Chris Jericho Returns to WWE Programming During Monday Night Raw

Chris Jericho's returns to WWE always make for special moments, and his most recent comeback is no exception as Y2J appeared on the Dec. 15 edition of Monday Night Raw.

Jericho is serving as the general manager for the night, with WWE bringing in celebrities and former stars to play the role until a more full-time solution is found:

Later in the show, Brock Lesnar made a surprise appearance and greeted Jericho with a F-5.

The company had earlier announced that Y2J would be on the show and interviewing Rusev for a Highlight Reel segment:

Jericho's previous full-time run culminated at Night of Champions in a loss to Randy Orton. The future Hall of Famer spent most of the summer feuding with Bray Wyatt but transitioned to The Viper after losing an acclaimed steel-cage match against Wyatt on Raw.

Although Jericho has become known for his willingness to work with and put over younger talent, there is no question that his match with Orton was entertaining. In fact, Jericho used that bout as the basis for why he wanted to continue returning to WWE when his schedule would allow it, according to Justin Barrasso of the Boston Herald:

"

I'm as cutting edge and creative as I've ever been. Sometimes fans will put restrictions on you because of your age. My last match with the company was against Randy Orton and we stole the show. We were telling a great story, and doing things in the match that other people wouldn't do or couldn't do. As long as I can still cut new ground and have great matches, with fire and passion, I'll continue to come back.

"

Following that match, Jericho sent out a tweet thanking the WWE Universe, which suggested that his focus would be shifting toward his duties as lead singer of the band Fozzy:

Jericho is usually gone for months when he takes a WWE hiatus, but he dropped hints that things would be a bit different this time around. Y2J revealed on his Talk Is Jericho podcast (h/t Raj Giri of WrestlingInc.com) that his absence might be short-lived.

"(My) latest run with the WWE is over for now, but don't worry," Jericho said. "I will be back sooner than you think, especially for my friends over in the UK and Germany."

As it turns out, Jericho was advertised for the Nov. 10 live event in Bournemouth, England, the Nov. 11 SmackDown taping in Liverpool and the Nov. 15 live event in Frankfurt, Germany.

He went on to wrestle at live events during WWE's European tour and even hosted an episode of the Highlight Reel on SmackDown. That turned out to be a one-off appearance, though, as he once again left to focus on Fozzy.

The real challenge as it relates to Jericho is keeping him fresh and relevant whenever he returns to action. Even at his age, Jericho is still capable of putting on fantastic matches with essentially anyone, and he remains one of the best mic workers in the business as well.

Since Jericho is so unselfish in terms of elevating others, though, the expectation is usually that he is going to lose his matches. He did buck that trend to some degree by beating Wyatt at Battleground, but he eventually lost the feud by taking the fall in two subsequent matches.

Regardless of how Jericho is booked, however, his value to the company is undeniable. He can entertain and thrive in almost any situation, and his status as a multi-platform star inevitably gets more eyes on the product.

With so many young, up-and-coming stars on the roster currently, Jericho can be used as an important tool for many years to come. As long as Jericho wants to continue wrestling, WWE would be wise to continue bringing him back. And even if his role with the company continues in a non-wrestling capacity, he can still be an asset.

It remains to be seen how long this current run with the company will last, but Jericho is basically guaranteed to do something special during that time.

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