Lets Talk Jericho

[Dale]

So after a run of 6 months, Chris Jericho has put wrestling on the backburner to once again go on tour with Fozzy. With that being said, I'd like to know how people feel about him and these part time runs.

Now Jericho is Jericho, his all round talent is unquestionable and needs no mentioning but I don't know if it's just me or not, but with every return he makes I seem to lose a little more interest in him. I can't really put my finger on what it is exactly but I feel like his returns aren't really going to surmount to anything big and he's just there to do some jobs. Sure he'll have some good matches scattered around throughout his time, but I just feel like there's no big talking points in the end up.

One negative that's often brought up about Jericho is how he jobs himself out far too much which I think is a fair point to make. You only have to look back at this recent run of his for evidence of this. Laying down at WrestleMania for Fandango in his first match was just a horrible decision and even though Ryback needed that first PPV win in a year, I don't think that feud really benefited either guy.

I get that he wants to be a company guy and put over the younger talent, that's admirable but I just think he needs to value himself more highly or if he is going to put over guys, do it with people who are actually going to benefit. Go enter a couple month long program with Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman, play up his connections with Heyman, how he's the most decorated IC Champion of all time etc. A program like that would be far more beneficial and worthwhile than jobbing to the flavour of the month like Fandango.

So what's everyone else's take on the disappearing and re-appearing of Chris Jericho?

 

[Schmidty]

It kind of pisses me off. They are not going to do anything big with him if they know he is just going to blow it off and go on another tour with Fozzy. He's already done everything in the business so I don't really care if he returns or not anymore. He hasn't really put anybody over very good in those six months either. I don't think he put Fandango over, because it was just a roll up pin. Same thing with Ryback. Just a damn roll up, nothing big about it.

 

[Defiant]

Chris Jericho is of course my favourite of all time. I could go on and on about how I think he's still got it in the ring and on the mic, the people he could feud with and so on. But I totally get where you're coming from.

Now Jericho is Jericho, his all round talent is unquestionable and needs no mentioning but I don't know if it's just me or not, but with every return he makes I seem to lose a little more interest in him. I can't really put my finger on what it is exactly but I feel like his returns aren't really going to surmount to anything big and he's just there to do some jobs. Sure he'll have some good matches scattered around throughout his time, but I just feel like there's no big talking points in the end up.

I know how you feel with Jericho's returns being less special and I have my own theory. It's because he's not trying to "re-invent" himself anymore. While you could say that about +90% of the entire roster, those small character tweaks and attention to detail have always been what defines Jericho. Looking each of his WWE debuts/returns up until (and including) January 2012, his character would always change or evolve in some way even though every persona or attitude he's ever had (heel or face) still made him out to be a huge narcissist. Go back and watch promos scattered throughout Jericho's career and you'll notice every couple of years he sounds and presents himself slightly differently. He really seemed like the same guy but with a different personality disorder at every stage of his life.

Ever since he rolled over to babyface last year, however, everything I like about Jericho's character has kind of slipped away and he's just the same guy now. I still think he's superb on the mic, that he can still keep pace in the ring with anyone working today and has the fucking coolest entrance EVER, but he's still going out there just to be himself nowadays. It's the equivalent of Jim Carrey still taking movie rolls and basically just playing Jim Carrey.

One negative that's often brought up about Jericho is how he jobs himself out far too much which I think is a fair point to make. You only have to look back at this recent run of his for evidence of this. Laying down at WrestleMania for Fandango in his first match was just a horrible decision and even though Ryback needed that first PPV win in a year, I don't think that feud really benefited either guy.

I get that he wants to be a company guy and put over the younger talent, that's admirable but I just think he needs to value himself more highly or if he is going to put over guys, do it with people who are actually going to benefit. Go enter a couple month long program with Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman, play up his connections with Heyman, how he's the most decorated IC Champion of all time etc. A program like that would be far more beneficial and worthwhile than jobbing to the flavour of the month like Fandango.

I sort of agree with this as well. I admire what Jericho does by giving young guys their moments, especially riskier gambles like Fandango at Wrestlemania. But for his own sake I think Jericho may be trapping himself. The more you job yourself out - even if wins and losses don't actually matter in wrestling - then obviously the audience will absorb it and the less credibility you have. Too much losing has made Jericho look weaker and the next guy he puts over gets less out of it. Shit, even Dolph Ziggler got to pull the "You can't win the big one" promo on Jericho last year. It's at the point where all of Jericho's talking points are things most of WWE's current audience don't remember.

I think what Jericho really needs when he gets back is a good 2-3 month feud with someone, and actually give him an angle so he can get some spotlight.

 

[Embrace Thou Maryse]

If he's going to keep coming back he needs to have better runs than he did. Not asking for him to be world Champ but constant jobbing is just boring and in turn when somebody beats him it means nothing because everyone beats him. He didn't really have any memorable moments either, he had some good matches but his promos were never anything special.

 

[Deezy]

I do find it baffling how a person whose sporadic appearance like HBK and Mysterio can cause such pissing and moaning about how selfish they are and need to put over fresh talent like Kennedy or Ziggler in their respectful cases, but have such a hard time with someone with a similar schecdule who is unselfish and puts over anybody like a Jericho and it is a bad thing.

Jericho has the HBK schedule, he can come and go as he pleases stay the same character with a hint of old and grizzled veteran and be used for any storlyine and stay over. Did Jericho spoil everybody too much with his cryptic hints of impending returns, that he has to do it everytime he comes back? Or is it the fact that he has something else to do besides wrestle?

I don't get it. Nobody seemed to have such a problem with HBK never winning a championship after 03, he had his clunker feuds like Kane. He had some epic ones too, he wasn't a pushed character nor a buried one. Jericho can have that happy medium for quite some time. Others too.

 

[Embrace Thou Maryse]

Yeah but the thing is Jericho loses every feud and near on every match, it makes beating him mean nothing. HBK still won the vast majority of his matches and was in some huge feuds, so beating HBK still means a lot. Guys beating Jericho thesedays don't get much of a rub of it.

 

[Deezy]

Well let's be honest here, did anyone ever get a rub from beating Jericho? Did he ever have that kind of aura about him? I am a fan don't get me wrong, I think him reinventing himself in 08 was nothing short of brilliant But the guy never carried a torch to pass.

 

[Keith]

^ That's fair, Jericho is not HBK but then very few are.

Jericho returing has just become too predictable where as it didn't used to be. If it was less predictable and something fresher was done with his character was done upon his return then maybe the younger guys would benefit more from him.

 

[The Cork]

Have no problem with him, he has his place as a gatekeeper sort.

His problem is that he's never away long enough for anyone to truly miss him, so his returns aren't a big deal. Last time his comeback was a big deal was '07 after he'd been away for 2 yrs. 'abscence makes the heart grow fonder' and all.

There is some hypocrisy with the part time stuff in how he is held in high regard yet The Rock gets slated for being a succes. Whatever.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

The guy can do whatever he wants, his win/loss record has always been more on the losses, and he seems happy being that guy who comes in, shows off that he can get a good match out of a broomstick, and head back out to do his VH1, RCL, & Fozzy gigs.

His time away from the ring only makes me appreciate his time in the ring more, and the time away just means that he can have better quality matches because he is not wearing himself out 52 weeks a year.

 

[Chris]

Yeah, I'm happy with what he does. I wish he'd stay around a little longer but I don't want him in any more high profile feuds really because wrestling these younger guys and having great matches with them is what he does best. And people always argue that a win over Jericho means nothing but that's not really the case, the announcers still put over how big of an upset Fandango beating him was and all it takes for something to be true in WWE is the announcers putting it over enough.

 

[PHX]

His returns are becoming less and less meaningful and while yeah he's never been the man or anything like that he still is a legend in the biz so him being in the position where if he lost to Heath Slater it wouldn't be a shocker isn't good. He doesn't need to be a main eventer at all at this stage of his career but does need to be in position where if he is putting over a young guy it actually does something for that guy. His in ring work is still great so it's still always good to see him just sucks that since he is focused on his band as much as wrestling WWE really can't do a whole lot with him and everything he does nowadays seems like a waste feud wise.

 

[Cannon]

I love Jericho, but I tend to find myself having a hard time getting invested in his feuds knowing that he's going to inevitably sail off into the sunset. I don't know. It's a double edged sword, really. I love having him on TV because he generally brings out the best in whoever he works with, but at the same time I feel like the majority of matches he has are fickle because they're such obvious vehicles to get people over quickly.

 

[Schmidty]

Since Jericho's return in 2012, the only decent feuds that he has had were Jericho/Punk and Jericho/Ziggler. Other than that there was nothing that really caught my eye.

 

[Troy]

I like that there is another wrestling veteran out there that is more than happy to work with the younger generation and actually put them over clean. Unfortunately in wrestling that is a very rare thing so it is great that a guy like Jericho, who whilst not one of the biggest stars ever is still a big name to beat, is willing to do that for the company. I don't mind him working a reduced schedule, I would much rather a reduced schedule than none at all. I actually think that he should stay away a bit longer and actually work for a shorter period of time when he does return. Come back for one really strong 3-4 month feud and then disappear again for another year.

Wrestling needs more guys like Jericho, and Kane, who are willing to put over anyone.