Chris Jericho Returns to WWE: Why His Comeback Is a Terrible Idea

As most will now by now, famous WWE name Chris Jericho was revealed to be the man behind the spooky "It Begins" vignettes that have been scattered all over Raw in recent months.

You know those videos, the ones with the creepy little boy (clearly channeling Aidan from The Ring movies) in an empty school musing about the end of the world. Over time, he's joined by a little girl (also slightly scary) and together they ignore each other, move around desks and throw down school books.

Eh, where exactly are the teachers in this school while these two run amok anyway? Where are their parents? Someone call child services... 

Regardless, as a marketing tool, the gloomy videos worked well, as everyone tried to figure out and decipher the true meaning behind the cryptic imagery, strange symbols and language used. It was like a wrestling fan version of The DaVinci Code or something.

Credit for the superb vignettes should go mainly to WWE's top-notch production team, led by Kevin Duun, who never fail to rise to occasions such as this (Kane's return videos were also extremely well done). 

As a result, fans were sufficiently hyped up for the debut of the mystery man and, as was widely suspected, Jericho returned to the company after a long absence to a rousing reaction from the fans in Memphis.

As some may remember, Chris was written out in September 2010 via a brutal punt from Randy Orton, largely because he wanted to pursue options outside of WWE, like ABC's Dancing with the Stars or touring with his band Fozzy. He's even spoken several times before about attempting an acting career and picked up some bit parts in low-budget horror flicks like Albino Farm (I suffered through this film once; it was utterly dreadful and laughable in every possible way, but it still managed to be slightly better than The Chaperone, a movie which destroys souls just through its sheer badness).

Like many WWE stars who leave for Hollywood, Jericho's attempt to parlay his wrestling success into a mainstream entertainment career was a decidedly mixed bag: his stint on Dancing with the Stars was generally fine (although he was eliminated fairly early), his heavy metal bad Fozzy continues to be a wrestler's quirky side-project and little more and when it comes to snagging movie roles, he hasn't exactly emulated The Rock's success.

So all things considered, it wasn't really a shock he returned. He has a wife and three kids, as well as a glittery jacket addiction to fund, and only a few more earning years in the business. Presumably, Jericho has figured out it's better to take the big money where you can instead of holding out for a mainstream career that may never happen.  

However, despite the great buildup and (initial) loud pop from the fans in attendance, I believe Jericho's return is a terrible mistake in the long run. One that both WWE and the wrestler himself will regret and look back on in the years to come as a dire, dreadful mistake (Jericho may also feel the same way about that atrocious '80s style jacket he wore on Raw at some point).

First of all, the man is 41 years old now, fairly ancient by wrestling standards (although in TNA, he would probably be considered a spring chicken). While Chris has had several impressive runs in WWE, he has also been overexposed; there's the stubborn question of whether or not he has anything new to show us. Not only as a wrestler, but as a personality as well.

Come on, over the years we've had "Funny Chris", "Rebel Chris", "Serious Chris", "Whiny Chris", "Sociopathic Chris" and, my personal favourite, "Threaten to Beat Up Bob Barker Chris." The guy is quickly running out of fresh and interesting acts.  

To make matters worse, the veteran's return comes at a time when the company should be focusing on pushing younger talent like Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and Jack Swagger. Indeed, the focus needs to be on them, not on yet another star from the Attitude Era who can offer little past a nostalgic pop.

There's also the pertinent question of whether or not Jericho can make any real difference to a stale and struggling onscreen product. An ambitious performer who takes pride in his work, Jericho is not going to be content to merely collect a paycheck and phone it in every week. He will surely want to make a difference and help reinvigorate a stagnant product.

Trouble is, he probably can't. If The Rock (a star far bigger than Jericho has ever been) could not make a significant difference to flagging ratings and low, low pay-per-view buy rates in November when he returned part time to the promotion, what hope does Chris have?

Dealing with a fickle, largely incompetent booking team like WWE's current one will be a difficult thing to rise above. Others have struggled with it, too, and it's far more likely Jericho will eventually quit—in frustration after being told to mention Twitter one too many times in a promo—before he makes any significant change to the business. 

Summarily, it might be unfair to say Jericho's comeback is an awful idea, but looking at all the factors working against him (a terrible creative team, an old and tired act), it's difficult to see how he can be a success, either.