Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega and the Most Controversial Stories of the Week

While you were sleeping, Chris Jericho made his long-awaited return to New Japan Pro Wrestling with an unbelievable match against Kenny Omega. And in one of WWE's busiest months of the year, New Japan Pro Wrestling will also figure to make its imprint with its version of WrestleMania. 

Many stories shocked and awed this past week, but they start and end with Alpha vs Omega. 

Chris Jericho Rewrites Wrestling Again at Wrestle Kingdom 12, New Year's Dash

Last year, Chris Jericho once again got the wrestling world abuzz with his surprise appearance in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and once again, he exceeded expectations with a wild, hardcore brawl against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. 

Jericho's long-awaited "Alpha vs. Omega" showdown with one of the best wrestlers in the world—whatever that means—was an instant classic. The match featured an incensed, heel Jericho at his villainous best. Jericho repeatedly mocked Omega chants, attacked both referee "Red Shoes" Unno and his son and turned the American broadcast booth upside down in a departure from the traditional style of Japanese wrestling. 

If that wasn't enough to dominate headlines for the week, Jericho stuck around and attacked Tetsuya Naito, who headlined Wrestle Kingdom 12 in a losing effort to Kazuchika Okada, the following night at New Year's Dash. 

At 47 years of age, Chris Jericho is at the top of his game, and I'll be eager to see his next match no matter what ring it's in. 

5 Teams Announced for WWE's Mixed Match Challenge

WWE continues its slow rollout of the Mixed Match Challenge, which will air exclusively on Facebook Watch. Teams were teased for weeks, and—one-by-one—WWE is just now beginning to announce some truly dynamic pairings. Thus far, the first five teams include the following: 

• Charlotte and Bobby Roode
• Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman 
• Finn Balor and Sasha Banks 
• Rusev and Lana 
• Jimmy Uso and Naomi

The #WWEMMC is a unique project between WWE and Facebook's upstart streaming service, and the promotion has done a good job taking its time to build interest around what should be a fun tournament. 

WWE is never one to be starved for content, but its inaugural Mixed Match Challenge is shaping up to be one of the better pro wrestling concepts of 2018. 

Illness Strikes WWE Locker Room Yet Again

This past week, multiple WWE Superstars were forced to miss time with the flu. First, Braun Strowman was sent home from WWE's holiday tour after coming down with the flu, per Mike Johnson of PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc).

Things only got worse when cruiserweight champion Enzo Amore contracted the flu, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc) and was forced to miss his scheduled Cruiserweight Championship match against Cedric Alexander.

Amore is also set to miss the WWE Mixed Match Challenge after being replaced with Apollo Crews. This was incorporated into a storyline when Nia Jax ditched Alexa Bliss to deliver Amore chicken noodle soup. 

With an apparent flu epidemic beginning to make its way around the Raw locker room, WWE Superstars can't help but feel trepidation following the serious viral infections that completely compromised WWE's TLC card last October. 

The Bullet Club Reunites in WWE, but Was It Temporary?

Former Bullet Club members Finn Balor, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows teamed up Monday on Raw in what was openly acknowledged as a "reunion" by the Raw announce team.

Following their victory over Elias and The Miztourage, Balor boldly declared "the boys are back in town."

Though it is unlikely that WWE will ever make direct mention of the popular New Japan Pro Wrestling stable, WWE has had a tendency to ride its momentum with a short-lived stable simply named "The Club" that featured Anderson, Gallows and AJ Styles. 

With Balor in the driver's seat this time around, a permanent Bullet Club-ish faction would be an upgrade for the former universal champion.

Like Gallows and Anderson, Balor won championship gold early in his run before plummeting deep into irrelevance. Like Gallows and Anderson, Balor has struggled to reinvent himself outside of what made him popular in his previous run. Like Gallows and Anderson, Balor is in his mid-to-late thirties. 

So why not just throw the band back together and let the good times roll? 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.