Bring back Y2J hypogrites!

[SJM12492]

Yo, am I the only one thinking that mabye Jericho's heel run has gone on for a tad long now. I admit he's a awesome wrestler and extremely charasmatic and can draw heat from Vickie Guerreo's bat cave, but it's starting to get real stale.
I talking about the fact that when he re-joined the WWE with the 'Save Us' gimmick, I couldn't have been more excited. In my opinion, they wasted what could have been a very interesting fued between him and Randy Orton. But insted, they just throw in JBL who was not even in the same league as Jericho... A triumphant main event return straight into a mid-card fued with JBL.
Ever since he turned on Shawn Michaels last year, he's been heel. And in my opinion, one of the best. Calling the fans parasites and hypocrites was a great idea, not the best in my opinion, but great none-the-less.
But now it's getting really old. From now on whenever he comes out, we all know what's going to happen, he's going to start bad-mouthing the fans and boasting about how much he is then them and some other guy's going to come out and challenge him... blah, blah, blah.
It's getting to predictable for Jericho, it was fine at first, but lets turn him back into the guy who came to 'Save Us', mabye after this Mysterio bout. Any thoughts?

 

[Chill]

To be honest, I think Jericho has more to give as a heel on Smackdown. When we began to see signs of his return from his hiatus with the whole "Save Us" program, I was excited...I've always thought Jericho is a great performer, great on the mic and the guy just oozes personality. So naturally when we saw signs of his return I was stoked. However, when he eventually made his grand return on RAW and confronted Randy Orton, I have to admit that I was a little let down and disappointed. While it was good to see Jericho back, he made his return and was essentially doing the exact same thing he did in his initial run with the company...he was reciting the same catch phrases (e.g. "RAW is Jericho!") which was fine but I guess I was just expecting a radical change for him, his music was the same...nothing had really changed. It seemed to me like the whole 'save us' campaign was a bit of a let down.

But then something changed, Jericho turned heel. He adopted a new found attitude which was much needed imo, he adopted a new look, basically he became more of what I was expecting upon his return...something different, something fresh. This is when I began to sit up and take notice of Jericho again, he was no longer Y2J, but a serious performer with serious goals in the WWE. Once he adopted this new character, Jericho went form having lack lustre matches with JBL at the Royal Rumble to putting on five star performances with Shawn Michaels...simply put the guy was on fire and was one of the most interesting heels in the WWE for a long time.

So, in answering the question, I'll be frank and say no, I don't want Jericho to revert to being a face or the guy that came to save us. When he returned I was disappointed but I really feel he began to pick up steam with his new personna. As one of the main antagonists of Smackdown Jericho has still so much more to give in my opinion, obviously he has to finish this highly successful feud with Mysterio, he could have full blown feuds with the mega face Jeff Hardy (should he renew his contract), he could fued with Punk (if Punk remains face), he could face Edge and of course The Undertaker when he eventually gets back. I think Jericho and Undertaker is something many fans want to see and in order for this to be effective, I think Jericho needs to be the mega heel in order for the feud to work.

Overall, I saw enough of the face Jericho in the Attitude Era, his other heel runs were no where near as effective as his current one imo. I don't think Jericho has explored all the options with his current guise...possibly when this gimmick has fully run it's course then Jericho might want to consider going down the 'save us' route but for me, I'm more than content with his work at the moment and I think he still has more to give in his current form. Good thread btw...

 

[HBK-aholic]

His 'Save us' thing hardly turned into something like that did it? It failed miserably, and was the worst way to bring back one of the best wrestlers in the business today. I'm not saying this because I'm against a face turn, simply that Jericho as a heel outweighs Jericho as a face by quite a lot when looking at his career since his return.

He could turn face, there's no doubt he'd be good at it, having plenty of experience. However I'd argue he's better as a heel for now when looking at the talent around him. When they need a top face Jericho will be there, but his heel persona works well at the moment.

 

[Leeds Guy]

While I miss the Y2J from the 2001 era I have to say he is an exceptional heel and currently engaged in a fantastic feud with Rey Mysterio. His work as a heel back in 2002 onwards was awesome, he made you actually hate him and want to see him get his arse kicked something that heels can't really do these days. When he returned as a face (as the Saviour) something didnt feel right, he wasnt as good as he was during his Y2J days and seemed to be getting lost in the midcard in pretty piss poor feuds with JBL. I have to say I thought his heel turn was brutal, the way he threw Shawn Micheals into the Jeriton 5000 made me whince and from then on he hasnt looked back. Now his work with Rey Mysterio makes for compelling viewing and has kept me entertained throughout. Jericho is one of the reasons why Smackdown is the superior show at the moment.

I dont think he needs a gimmick change either, I love the cocky arrogant suited up Jericho who comes out with the big words like Ostrogise and Sycophants just to prove that hes better than all of us, compare that with 2002-2005 Jericho who was just a whiney little bitch heel it shows how he has taken this heel turn and mixed it with his own ideas to make it better, he truely has a great mind. Where does this leave Jericho? it leaves him with plenty of options for future feuds, he can feud with Jeff Hardy (before he leaves) a potential CM Punk Feud, a massive feud with the Undertaker which I dont think we have ever seen before. Then the midcard breakthrough guys people like Morrision and Truth even the Great Khali could be an interesting feud for Jericho.

However if they were to turn him face I think a return to his Y2J gimmick would be an awesome idea because lets face it his promos were awesome back then, he was argueably on comparision with The Rock as one of the most over guys in the company back then, the fans would eat it up, The IWC would do the usual bitching and moaning though.

 

[Caustic]

I agree with practically all of the above statements. Today's heel Jericho is one of the best there is. He is relentless and does not show shame or remorse. I have no doubt that we will see the good ol' Y2J sometime in the future, but for now he is awesome at what he does. Really, it has been during this heel run that he has proven exactly how good he is. I always thought that he was not fit to be the first undisputed champion in WWE, as the character was far too cowardly and whiny. This heel new Jericho could smack the snot out of the old one and burn his own parents with a confident sneer. That is exactly what Smackdown needs.

I expect after his program with Rey he will move on, possibly going for the WHC. He has been at his best when in longer programs/feuds. The one with Rey will peak this summer, so I am wondering who is next to feel his wrath. We all expect Rey to win and leave with his mask and the IC belt.

I am still a Jerichoholic. His style in matches always gives it a high potential. He will beat you then berate you further. Give me more of that poisoned Jerichohol!

 

[Nate DaMac]

The old Y2J was cool and all, but I don't want that back yet. Jericho is the best heel we have on either show. I don't want him to go back to being a comedy jobber to the stars. The potential with a Jericho Undertaker feud is amazing, and it would be extremely lackluster with the old Y2J gimmick.

 

[tehblogger]

Chris Jericho = great heel because Chris Jericho > than you.

Shit, why change the character. The promos, hypnotic, serpentine, ruthless, compelling, are golden, and the matches are even more excellent than they were. Along with Edge and Morrison, he is the Smackdown top draw. The feud with Rey has produced some great matches, and even some great segments (since when did you say that about Rey Mysterio feuds?). Can't wait for an Morrison feud, and maybe one with Edge for Wrestlemania.

I thoroughly dispute the notion he's getting stale. The Rey feud is certainly not stale, and I loved the way he blended his "honest man" gimmick with his "saviour" gimmick with his "fans suck" gimmick in an effort to get Rey's mask off. Only Jericho could have the audacity.

 

[Lee]

yeah i thought jericho was doing just fine when he just came back

but now hes getting boring

How a guy who likes Benjamin can think Jericho is boring, I do not know.

But on topic...I think Jericho's at the point where I think he will be heel for a while, his routine is interesting, moving him to SD gave him a fresh push after the HOF angle. He does a heel a lot better than a face, and is getting some serious heat, he's a bad guy and with all the tweeners (Edge, Punk etc) and guys who can't get over (shelton) Smackdown needs a guy who can draw heat from the crowd.