they want to see the moment the Y2J character died in an arena full of new generation followers of pro-wrestling. That is my memory and this is my take. 😒😒

[@Mr92094]

I also remember it this way. Obviously it wasn’t going to hit as hard as the 99 debut but for some reason by the time Jericho arrived it almost felt like a letdown and I wasn’t even really online yet to be spoiled since I was only 13 at the time

[@micahjohnsonboxing6409]

Later when TNA did a similar thing with Sting I thought of this.

[@Venemofthe888]

Jericho's return did feel a little bit flat especially where he went from coming back to before he turned heel. He fought Orton which was bland, JBL which tried but wasnt good either, won the IC Title from Jeff cause Jeff was suspended like it was one thing after another with nobody really being interested in what he was doing and honestly just became another person in the cog not standing out. I think if they had Jericho come back at Cyber Sunday which would have been perfect for the code type messages i think it could have gone better but again he would need something to sink his teeth into which he just didnt get for a while

[@anonymousnobody326]

Howling at the guy who thought it was Al Snow.

[@Paranitis]

I hadn't watched wrestling for a few years at that point, and then I saw one of the Save Us 222 videos show up on KZbin, and immediately it took me back to Y2Js debut, so I just figured Jericho was back (I didn't know he left).

[@everett-tnredsfan]

I had gone through the phase many of us wrestling fans do and had been on a wrestling hiatus for about 2 years before Jericho returned. I was a bit disappointed to when this happened. If it was current day AEW they'd just have the arena go dark. Love AEW but I'm over that way of debuting someone to.

[@fitness65]

I remember being ecstatic to see that Jericho was coming back in 2007. He was always my favorite so it was great seeing him come back but his babyface run part of it just kind of was there a ehh bland feud with Randy Orton. A feud with jbl that never felt like it was going to end and a ic title run after beating Jeff Hardy on raw. It wasn't until he turned heel where things really started to kick start everything

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Huh, don't think i've seen anyone bring these up before. Didn't watch wrestling during this period but i have watched alot of content covering things that happened at the time and it's nice to still see stuff that's "new to me". It's double nice when it's Wrestling Bios making the video. 😄👍

[@jd6473]

Great video! You should also do one for Jericho's 2011 It Begins video. That one had me glued to the set trying to figure out what all was going on!

[@banned3263]

At 1:22, “John “Save Us” Cena the Prototype” had me dying 😂😂😂

[@donaldmcclurejr.494]

Classic return by one of the greatest wrestlers of all time! Chris Jericho!

[@dravenswiftbow1025]

Totally fell for the intro. Awesome video as always

[@ryankeefe6222]

I’m surprised anyone didn’t know right away as soon as I saw it I went “oh it’s Jericho”

[@ajorngjdonaydbr]

His original buildup to his debut in the WWF was epic, I didn't stick around to see his future reinventions.

[@rasmusdegn9690]

Everything is inevitable after it happens but i think one pretty easy way to have Jericho take out the torch runner without spoiling it would be "Step 1: Show the runner. Step 2: Suddenly cut to the wall of code for a few seconds. Step 3: Cut back and the runner is now layed out on the floor"

[@Juwellz18]

I'm so glad I wasn't going on wrestling forums back then. I genuinely didn't know what these videos were about when they first aired. But as time went on, I had the thought that it could be Y2J.

[@mackiemae2002]

Jericho's 2007 return was the first thing I saw of him since I started watching WWE in 2006. Thanks for this video for reminding me about it, I will have to go back and watch the actual return to see if anything rings a bell.

[@JBPlaysGames1]

I will never forget these promos. I didn't have the internet at the time, but I had some clue somehow I don't remember why. I do however remember, the spoiler, my WWE Magazine came in the mail that Monday before Raw! So disappointed.

[@woosel1]

Seriously, how does this channel not have 1 million+ subs? Criminal.

[@Blacktekay]

Off Topic, I was asked about giving someone my job opportunity and I never do it. It's a dog eat dog world out here. It's either "Kick or be Kickin". I was finally able to use this phrase. Thanks Wrestling bios 👍

[@mrdude88]

If you paused it just right, the biggest give away that it was Jericho from the source code is “DFeaT (B/SK)uLL 1 Nite” which can translated to defeat Bull & Skull one night. Who else have ever accomplished that incredible feat?

[@DasNordlicht91]

It’s funny to go back to this when WWE’s doing these cryptic style of vignettes for the reintroduction of Uncle Howdy, with an added tinge of analog horror and QR codes.

[@RichManZ]

Genius! The start of the video really freked me out hahahh. Great Video!

[@kdxtreme7479]

When I was a kid, I thought it was a Cyber Sunday promo

[@kobe2kfan97]

This was around the time my love for wrestling started to fizzle

[@basedjiren3889]

His 2012 return was his best and my favorite by far

[@chuckpryde2629]

I was 11 when these promos started airing. And I wasn’t big on wrestling behind the scenes yet so I wouldn’t check the dirt sheets and rumours before anyone big came back.. I was so pumped and surprised when Jericho showed up on RAW that night.

[@afrodesiac8064]

I loved these promo videos!

[@JSmithRecords]

I was 15, in 10th grade during this. And I loved every second of it. I went crazy when he showed up backstage and did the Jericho pose. Back then, I didn't overanalyze things. As an adult, I would've instantly looked for flaws and things I would do differently.

[@jayowyn1054]

Sick, love your work bro.

[@NTNatJPN]

I remember some of the code people suggested was part of the video game code of his move set.

[@CarimboHanky]

jericho is simply such a good guy his wwf debut was one of the coolest things i witnessed, the random clock counting down was a great thing. when i first saw this rare promos, jericho came to mind, it was logical for me given the theme.

[@PatrickRain0512]

what always bothered me with the comebacks of Chris Jericho was that most (2007) or all (2012) of the clues lead to nothing for his character. At least 2007 had him using the "Codebreaker". 2012...was just completely nonsense.

[@TakerlukeGaming]

I loved this return, the mistake was not putting the belt on him. Let him keep his promise then lose it at No way Out

[@Cameron_611]

Chris Jericho’s WWE was one of the few bright spots in 2007. The haircut threw me off but I easily recognized the pose.

[@143jetblack]

wow this was an unexpected yet necessary jericho content as a jericho fan

[@dustintellsjokes]

As an 11 year old when this was happening, I really wasn’t involved online at all so I just saw the videos as they played on TV. I kinda guessed it was Jericho from the beginning purely based on the look of them lol was still happy to see him and loved to hate him during the HBK feud

[@lwvmobile]

Seems like a lot of time WWE has cryptic vignettes, they sometimes don't know who the vignette is supposed to be for. I think they may have told the creators of them that it could be for multiple people. Either that, or they would have a back up for the vignettes in case the original plan didn't work.

[@secondcityr7331]

I remeber when Jericho show up at backstage, i told my dad that's Y2J but unsure about saveus222 is related to him. Jericho come up after countdown end, i was overwhelmed with joy and enjoy the moment with my dad. He knows it but not tell me because im Jericho fan so let it play out. Wonderful dad and miss him.

[@jamesbounds]

His suit run in 2008 to 2010 and his list run with KO in later years were his best runs in WWE.

[@benchwarmerss9165]

I never knew about this but the minute you put up those small video clips and there was one of a train station I would’ve guessed Y2j off bat .. I watched that music video a million and one times lol

[@ipat202]

This is one of my all time favorite things to ever happen in wrestling. Thank you so much.

[@jaredquinney204]

Awesome start to the video

[@MikeM-np4od]

I agree they totally ruined it showing him attacking the marathon runner and the magazine cover...if they would have had a generic countdown to the marathon runner coming out to past the torch and then the lights go out, and then Break The Walls hit would have been so much better because he is a Wizard.

[@DasNordlicht91]

either that or as the runner makes it to the arena, the feed cuts out as the SAVE_US glitches appear on screen briefly before we see the runner out cold. the camera feed cuts out once more as the final SAVE_US video plays as it did in real life and we get Jericho showing up.

[@flowern6499]

I honestly thought that the Save_Us_Y2J return entrance was Jericho's best entrance

[@brandonperkins176]

Pretty awesome promos Jericho came up and each time he returns, he is always changing and I really liked that

[@thedominatior39]

I remember getting WWE Magazine mailed to me every month and it came the Friday before Raw and spoiled it was Jericho returning (note I was 10 at the time)

[@Slim451]

That beginning got me. I was like wait a minute what happened. Had to check to see if the video was still playing. That was good. And I remember the videos and everything leading up to it. Most already knew it was Jericho cause it still gave off that Jericho vibe but it was a good kind of mystery. But yeah that whole clothesline thing was uncalled for and unnecessary. Its like ruining the debut before the debut. The pop is gone, the surprise is gone, that initial reaction is gone. It would have been like if WWE were to show a video of AJ backstage at the rumble for a second saying "I'm here" before his number came up for his debut. Its like WHOA its AJ and then he comes out and its like.... whoa its AJ. The shock and awe is already gone. Like its still awesome but not as awesome as if it wouldn't have been seen or known.

[@Mrtfarrugia]

My buddies and I figured out it was Jericho solely based on the theming.

[@Balthurt]

I was 12 years old when this happened. I had no idea who the code was about and it was awesome

[@eddiew.4650]

13:30 The pop was ruined when fans found out early on it was Jericho. I hate how fans want to spoil things and turn around and complain about WWE being too predictable nowadays.

[@DyspotikOriginal]

300k subs gonna hit real soon!

[@martynodonnell8467]

Another awesome upper from the greatest wrestling channel on the planet! I’ve never been a big Y2J fan. To me he was never main event quality. I would class him alongside Jeff Jarrett, who although they have both had their time at the top. To me they both were never above upper midcard, or IC level status. To me they were never a massive draw. I can remember the whole “Save Us” angle. I missed out on it, due to lack of interest in the product at the time. However would read about it on wrestling forums. It’s interesting to look back on it, so thanks very much.

[@dudeiousmaximus650]

I liked them I didn't go online looking for answers .. Glad yah put what other folk was saying about them ..

[@neilsmith9066]

Loved this return!!!! If you were just a regular fan and didn't look at all this stuff it was somewhat surprising and extremely exciting!!

[@darrenhigham753]

Hands up if that intro got u 😂

[@MrNobody91]

8:10 Jericho does kinda give off the "I come quickly" vibes 😂😂😂😂😂

[@JeromeDoyle]

You hit the nail on the head with why this wasn't as successful as it should have been.

[@mikeberg6407]

Bruh that opening actually caught me until I saw it was still playing, your messed up man but the Horseman T Shirt I got makes up for it lol

[@tonyibraham5931]

When I saw this post earlier on the week, I definitely thought this was about Jericho's original tease. I don't remember this.

[@nu-metalfan2654]

Yeah after his return, the return cooled right down for Jericho. His first match back with Santino wasn’t good, his very short feud with Orton was too short, and then he was put in a feud with JBL that no one cared about. His first match back should’ve been against Orton at a PPV.

[@firewalker1372]

At the beginning I actually thought your video was removed for a second 🤣 😂. And Chris close-lining the dude with the torch was a huge mistake in my opinion. Like you said he would of gotten a much much bigger pop if they would of waited to show him on his entrance. Of course this was around the time wwe was starting to go down hill but wasn’t there yet.

[@RatedNforNick]

I love the explanation of: “SURVIVOR_RF: Al Snow beat Jeff Jarrett at Survivor Series 1999.” Jarrett left a month prior and joined WCW. Idiots.

[@td7523]

Tell me why I almost clicked off the video in the beginning because I thought It got copyright blocked🤣🤣🤣

[@MadroxKnox]

The beginning got me, almost refreshed lol

[@petertr2000]

I think I posted on 1WT around then, and those guys (or was it just PWT or the other one? - Can't remember!) knew it was Jericho almost immediately - so there was never any element of surprise. I do remember thinking "how the frig did they figure it out so quickly" though. As you pointed out, they really botched the actual "re-debut" in the end. 1-2 weeks too late, and didn't do a good job of the reveil itself.

[@dustindavis3406]

You got me for a second with that intro you cheeky bastard 🤣

[@arciks11]

Imagine if that text vomit had Blood Runs Cold somewhere in it.

[@marcusmoss3399]

U had me at the beginning of the video GOOD WORK