Let me preface this by saying I love Chris Jericho and from the 1st uninterrupted part of his career to his 1st return as a new character, he was legendary...but since then I just don't think he's especially effective.
Again this is just my opinion, put his work is this weird fast in slow motion style. He's still trying to work like a 22 or 32 year old...except he's 42. He needs to adjust his style and start to work in a style that fits his physical attributes and reflexes. He's also reached a point where nobody wants to boo him. It's a place every legend reaches, where the audience appreciates a large body of work and no matter how great a talent is at being a heel, the audience just isn't interested in booing, so I don't see a heel turn being effective at all. Jericho's willingness to lose is a stroke of genius...that has blown up in his face. Because he knows how to work and the young guys don't, Jericho is brilliant at ensuring he's the one going over, even if he's the one looking at the lights. Because of this practice, the audience loves him, but he's predictable now as the expectation is always that he will lose. He's become the bizarro world Cena. We already know what's going to happen before the bell even rings.
We need only look at this return and how he has been used to appreciate that Jericho needs to reach in his bag of tricks and do something really good, if his goal is to remain relevant, rather than a predictable nostalgia act who comes back to put over midcard acts.
My 1st instinct is to do something with Bray Wyatt and his Family, but I'm just not convinced they can live up to their vignettes. I really hope I'm wrong, but I just have a ton of doubts about just how effective they will be and I worry that they'll be nothing more than an amusing midcard act. When I look at those vignettes, I see the need to deliver in the form of shocking violence...but WWE doesn't do violence anymore. Basically I see an awesome Attitude Era act becoming shackled in the PG world....and the sad part is they could work in PG, but Vince refuses to push the envelop to the outer reaches of PG, preferring to live on the border of a G rating.
If it's my call, I'm putting Jericho with Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. Before that though, I want Ambrose to also collect the IC title (let Miz win the upcoming triple threat and drop to Ambrose at MITB). Now the story I would do would be to plant stories online that Jericho is done after MITB. Then send him out on the next Raw to say his goodbyes and that's when the Shield hits the ring and lays him out.
Then the next week, I want Dean Ambrose to absolutely bury Jericho, call him a has been who hanged on too long and an example of the selfish, me-first nature of the "legends" of WWE. They come back, rip off the audience, then head back to Hollywood or some dive bar playing bad covers of bad hair metal bands. Then Ambrose turns his attention elsewhere. Now what I want to do here is two things. 1) Get heat for Ambrose from disrespecting Jericho, who the announcers never mention as we want the audience to think Jericho is off with his band. 2) plant the seed that at some point in the future Rock and Jericho will return to get The Shield. Now I think Jericho and Rock together on the same side is pure chemistry so if WWE can make it happen later this/next year, then do it. But what I really want this to do is re-enforce the idea to the audience that Jericho is gone and this is a seed planting promo for when he returns in six months.
Then the following week, I want to do a 1-2-3 Kid deal. So you take a new NXT talent (I don't watch, so some babyface with potential) and have him find the Shield backstage and challenge Ambrose to a title match. The Shield jump him and as they walk away, Ambrose says you got your match. So the new kid comes down, selling the beating and Ambrose saunters in cocky as can be. Ambrose dominates the kid like a jobber, just beating on him and toying with him...but the kid won't quit and just keeps kicking out. The beating continues when somehow Ambrose slips on a banana peel and finally the new kid shows some life, but Ambrose gets some heat after a ref bump and cheats to regain the advantage...and that's when Jericho hits the ring and puts Ambrose down, allowing the new kid to get the win and become new champ.
Now I'm expecting to be accused of burying Ambrose here by the IWC...but it's the furthest from it. 1) Ambrose having those titles is not great as he is handcuffed to them. Which means he has to keep winning but it keeps him in the midcard to do so, as nobody believes a top talent is going to be made US/IC champ and if he does have those belts at SummerSlam, then everybody and their mom knows Jericho is losing. 2) Why not let the hottest act in the company give the rub to somebody new? And my plan would be that the new kid ends up working either Reigns or Rollins at SummerSlam, this time Rollins or Reigns (whoever doesn't get the match) tries to interfere, but gets cut off by Christian in his big return. Then the kid will lose the title back to Ambrose afterwards and him and Christian will unite to fight The Shield.
Week 3 Jericho comes out to cut a promo, telling the crowd that he left his band stranded on the road so he could settle some unfinished business the he dives into Ambrose, calling him the epitome of injustice as he talks and talks and talks, but always needs his buddies to bail him out, that he's just another young punk who thinks WWE owes him something, and at SummerSlam he will get the beating he is owed. Then The Shield hit the ring and lay him out. Now if WWE can get the Rock to return in some non-wrestling role at SummerSlam to get him involved with Brock or whoever he might work next Mania (providing of course he is returning at all...big if), then Rock is in the building and he makes the save. This would plant the seed for Rock/Jericho vs The Shield at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble. If Rock doesn't return, Christian can make his re-debut with the save, setting up his involvement at SummerSlam and maybe he gets to fight Reigns, while the new kid faces Rollins.
Then the following week is SummerSlam, and you actually have a match that feels like either guy might win precisely because there are no midcard titles involved and it seems clear to everybody that Jericho vs Ambrose is the start of something bigger involving The Rock, so maybe Jericho does win to keep things going down the line...and maybe WWE does let Jericho win or maybe not.
Either way, you've done some unexpected stuff on Raw (remember when that used to happen), You've teased a Rock return before Mania even if you don't really promise it, you've sparked Jericho leaving and left anticipation for his return (I just think his open-ended exits and surprise returns are played out, so let him leave with the audience knowing he will definitely be back sometime...but when?), you've kept the Shield in the spotlight, and you have found a way to bring back Christian, and you've minted a new guy or at least given him a super hot debut with a rub from The Shield, that does not weaken Ambrose at all.
I'm not saying this is gold...but I think Jericho needs something really involved and big or else when he returns, he's going to fall into the Mick Foley/Ric Flair boring and predictable nostalgia act territory...when he needs to fight to stay in the Taker/Rock nostalgia act territory as a legit and relevant performer...but that's just my opinion.
