Jericho - New WWE Champion?

[Ben G]

So on Raw John Larenightus said he would screw punk out of the title
lets just say punk manages to maintain his title vs dolph ziggler against all of John L's best efforts

then enter Chris Jericho out of nowhere he comes out and hits the codebreaker and John L restarts the match to help Jericho win. it would get incredible heat and i think its a pretty beleivable scenario.

this could easily set up the punk vs Jericho wrestlemania match becasue i doubt jericho will win the royal rumble like a lot of people think becasue i saw that apparantly its going to a smackdown superstar anyway

 

[closet_fan]

it's too fast. they would need some sort of build up for wrestlemania. not just have this happen.

jericho has to say why he is coming back as a heel and why he wants to face punk. not just take the belt away from him just like that.

 

[PunkNation26]

Jeritroll could win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber due to a Johnny Ace screw job. Then I think Punk would go to Wrestlemania and reclaim the title. I think the match will have Foley in Punk's corner and the "Funkman" in Jeritroll's corner. If Punk wins, he wins the title and Foley becomes GM. If Jeritroll wins, "Funkman" stays as GM, and either Foley or Punk is "fired".

 

[VinnieSunshine]

The whole 1/2/12 promos with Jericho is supposed to be about him going after Punk. Him mocking the crowd is probably a diss towards Punk. Eventually Jericho will call out Punk and the fans.

Punk made sure we all heard him say that he's "the best wrestler in the world" which is part of why this feud is going to happen.

They will get a huge build-up for WM and I highly doubt it will play into JL having anything to do with it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's possible, but I doubt it'll go down that way. As someone else mentioned, there'll probably be some sort of build up for Jericho as a championship contender. Like a lot of people, I think the ideal scenario is for Jericho to win the Royal Rumble, make his intentions known on Raw and then enter into a program with Punk.

Given what happened on Raw this past Monday, I expect Mick Foley to be involved in the Punk vs. Ziggler match and find some way to help Punk retain the title. Remember, Big Johnny came right out and said that he intended to screw Punk out of the WWE Championship. That all but guarantees that Punk will walk out the champion, so the new story will be how Punk retains the title and what the aftermath will lead to.

There's talk of having Ziggler vs. Foley at WrestleMania, so Foley potentially costing Ziggler the WWE Championship could lead to that and would be a great start to that. Ziggler's interruption of Foley and his great promo this past Monday was a start to things, then Foley gets attacked by Big Johnny to close the show, so Foley it's natural for Foley to be looking for some degree of retribution.

If Jericho takes the title, and I think it'll probably happen at some point, I expect it to happen at WrestleMania. If Ziggler vs. Foley goes down, Punk won't have an ally to help him at WM and Big Johnny will be free and clear to screw Punk over at the biggest event of the year & aid Jericho in winning the title. I do expect some sort of alliance to come about between Jericho & JL with Jericho coming across as the kind of champion that Big Johnny thinks should represent the WWE. This would give WWE a high profile and, most likely, damn good feud that could potentially last through much of the summer.

If JL is going to screw Punk over, and I think we can all suspect that's what's going to happen, I think it'd have the most impact at WrestleMania.

 

[vampirek]

Jeritroll could win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber due to a Johnny Ace screw job. Then I think Punk would go to Wrestlemania and reclaim the title. I think the match will have Foley in Punk's corner and the "Funkman" in Jeritroll's corner. If Punk wins, he wins the title and Foley becomes GM. If Jeritroll wins, "Funkman" stays as GM, and either Foley or Punk is "fired".

Perhaps one of the worse cases of overbooking I have ever seen, are you really suggesting a Wrestlemania title match has three outcomes no matter what the result (Punk wins - Title, Foley as GM, Ace fired ... Jericho wins - retains, someone is fired and Ace remains). Thats a good two to three PPV matches in there for itself.

Chances are Foley is going to prevent Ace from screwing Punk over at the Royal Rumble, Ace is then pushed into giving Punk a worthy opponent at Wrestlemania.. so picks the best 6 he can find to take part in the Elimination Chamber to face Punk in the main event. During this whole time you could have Jericho not say anything until after the Elimination Chamber, claiming he would only return if he got his title back and therefore has been boycotting promo's and refusing to wrestle since his comeback.

 

[Fisheatppl]

You know, they made a point of saying whoever loses the Championship matches can still participate in the RR. So lets assume what the OP says is correct. Jericho screws Punk, Punk enters the RR and wins, and now has two chances to win his belt back. A rematch clause and he gets the Main Event at Wrestlemania. I don't think thats probable, but its possible, which would lead to three Punk/Jericho (possibly 4 with Jericho's rematch) WWE Championship matches.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Foley is going to screw Punk.

The guy can get thrown off of a cage, be put through fire, barb wire, thumbtacks, endless chair shots...but can't take a microphone to the head? What next? Being knocked out by R-Truth's water bottle of doom?

Also, why does Jericho/Punk need to be for the belt? The belt is as meaningless as it ever has been. That match can draw plenty of interest without the title being on the line. Do any real fans care who wins the belt these days? Belts change hands way too often. I just think the idea of "the belt" is overused. (Much like I have overused the word "belt" in this paragraph, haha!)

I am going to enjoy watching this one play out.

 

[LODemolition]

I believe Jericho will win the WWE Title, but not until the rematch after Mania at Extreme Rules. Just going by statistics, almost every year only 1 of the 2 major championships change hands, not both. I think there's a much better chance of Bryan losing than Punk. Also, about the Rumble winner, it looks like they have every intention of screwing that up and giving it to Orton. The only thing that can save the WHC at Mania from being a disaster is if they make it a Triple Threat and throw in Wade Barrett, maybe even a Fatal 4-Way including Sheamus.

 

[brochester8]

I think Jericho will win the Rumble. I really don't think he'll cut a promo until after the Rumble and then that is when he says he wants CM Punk so they can prove who is "the best in the world".

The rumble is the only thing Jericho hasn't accomplished and it would be great to see him win it.

 

[LODemolition]

I also hate that they're giving Ziggler a WWE Title shot at the Rumble. This screws him over in terms of being used properly at Mania imo. I think he should be the winner of the Rumble match and then choose to face Daniel Bryan or whoever the WHC may be. Jericho vs. Punk and Ziggler walking out new WHC would be worth the price of the PPV for me.

And yes, I know he can lose to Punk and still win the Rumble, but let's be serious. That's not happening.

 

[LODemolition]

I think Jericho will win the Rumble. I really don't think he'll cut a promo until after the Rumble and then that is when he says he wants CM Punk so they can prove who is "the best in the world".

The rumble is the only thing Jericho hasn't accomplished and it would be great to see him win it.

I think it should go to a younger guy on the rise like Barrett. Jericho doesn't need to win it in order to build up the feud with Punk, that sells itself. Like you said though, it is the one thing he hasn't accomplished though so it wouldn't be the worst choice either. I'd rather see him win the Elimination Chamber match personally to get his shot at Punk.

 

[justinept]

Let's assess what we think we know ...

1) Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk for the WWE Title will happen at WrestleMania
2) Dolph Ziggler vs. Mick Foley at WrestleMania
3) Daniel Bryan or Mark Henry will be the champ at WrestleMania - and both should be heels by then.

Assessing what we know - let's look at what might happen...

1) Chris Jericho could win the Royal Rumble to set up his match with Punk at 'Mania.

OR

Jericho could go in to WrestleMania as the champion with CM Punk challenging him. Personally, I think that it would be far most interesting for Jericho to win the title prior to 'Mania by "screwing" CM Punk, thus setting up a grudge match between the two at the big event.

2) I think we saw the seeds being planted for a Foley/Ziggler 'Mania match on this week's Raw. We know that Laurinaitis is going to try to screw Punk ... we know that Foley has investment in this match due to both Ziggler and Laurinaitis hitting him with the mic on Monday night.

Here's how I think we could tie those two story lines together even tighter to ensure that the WWE marches on the path toward what we think will happen.

As Laurinaitis is trying to "screw" Punk out of the title, Jericho comes to the ring to try and prevent the injustice. While doing so, he's really milking crowd reactions ... playing it off by trolling the ultimate baby face character. At a point, Jericho gets knocked out by Ziggler ... giving Ziggler and Laurinaitis another 2-on-1 advantage

At this point, Foley comes out to help Punk. He knocks out Laurinaitis. Hits Ziggler with a chair. Then props Laurinaitis's arm to make the three count. Punk retains.

That would be all the fuel necessary to give us Foley/Ziggler at 'Mania.

From there, Jericho gets up ... and Jericho, Punk and Foley begin celebrating in the ring together.

A few moments into the celebrating, Laurinaitis gets up and says that a travesty has occurred -that he never made the 3 count ... and that since Ziggler has been knocked out by the chair, he's ordering the match to re-start ... only this time, it will be Punk vs. Jericho.

Punk gets pissed off by the decision as Jericho sneaks up behind him, rolls him up and Laurinaitis fast counts the win for Jericho.

Now Jericho has "screwed" over Punk, setting up their match at 'Mania. Furthermore, we'd start to get a clearer picture of why Jericho has returned - because Laurinaitis - and more than likely - Stephanie McMahon wanted him to screw over Punk.

I know this comes off as classic over booking --- something that I'm not usually a fan of. However, I do think overbooking creates the hint of chaos, and that when an authority figure is trying to "screw" a wrestler, they need to give the impression of chaos.

3) Why did I mention that Bryan or Henry will likely enter the WHC match at 'Mania ... and that whichever one does will more than likely be a heel? Well, if we know we're getting Jericho/Punk for the WWE Title at 'Mania ... and Jericho doesn't win the Royal Rumble - then we're all but guaranteed a "face" superstar will win the Rumble to challenge either Bryan or Henry. So that eliminates Wade Barrett ... At that point, you're most likely looking at a returning Randy Orton or - if Orton really can't go - Shaemus winning the Rumble.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

IDK why everyone keeps saying it's too early???

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I think Johnny Ace screwing Punk and giving the title to Y2J or Ziggler winning it and then somehow it getting to Y2J within the next week after the rumble. I think if they just have Punk hold the title till Mania would just basically be a give in that he retains. Punk NEEDS to win at mania this year and IN the wwe title picture. So while I know there has been an overwhelming amount of title changes recently maybe a quick change to Ziggler and then having Y2J as wwe champ could add that extra suspense of the chase, whether he will win back the title, and when???

Also side note: I think ALL 3 men deserve another WWE championship to there name!

 

[bjarvis]

I don't know why people think Punk will win at Mania. I expect this to be the third last match, with a womens/celebrity match and then Rock-Cena (hopefully WWE will have learnt from their Mania X8 mistakes). Having Jericho means Punk is no longer on top, putting his opposition on top and making Punk having to chase the title. He'll probably win it back a month or two later.

That's why the Austin-McMahon was enjoyable. Austin didn't always hold the title and some of the most enjoyable periods of the Attitude Era was when he was chasing. Look from mid 98 til WrestleMania 15. Plus Jericho is probably here for a year or two at most. Give him some joy (he hasn't held the WWE title for over 11 years) and then allow him to put others over. Jericho is winning, plain and simple.

 

[crotchknocker]

Originally I was going to say they won't give Jericho the title period, nor does he need it, but I'm sold. Having Punk chase would be better in the end, although I think he definitely wins at Mania(he can lose it the next month again and go back on the chase).

It still wouldn't surprise me to see Punk hold onto it the entire time though, doesn't mean its the best way, but WWE does it their way only.

As a Jerichoholic I'd personally rather see him win the Rumble instead of the title.

 

[HEEL JERICHO]

id love to see jericho win the rumble then punk would win at mania or have jericho win the title b4 mania punk wins at mania then jericho wins it back at extreme rules in a ladder match in punks home chicago then jericho has a final run with it through the summer it could be orton against bryan henry and barret for whc at mania have sheamus against rodes this could be the best mania in years maybe ever

 

[bryan51348]

If anything were to happen. Jericho will be a babyface going into wrestlemania facing off with punk. Everyone thinks that Jericho is heel but no one really knows. He will win the rumble and everyone will pop for him. He will finally speak and battle with punk through wm. The two will respect one each other going into wm. He will lose to punk at mania and the two will skake hands afterwards. The next night, Jericho will ask punk for a rematch at extreme rules. This is when punk will lose the title due to JL screwing punk. Jericho and JL will get boo'd out of the allstate arena and there u have it. The beginning of the fued with Punk/jericho.

 

[Wrestling4Ever]

Jericho's not sticking around. I highly doubt he will be around after Mania. His band just got signed to a major deal, the band is touring UK in June, he as a ton of commitments that will come his way. Its clear that his heart and passion in Music is growing within the day and much like The Rock, he does have a life outside of wrestling.

Surprised no one is pulling the "What good is it for Jericho to come in and win the rumble and the title. Taking the spotlight from all the guys who work year round. Hes been away for almost 2 years and is 40 years old blah blah blah"

 

[xrawxtalentx]

I think Jericho will win the Rumble. I really don't think he'll cut a promo until after the Rumble and then that is when he says he wants CM Punk so they can prove who is "the best in the world".

The rumble is the only thing Jericho hasn't accomplished and it would be great to see him win it.

Eh, I think Jericho will enter the Rumble, and run around the ring like a dork some more, enter the Rumble, and then jump over the top rope and walk to the back.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

He'll fued with Punk and lose to him at Mania. He's still in a band so he'll focus more on that. Punk will win and get more over and that'll be the end of that. Idk who is gonna beat punk but it won't be Jericho.

 

[mb47]

The easiest and most effective way to get Jericho major heat while still keeping Punk's credibility as "the best in the world" is the screw-job at the Rumble.

Think about it for a second...

You put the Rumble match BEFORE the WWE Title match. Jericho does as people have suggested and eliminates himself, however I would have him do that AFTER eliminating a mid to high card heel. Again this creates the illusion he MAY still be face and causes the confusion as to why he eliminated himself. Plus it builds more to the fans wondering "when will Jericho actually wrestle a match?"

We then head in to the WWE Title match. JL calls the match fairly to begin with, again creating a lot of confusion for the viewer but this could be plausible after JL was scared of being hit by Punk this past Raw. Punk has early control, Ziggler gains momentum, still JL doesn't give a fast count. Punk makes a comeback, Ziggler gets out of the ring and crawls under it. Punk looks to the outside and can't see Ziggler, in the confusion JL hits him with a low blow. Ziggler comes out of the ring with a chair and hits Punk when he gets up.

Now is the time for Mick Foley. He rushes down and pulls JL out of the ring to save the 3 count, he then counters an attack by Ziggler and plants him with the Double Arm DDT on the chair. Punk goes to make the cover, JL refuses to count. Punk threatens JL in to counting but only gets a 2 count. Punk waits for Ziggler to get up then hits the GTS. Punk covers and again JL refuses to count, Punk this time attacks JL taking him out of the match. Ziggler then drop kicks Punk in to Foley and then hits Punk with the Zig Zag. Suddenly Jericho comes out in a referee shirt and makes the count giving Ziggler the title.

Please bare with me on this...

The reason I'd close the Rumble like that is simple. JL did exactly what he said and screwed Punk, however no-one knows where Jericho is still aligned as he took a heel out of the RR match earlier and DIDN'T use a fast count against Punk in the title match.

Punk gets his rematch the night on Raw with Foley announcing JL CANNOT interfere and that Foley will be the special guest ref. Punk beats Ziggler cleanly for the title. This won't harm Ziggler because an angle can be put in the match which gives Ziggler reason to blame Foley. That's fully created that feud then.

Punk celebrating with the title can be attacked by Jericho, put in the Walls and then Jericho can stand tall in the ring and no-one is damaged by what's happened and this is where Jericho speaks and says that he did what he had to do to prove Punk ISN'T the best in the world etc...

 

[HeenanGorilla]

At the Rumble, I think it would be HILARIOUS if Jericho ran down the aisle, cheered, and then eliminated himself and ran back up the ramp. I know many of you think he will be involved in the Punk/Dolph match, which would not allow this to happen. But, otherwise, I would genuinely laugh at it.

 

[MVA09]

I dont think Jericho is gonna be the champion any time soon...He's gonna have his feud at wrestlemania with punk...lose there and then maybe he might win at extreme rules...but not before that...

 

[HEEL JERICHO]

just read online that jericho said hes not going anywhere anytime soon wonder how long he will stay apparently got shows with fozzy in the summer maybe til then or longer hopefully heel get a proper send of like he deserves if its his final run