WWE: 7 Reasons Chris Jericho Is Needed on Raw

Raw is Jericho.

OK, maybe that saying isn't totally true. But we can alter it to something like this that might make a little more sense: Monday Night Raw needs Chris Jericho.

Before Y2J returned earlier this month, I wasn't so sure that the WWE had to have him back. I was content with the way things were.

But the more I thought about it and the more I've watched Jericho on Raw over the last several weeks, the more I've realized just how much the company will benefit from having him back.

Here are seven reasons why Raw needs Jericho.

7. So We Can Get Some Better Promos

You know how you can tell when someone is great at cutting promos?

When he hosts a "talk show," only utters one sentence and still gets the crowd to pop big time.

That's exactly what Chris Jericho did on Monday Night Raw, when he hosted "The Highlight Reel" and only said this one line: "This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's gonna be the end of the world as you know it."

Quite simply, Jericho is absolutely masterful on the mic, and if he can have the crowd on the edge of their seats when hardly even speaking; imagine what he's going to do when he cuts a great promo every night.

Outside of The Miz, John Cena and CM Punk, Raw doesn't really have a ton of guys who shine on the mic, so Jericho provides an instant lift to the WWE in the promo department.

I honestly can't remember ever seeing Jericho cut a bad promo, and if he's dueling on the mic with Punk like we think he will, expect to see pure excellence on his part.

Jericho is indeed the best in the world at what he does, and what he does is cut promos.

6. His Ability to Draw

Chris Jericho can and will draw.

He may not be the global icon that Hulk Hogan was or as universally known as The Rock is, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't bring a ton of name value to the WWE.

Jericho is pretty well-known in popular culture because, thanks to his band Fozzy and his appearances on a wide variety of TV shows, people who have never watched professional wrestling know who he is.

He is one of the few WWE superstars whose popularity extends beyond pro wrestling, and he can use that to draw in new viewers to WWE programming.

Not to mention that he is Y2J, one of the most beloved wrestlers of our time and someone who fans will pay good money to see.

Outside of maybe CM Punk, John Cena and Randy Orton, no full-time wrestler is going to bring in both old and new viewers quite like Jericho. 

5. To Improve the Wrestling

This isn't to say that the wrestling on Raw has been bad. In fact, we saw a ton of great matches from the WWE's flagship show in 2011.

But Chris Jericho is going to dramatically improve the quality of the wrestling on Monday nights.

He's still one of the most well-rounded performers in the WWE, he gives the company a go-to guy who always puts on good matches, and he can work programs with a number of stars he's never really had the opportunity to work with.

Wouldn't you like to see Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler? How about Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio? Or what about Jericho vs. The Miz?

There are a boatload of potentially great matches just waiting to happen now that Jericho is on Raw, and I can't freakin' wait to see this guy tear the house down in the near future.

4. He Has Something Big in Store for Us

I'm incredibly intrigued to find out what Jericho meant when he said,"This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's gonna be the end of the world as you know it."

There are all kinds of theories being thrown around about the meaning behind Jericho's statement, the most popular of which is that Jericho, "the best in the world at what I do," will win the Royal Rumble match and target CM Punk, "the best wrestler in the world."

I've also seen a number of other interesting possibilities, though, such as Jericho looking to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships just like he did in 2001 when he defeated The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to become the Undisputed WWF Champion.

That would obviously be an incredibly interesting scenario, but it's just one of many that seem to be possible at the moment.

Although we can't really be sure what Jericho means by the "end of the world," one thing's for sure: He has something big in store for us this Sunday.

3. So He Can Put Some Younger Stars over

No one is better at putting over young stars than Chris Jericho.

During his last run with the company from 2007 to 2010, he made a habit out of losing to guys he had no business losing to.

Remember when he lost to Evan Bourne on pay-per-view? How about when Heath Slater beat him on the WWE's least watched show, NXT?

Most major WWE stars don't even get pinned cleanly by other main eventers, but Jericho managed to lose to one guy who's now probably on his way out of the company and another who is the mayor of Jobberville.

And the great thing about Jericho is that he instantly recovered from those losses and didn't let them affect him whatsoever.

I'd fully expect him to do the same in 2012, when he does what Randy Orton did in 2011 and puts over multiple guys so that they can be taken more seriously as upper mid-carders or main eventers.

Up-and-coming stars like Zack Ryder could benefit in a big way from getting some quality victories over a future Hall of Famer like Y2J.

2. CM Punk Will Soon Need a New Challenger

CM Punk has feuded with just about every top star on Monday Night Raw.

He's already faced John Cena, Triple H, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler recently, and the only heels he hasn't had a rivalry with since becoming a bona fide star are Kane and Chris Jericho.

Since Kane is busy with Cena and Zack Ryder at the moment, this is the perfect time to start building toward a feud between Punk and Jericho.

This is the feud that most of us want to see, it's one that makes sense storyline wise, and it will prevent the creative team from recycling some feud we've already seen, like The Miz vs. Punk.

Jericho didn't come back only to feud with Punk, but it's certainly no coincidence that he returned around the same time that Punk was beginning to run out of challengers for the WWE Championship.

1. The Lack of a Top Heel on Monday Night Raw

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via SEScoops.com), Vince McMahon isn't completely sold on either The Miz or Alberto Del Rio as Raw's top heel:

"

Vince McMahon has been pushing Alberto Del Rio to show more “ruthless aggression” in the ring and work a more physical style.  This is the reason Del Rio has been working stiffer in recent weeks.

RAW is lacking strong heels, with The Miz not being seen as a legitimate tough guy at this point. Vince thinks Del Rio has the size, toughness and gimmick to be a permanent main event heel, but he needs to come across as more dangerous in the ring.

"

While both Kane and Dolph Ziggler have stepped up their games lately and can lay claim to being Raw's new top heel, it's only a matter of time before Chris Jericho claims his spot as the No. 1 heel on Raw.

Ziggler may be considerably younger and have more pep in his step, and Kane may be more of a monster. But neither of those guys is as well-rounded as Jericho.

Y2J can put on good matches with anyone, he oozes charisma, and only CM Punk can rival him on the microphone.

So, Vince has the solution to his problem, and that solution is Chris Jericho.

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