Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho are two of the most talented performers to ever step foot inside a pro wrestling ring. Both had long and memorable careers, with Jericho's still going strong to this day. Having largely worked during the same time periods, naturally, their paths crossed a time or two, most notably for a major feud throughout 2008.

The result was the "Feud of the Year."

It all started when Jericho inserted himself into a feud between Michaels and Batista over the fact that the "Heartbreak Kid" had retired Ric Flair at WrestleMania. Batista was pissed and wanted vengeance while Jericho claimed HBK actually liked sending Flair off riding into the sunset.

This led to Jericho as special guest referee in a match between Michaels and Batista that saw HBK win via less than honest means, faking a knee injury. Jericho knew but couldn't prove it while Michaels continued claiming it was legitimate, until he admitted it wasn't and hit Y2J with a superkick.

Despite all this, Michaels continued getting cheers while Jericho was booed for "trying to do the right thing." This led to a vicious attack during an episode of The Highlight Reel in which Jericho injured Michaels' eye by tossing his head into a television. The two worked toward a match at the Great American Bash where Jericho won after a severe beating that led to an injury angle with Michaels set to announce his retirement at Summerslam.

When he went to do so on this date in history (Aug. 17, 2008), with his wife Rebecca there for support, he was interrupted by his arch rival. Jericho wanted Michaels to admit he was retiring because of what he did to him. Michaels, upset at how everything had gone down, cut a promo on Jericho that hit a little close to home telling Y2J to let his kids know he could never be as good as HBK.

Jericho retaliated by throwing a punch. Michaels ducked and Rebecca turned just in time to take a hard shot in the face. When I say hard, I mean it. Jericho didn't hold back and his punch was enough to give Rebecca a fat lip.

She took it like a champ.

Watch it all go down after the jump.

Also on this date in history: The Ultimate Warrior returns to professional wrestling