WWE: Double Standard of the Departures of Chris Jericho and The Rock

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Chris Jericho are legends of the WWE, both possessing loads of charisma and incredible mic skills.

Their respective departures from wrestling have been equally similar, though Rock received criticism, while Jericho was given a free pass.

The Rock left the WWE to pursue a career in acting. Near the end of his wrestling days he was even turned heel as punishment for his frequent breaks to film movies.

The fans reacted by turning on Johnson, who was labeled a sellout and many other non-complementary things.

Though Rock is now in our good graces, he wasn't too long ago.

As for Jericho, he has left the WWE not once, but twice to focus on his music career with his band Fozzy.

The first time, he left after a match with John Cena in 2005. Jericho has said he was "disenchanted" with wrestling, and was far more interested in touring with his band.

The second time, he was written off with a punt in the head from Randy Orton. This time around, he wasn't disenchanted, but wanted to go on tour and be a part of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Both times, we in the IWC gave Jericho a pass, yet hated Rock until his return earlier this year.

In my opinion, this is a double standard. It's absurd to think Jericho had any more of a right than Rock to leave the company for other endeavors.

If anything, Chris had less of a right to leave. He simply did less for the company. 

This once again displays our blind favoritism for some wrestlers and unwarranted bashing for others.

Perhaps it's a difference in eras?

Rock, along with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, was the poster boy of the attitude era. At the time of Rock's departure, Austin had already called it quits due to a neck injury.

This left fans in desperation as it signaled the end of the attitude era.

For Jericho in 2005, we had come to grips with a different era and even more so in 2010.

Still, I have no real reasoning for this. The IWC is a highly biased group of fans, with an agenda to get their favorite guys to the top.

Unfortunately, no fans can make it happen. So instead, we take it out on guys who have fallen out of our favor.

I have never had an issue with wrestlers leaving for other careers, but many others have. Overall, I think the IWC needs to become a bit more consistent with how it judges wrestlers before its members lose all credibility.