Chris Jericho Suspended Because of Dumb Cops

[NinoBrown]

A WWE event in Brazil came to a screeching halt Thursday evening ... when local law enforcement stopped a live match and threatened to arrest Chris Jericho for desecrating the Brazilian flag.

It all went down during a match between Jericho and C.M. Punk -- who was proudly waving the flag in the ring. Jericho took the flag away, crumpled it up and kicked the flag out of the ring ... and that's when police stepped in and put a stop to the event.

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We're told Jericho was informed that desecrating the national flag is a crime in Brazil ... punishable by incarceration.

Cops gave Jericho an option -- apologize to the arena ... or go to jail. Chris chose the former ... grabbing the mic and telling the crowd he immediately regretted his actions. Cops allowed the event to continue.

Sources connected to the WWE tell TMZ ... the flag stunt was NOT planned or approved by WWE officials.

The WWE has just released an official statement saying, "Chris Jericho has been suspended indefinitely due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE event in Sao Paulo on May 24. The WWE has apologized to the citizens and the government of Brazil for this incident."
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But...

 

[Chuck Taylor's Grenade]

Don't forget that time Michaels dry humped the Canadian Flag. Or when the UnAmericans constantly threatened to burn the American Flag. Or when JBL goosestepped in Germany. No major punishments or backlash came of those incidents. In fact JBL got the WWE title two weeks later.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

It's fake. It's WWE's way of writing Jericho off of the show while he tours for the summer.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

^^ Yup.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

Fozzy has 3 major festivals in early June in the UK, and as far as I know, they've still got a show planned for Brazil later this summer, which conveniently hasn't been mentioned anywhere in regards to THIS story.

 

[the408kid]

Does anyone know if their is video of this incident and where I can see it.

 

[MizMasta3000]

Check the shoutbox. I pasted a link.

Apparently people are saying it was a "different era" back when HBK cleaned his boogers with the Canadian flag.

 

[Airfixx]

^^^I'd say it has more to do with the laws in the specific country regarding their flag, not the era of wrestling in which it takles place (If there is any legitimacy to the events, that is.).

 

[MizMasta3000]

That doesn't have anything to do with the way WWE actually "handled" the situation. Canada probably has similar laws on the treatment of their flag, but he was never suspended because it was a "different era".

 

[Hometown Kid]

I'm pretty sure there are no laws about Canada's flag, and in Brazil he almost got arrested. I doubt it really mattered what era it happens in.

I go back and forth on whether this is real or not anyway. On one hand, the timing just seems a little too obvious, as well as Punk just randomly having a flag. On the other hand, it would be extremely stupid to set this up, when they just started a feud with Orton, And risking an international incident to get rid of a guy, instead of just doing an injury angle or something? It really makes no sense to to work this, logically.

 

[This Guy]

When Shawn Michaels stuck the Canadian flag up his nose that was in the US. Canada can't procecute desicration of its flag when it happens in a forigen country.

However the dry humping of the Canadian flag did happen in Canada. The only criminal act of desicration in Canada is burning it. Since they never did it, its not a crime. Likewise the UnAmericans threatened to burn the US Flag that wasn't a crime, sure they teased it, but it never happened.

Brazil obviously takes its flag as serious as the US does. I'm actually torn on this whole situation.

Again sure its a different era, but the truth is, the only reason the WWE would come down on Jericho is because of probably having to do major damage control with the Brazilian goverment. Had the Brazilian goverment realized it was just for show and left it, most likely nothing would have happened. The thing is, its always been okay for the WWE to disrespect the flags of other nations. Its nothing new, but heaven forbid if someone had ever took it apon themselves to dry hump the US Flag or stick it up there nose or anything like even back during the attitude era, Vince would have fired them. And that double standard in the E drives me up the wall.

At the same time, I think its a little silly that throwing even a flag on the ground as part of an entertainment program is a crime in Brazil. As Lance Storm said on Twitter technically the fan that brought the flag if thats the laws there already disrespected the flag by bringing it to the show and having it drapped over the back of his seat, and should have been the one who was arressted.

My opinion really is the same as the golden rule. Do unto others.... If you don`t want someone to disrespect your flag, don`t disrespect theres. And that goes even for the E. If its not okay to actually physicall disrespect the flag of the US in the WWE, no one should be disrespect any other flag even in the name of entertainment.