Chris Jericho's Return: How Would You Book It?

[AK2V8]

The night after Night Of Champions, Chris Jericho was obsessed with finding the GM's identity. Annoyed at this, Randy Orton would challange him to a match next week on Raw. After the match, Orton punted Jericho in the head and sent him out of action for quite some (kayfabe of course).

As many of us should know, Chris Jericho was eliminated from DWTS. As Jericho said, he is guaranteed to be coming back. With Edge gone, and the likes of CM Punk and Rey Mysterio hanging their boots in the space of a year, WWE most likely needs Jericho back.

Now what I want to now is:
How would you book his return?

Would he be face or heel?

Would you bring him back as Y2J or "The Best At What I Do" or a completely new gimmick?

You tell me.

 

[modest-genius]

BREAK THE WALLS DOWN

I would do a series of promo videos for a short amount of time; say three weeks, a sort of homage to his previous return. Then he should come out to the countdown, with the arm pose, and proceed to get the crowd excited with a super-face Y2J Chris Jericho!!!!

- And then the scowl would form, the voice would turn dull and monotone, and would demand all of the sycophants in the arena to shut the hell up. Jericho would give a big speech of how he is the same person he was before he left and that he doesn’t want the crowd to like him – the only person he came back for was himself.

Jericho would then announce that he had finally tracked down the true identity of the Anonymous RAW General Manager, the crowd will go mad and he will ask them if they want him to expose who it is-

And then he would refuse. Cue a bleepy-bleep and Jericho would explain how is blackmailing the GM, and for all intents and purposes he is in control of the show now.

From this point on we get GM Jericho as he gives himself a WWE title matches, tortures his old enemies John Cena and Rey Mysterio, and he would get massive heat from being the evil heel in charge and refusing to say who the damn GM is. The storyline would eventually end in the GM somehow being exposed perhaps by someone else such as Cena, ending Jericho’s reign of control.

 

[bigandpissed]

I say do it exactly like his debut. Have the countdown start about a month before at some ridiculously high number (like I believe the first time it showed before his debut it was at 999hrs:99m:99sec), and have the countdown end in the middle of a john cena or randy orton promo. He should return as a face Y2J

 

[TheNewStyle]

Coming back as the top heel on Smackdown would be great booking but I think I'd rather have him as face on Raw where he feuds with The Miz, who he claimed reminds him of himself. All the stuff like "demanding the GM to change something", the monotone talking, the finisher and attitude in general.

 

[boozinjedi]

I'd have to lean towards bringing him back as Y2J,Someone needs to bring Miz down a level or two.

To quote the movie STRIPES,
"Lighten Up Francis"....that should be one of his phrases he throws at Miz!!

 

[JWGunslinger]

Well first I will say that I would love to be able to bring Chris back right before Money in the Bank and have him go on to win the match that he himself created. Unfortunatly MITB is going to take place right in the middle of Y2J's summer Fozzy tour. so instead of going with that i'll say have him return at or right before Night of Champions, the last PPV that he was a part of before his departure. Have him come out as the old Y2J and from there I have two possible scenarios. I would like to see him come back and continue what he had with Orton before he left but I dont think a face Jericho would make that work very well so my second idea is have him on Raw as the old Y2J and let him save us from the reign of the Miz. There is nobody more perfect to feud and win the title from the Miz than my hero Y! 2! J!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the WWE Universe will never....never....EEEEEEEEEVER be the same agayne!

 

[VinnieSunshine]

Bring him back as Y2J. Its going to be hard for him to come back as a heel since Raw is heel heavy right now.

Something else you could do is bring him back...wait for it...as the GM. Its simple. Jericho could explain that he was tracking down the GM to throw everyone off, and right when he was going to reveal that it was him Orton punted him in the head and took him out.

Storyline wise as the GM it makes sense. Barrett was under Jericho in NXT, Nexus was running things before Jericho went away and almost everything Nexus was allowed to do was in their favor. Jericho could say he used it as a way to get to Cena and wear him down so he could become champion. Nexus also took out Bret Hart which lead to the mystery GM and the GM said at one point that they were not a fan of Hart.

Not to mention that it could be what Otunga was alluding to when he told Barrett "dont make me tell everyone what the REAL plan is." (yeah I know that whole storyline is played out and has been dropped)

 

[Rated RKO]

Its got to be as a heel on SD! Come back, screw Orton at ER and then have them rival to determine number one contender to christian (hopefully). Prob Orton wins leaving Y2J to go face and maybe face wade at WM in which wud be a classic. SD lacks that top top heel at the moment and Jericho can be that guy!

 

[American Steamboat]

Like some have said, I think he should return to SmackDown! as the top heel there--Raw already has Miz, Del Rio, and Punk as major heels so the blue show definitely could use him more. Hell, they border line NEED him, as right now you have Sheamus as the most credible heel on the show and he's been in the mid card for a while now.

Again, like some have said, I would like to see Jericho as a face one more time, but I think it can wait. Let Jericho pick up where he left off and then turn him face--perhaps as early as right after his feud with Orton...they could maybe even switch roles. Having him return in the same fashion as before would be a bit redundant.

 

[rowingisgood11]

He should come back as a face on Smackdown if Orton is a heel or on RAW if Miz is still champion. I'd love a Jericho/Miz match up down the road because they're great performers and are great on the mic.

For his return, I'd have just the normal clock rundown like he normally does but give it a different feel and don't mention anything, just the clock run down.

 

[Fisheatppl]

I've been thinking about this. Every time he debut's its epic, and its got to be epic. But you can't do the same old vignettes (or new ones). People will know its him after the first one (not that we didn't before).
I would love him to be a face. First off, he's great at it (great heel too). Secondly, after being on DWTS, I think anyone who watched him on there would want him back and cheer for him. He's set up to be a face. Maybe make an announcement that "in 3 weeks, the face of Raw will change" then "2 weeks" and "next week". Then halfway through the show, Miz is talking, and there is a loud noise. The Raw is War Banners fall off, people come out and they change the Raw apron. You hear the words "WELCOME TO..." and the Banners fall "JERICHO" all over the place. "RAW IS JERICHOOOOO!" He walks out as Y2J! He then comes out to bash Miz about how he stole his look, but then he realized how much of an assclown Miz looks like, so let him have it. But he does want the title.

 

[sajsSAMynwa1892]

i think like someone else has said previously he will be a face after his IMMEDIATE return because i cant imagine the audience not being excited seeinng jericho back, though he could act exactly the same and people may cheer him, because hes just better than everyone else(similar to kurt angle just before he left wwe), either way i think he has to feud with christian at some point, if anyone is going to properly put christian over it will be jericho, and hopefully he can have the undertakers last match at next years wrestlemania

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'd like to see Jericho brought back as a face. With his stint on a big show like Dancing With The Stars, I think him coming back as the serious heel he's been for the past few years just wouldn't have the same feel to it.

As another poster said, I'd do something similar with the old Y2J countdown back in the day. I don't think he should be quite as...hmmm well rebelious I guess for lack of a better term. He can still be very engeretic and dynamic and all but nothing over the top. Jericho's 40 years old and watching a 40 year old man try and act like a 20 year old frat boy is a sad sorry sight sometimes. Just like at the last run of Triple H & HBK & DX.

I'd have Jericho's big return happen on a special episode of Raw, maybe a 3 hour one for instance. At some point during his big return promo, he'd address the anonymous Raw GM and the animosity that was between them a while back before eventually laying into some classic Y2J insults. The Raw GM chimes in with a message saying something very "corporate" I guess, maybe how Jericho's presence on Raw creates a hostile work environment. He puts Jericho in a match against someone and, if he loses, he's heading to SmackDown!. During his match, say against maybe either The Miz or Alberto Del Rio for instance, there'd be some interference from one of the SmackDown! stars that winds up costing Jericho the match so he's sent to SD! as per the terms of the match.

I think SmackDown! could use the star power Jericho would bring. Also look at the potential programs he could have: Jericho vs. Cody Rhodes, Jericho vs. Wade Barrett, Jericho vs. Sheamus, Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan, Jericho vs. Christian etc.

 

[GW_Hart86]

How would you book his return?

I'd love to see him make a return, not the same, but similar to his WWE debut with the millenium countdown, that was one of the best, if not the best debut I have ever seen in the history of wrestling, so entertaining! But, I'd like to see him come back to SmackDown as I believe RAW are starting to focus more on the young talent of the future.

Would he be face or heel?

I would definately have him as a face, he has proven many times in the past that he can play an effective face and heel. Some may argue he is a better heel, however, the fact of the matter is that the WWE is heavily lacking in big time face wrestlers at the moment. There is plenty of good quality heels about, so making Y2J come back as a heel wouldn't make any sense. The time for his return as a face is perfect and personally I can't wait ti see what the WWE drafts up for him.

Would you bring him back as Y2J or "The Best At What I Do" or a completely new gimmick?

I think a new gimmick would be a warm welcome and I would trust that Jericho could pull whatever it is off. Because he has been full of creativity and new ideas since he joined the WWE and every one has been a success. But, I also wouldn't mind to see him continue his "The Best At What I Do" gimmick, I really like that gimmick because it reminds of an old school gimmick like Bret Hart, who had the old school in-ring technical ability/style. Jericho is one of the very few wrestlers around who still has that technical ability which in my view makes him one of the all time greats of the sport.

 

[sharu7]

I'd have him and The Rock booked on the same night..Say somewhere in June?

I'd have Jerichos countdown till some monday in June.

I'd have The Rock doing his promo on John Cena or something..John Cena and The Rock are in the ring..then all of a sudden the count down clock appears.

And yeah 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Jericho

I would have it pretty similar to his 1999 Debut....This would be a Nostalgic moment with him interupting The Rock etc...

 

[MizFit Brocko]

I think he will come back as a face and end up feuding with the Miz. Whether it's for the title or not is irrelevant, and i would love to see a program between these 2 who are actually pretty good friends outside the WWE as well.

Obviously, Jericho would help Miz further get over, but i would love to see the back and forths between these 2, would be brilliant.

 

[MCMG]

I think he will come soon but the best returns are at the Royal Rumble but the only problem is Jericho should be a heel and returning in the royal rumble as a heel is very difficult.

Idealy have him win the rumble with Orton as WHC and they have a great feuding culminating with a match at mania. This would be a match witch we have not seen and between two of the best in this current era.

Another possibility is have return at RR or EC and cost the Undertaker the rumble or the WHC. This leads to them having a match at WM at taker goes 20-0 on a high. Jericho is the best that taker has not faced yet that is still is a possiblity.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Jericho needs to return to Smackdown, as a heel, and finish his feud with Orton. If Christian is going to have any sort of title run, he needs Orton out of the picture.

Feuding with Jericho would give Orton the opportunity to be the #1 face on Smackdown, but not hog the WHC. If the WWE can wait until Capitol Punishment (June 19th) to bring Jericho back, he and Orton could feud for a solid two months before having a one-on-one contest (at SummerSlam, obviously), seeing Money in the Bank is in the middle of July, and both men should be apart of that match (with Jericho obviously making sure Orton doesn't win).

I know some Orton fans will be upset with him not winning the strap right away, but I'm hoping for a solid build-up to his winning the title. In all honesty, I hope it doesn't happen until WrestleMania 28.

 

[TheFranchise]

You bring him back as the top face on Smackdown where he can really work with the young talent like Sin Cara and Daniel Byron.

 

[GW_Hart86]

Just like thefranchise said in his last post, would be great to see Jericho on SmackDown feuding with Daniel Bryan, the two of these guys would have one hell of a match, we could finally see that old school technical style match that we have been missing for so long. Remember the old days when round about Backlash 2000 I think it was when Jericho vs Benoit took place. I'm still of the opinion that they were some of the best matches ever made by the wwe, no daft tables, ladders and chairs or wotever else, just two guys who know how to wrestle creatively and display a rare form of art that entertains the fans and gives them their moneys worth!

Lets see Jericho v Bryan put on an old school match guys and girls!

 

[HBK/RKO]

I would not be surprised if he returned this Monday night and interrupted The Rock's birthday celebration. Now that would be epic and would bring back that nostalgic moment from when he debuted. If that doesn't happen there are two options which are to return to raw on another night and feud with miz who won't being feuding with anyone after he loses his rematch to Cena. The other one is he returns to smackdown and feuds with Orton although I hope he doesn't because I want that saved until Wrestlemania 28.

 

[Dagger Dias]

It depends on which show he will be on. The logical choice would be to Smackdown so he can feud with Orton. This would see him picking up right where he left off. He could interrupt Orton telling him he did not forget the punt that took him out of action. It also depends on if he will be a heel or a face. If he's on Raw he should be a face and if he's on Smackdown he should be heel. Either show and either role would be a good fit, but I think he would work better as a face on Raw because Raw needs some more faces plus he could put over some of the newer guys like Morrison or Del Rio. I really hope to see his sarcastic face persona return.