The Future of JeriKO

[CrunKSinatrA]

I hope tomorrow's match between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens isn't the end of their characters' friendship.

Even though they are feuding, I can imagine them still being best friends after all their championship drama.

Jericho could be a good sport after Owens retains, and they celebrate together b/c they say "we're still US Champion."

They'll send each other supportive tweets for Fozzy concerts and KO matches.

After the Fozzy tour, JeriKO just go back to tag teaming like nothing happened.

The announcers could keep making comments about how weird it is that they're BFFs, then feuding, and back to BFFs.

And when they finally break up, it's more in character for JeriKO to merely give each other the cold shoulder over something petty.

Any segment where there's a group of wrestlers, Jericho and Owens will stand close enough to each other to make it obvious that they're ignoring each other.

In interviews, Jericho will deny the existence of their bromance. Then casually mention that Owens didn't like a specific Fozzy promotional tweet or Instagram post.

Owens will talk about Jericho like he's a historical wrestler that he's never met. Then mention off hand that Jericho seems like the type of old man who's afraid of technology and never learned how to text back.

And that's how JeriKO should end.

 

[ShinChan]

No offense but I think that Festival Of Friendship was the best way to end JeriKO. I don't want to see them come together and make Festival Of Friendship totally pointless. WWE couldn't have done it any better. So, I would rather prefer them away from each other and "Superstar Shake-up" does confirm it by sending Kevin Owens to Smackdown.

 

[Xemmy]

He smashed his head into a TV, said that he hated him, and that they were never friends to begin with. The Festival of Friendship was the most tragic moment of the year, and your idea kind of ruins it. Kevin Owens is one of the only real heels in WWE right now because of it. Your plan would make him a baby face in an instant. Unless he immediately kicked him in the Jewels of Jericho after the hug.

I understand loving JeriKO. They were amazing. But they're done. The friendship was never real. And Kevin Owens has to lead America now and make it great again.

JeriKO is over. Drink it in man.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I think it's important to just let this one go. Both are going in their separate directions and for the better as well. Chris Jericho has really helped Kevin Owens get to that next level, but I found Owens lost a little bit of the prize fighter in him at the same time. Now is the chance for him to go on to SmackDown and have great feuds with AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin and so on, and continue to develop this character.

As for Jericho, he'll go on tour with Fozzy (who are actually a good band people) and when the time is right, he will return. And we know it's going to be special whenever he returns and whatever reinvention he has in store for us. Jericho has said himself that he never likes to rely on past ventures and characterisations to move forward.

They could reunite one day. The worst break-ups in wrestling have usually come full circle at some point. It was a great run.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I definitely have to side with the majority on this one. The Festival of Friendship was an epic way to end things between them and they should stay ended. I had a lot of misgivings heading into that segment as I have no idea what to expect but the track record of such things isn't good because Vince flat out loves cornball comedy. While it was a little corny at times, it worked with the overall theme of things and it complimented the awkwardness Owens felt at times. The painting of God and Adam with Jericho & Owens' faces was sidesplittingly funny and Owens' shock somewhat mirrored the way I felt. No matter how much of a pro Owens is, I felt that if he hadn't known about that already ahead of time, he'd have laughed his ass off and I couldn't have blamed him. Owens suddenly and unexpectedly turning on Jericho in the vicious way he did was the perfect way to end things. He heatedly told Jericho he hated him, rammed his head through a television and spent the next few weeks bragging about it after slipping back into the more dangerous, calculating guy he'd been up until they began their storyline together. They have fantastic chemistry, no question about that; that chemistry is why so many of their various interactions and skits together probably wouldn't have worked as well, if at all, if they'd done them with anyone else on the roster.

As others have pointed out, it just wouldn't make sense going through all that just for them to turn around and let bygones be bygones. Jericho cost Owens the Universal Championship while Owens had a WrestleMania moment at Jericho's expense by winning the United States Championship and becoming a Triple Crown Champion in WWE. After tonight, Jericho's gonna be leaving WWE for a while to tour and work with Fozzy and when he comes back, he'll be on Raw while Owens is on SmackDown. My guess is that Jericho will be written off TV with some sort of "injury", or something along those lines, as a means of explaining his absence, even though everyone pretty much knows by now that he'll be out for at least the entire month of May working with Fozzy. At any rate, I see Owens doing something definitive to put a complete end to his program with Jericho tonight.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I would have liked to see JeriKO hold a tag team title during their run as super wrestle best friends, but as the majority have said, that story ran its course.

We never got to see them as full on faces together, I doubt we ever see that though. Maybe in a year or more they could bring back Jericho for another brief JeriKO.

It seems likely that Y2J is written off SDL and coughs up the US title tomorrow night. Fozzy has concert dates on May 9 and 16, as well as an evening performance in West Virginia on May 21, the date of Backlash which is being held in Illinois.

Most likely KO storyline injures Jericho, possibly while taking the US title. That belt could also be vacated and a new champion determined at Backlash, which will likely be Styles vs KO.

I like the Op's idea because I also enjoyed JeriKO's run, but that story has been told. Owen's face of the USA gimmick has some legs left and Styles vs Ko hasn't been done. I see KO's first tag title reign coming in a few years when he turns babyface and teams up with Sami eventually.

 

[mooseman]

I hope they go old school with a Loser can't wrestle in America for 1 year with the title on the line tomorrow. That way Owens beats Jericho, Jericho goes on tour with Fozzy and if for some reason they want to use Jericho on a European tour they can and it can feel like a big deal.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

No offense man....but this idea sucks. They ran their course and ended it perfectly. Maybe a couple years down the road when they give Owens a face run or something but no...just no

 

[JoeMallard]

Owens destroys Jericho and takes his title back on Smackdown putting him on the injured list for however long Jericho is on tour.

 

[ShinChan]

Owens destroys Jericho and takes his title back on Smackdown putting him on the injured list for however long Jericho is on tour.

Yeah, it looks like what is going to happen.

But assuming that it does, what was the point of making the title change? What was the point of Kevin Owens losing the title and that also due to submission? Owens destroying Jericho and getting him off TV could have been done at Payback itself.

 

[JoeMallard]

Yeah, it looks like what is going to happen.

But assuming that it does, what was the point of making the title change? What was the point of Kevin Owens losing the title and that also due to submission? Owens destroying Jericho and getting him off TV could have been done at Payback itself.

I would have preferred it being at Payback, but you know how much Vince likes booking everyone else not named Roman 50/50. Vince clearly hates the way he looks, so he'd probably want him to look extremely weak. I wouldn't be shocked if Owens doesn't do anything and begins to start building Jinder to his match against Orton.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I really like Jericho winning. They protected Owens with the hand injury spot, which played to the story that was told since Mania. They put the Walls over, a finishing move that really needed a boost.

Jericho is one of, if not the, most over faces on the roster. That's not hyperbole, he's got more catchphrases and bigger pops than a lot of faces. The Code Breaker and the Walls of Jericho have not been putting away too many opponents in recent memory.

A lot of that plays to the modern standard of not protecting finishing moves, but when's the last time someone has tapped to the Walls?

Sending Jericho out on a high note, followed by a low note wouldn't be great. Losing or failing to capitalize due to shenanigans at Payback would just be a wet fart ending for a great run. This way builds anticipation for when Y2J returns after the summer (or whenever he decides to come back).

The Op's admiration of JeriKO is well placed, that was a great angle that served its purpose. It's positioned KO as a hated heel and made Jericho into a massively over babyface foil for Owens. It's served its purpose.

It's too bad there wasn't time for a tag title run for JeriKO, there wasn't time due to New Day's run. This doesn't have to be it, but there isn't anything really left to say in the story.

It's time to move on from this. We likely get the face of USA Owens, which has a lot of legs. When Jericho returns, it'll be on SDL and there are lots of fresh match ups for him that aren't KO. Jericho would be a great face to lock up with Rusev, Corbin, or Mahal, whomever climbs the ladder to be SDL top heels.