10 Hyped WWE Debuts That Were Total Misdirections
5. Chris Jericho
Another eerie set of videos following the prior year's Undertaker vignettes, the 'It Begins' promos airing in late 2011 promised that 'a familiar force will return to claim what is his' and on January 2nd 2012, it would be 'the end of the world as you know it'.
The cryptic messages featured the sight of a pallid young boy fiercely scribbling notes in an abandoned classroom, with an equally ashen-faced girl dancing around his desk but appearing to have control over him.
The videos got darker, with the girl appearing more vicious towards the boy, reaching a zenith as both revealed that 'powers that be will be shaken' when a 'force arrives' the following week.
The final video fed immediately back into the Raw reveal, where a hackneyed shaky-camera revealed the grand return of Chris Jericho.
Not only did 'Y2J' not suit (nor relate to) the portrayals that had preceded his return, his intentionally odd and muted behaviour in his comeback didn't marry up with the the months of intrigue.
Weeks later, Jericho aped the 'end of the world as you know it' line in predicting Royal Rumble victory, but he'd finish as runner up and barely reference the whole arc again.