10 Ups And 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 4)
4. Save The Ratings?
Chris Jericho coming back to WWE for WrestleMania season (or at least the Rumble) is a great thing for a company in need of star power. Y2J still can go in the ring, and there are several unique match-ups for him. However, his reason for returning was just way too much inside baseball. Jericho declared that he was the most entertaining part of Raw (which could be true depending on the week) and that WWE Network subscriptions, TV ratings and live show attendance all could use a shot in the arm, and Y2J was the shot they needed. So Jerichos returning to boost ratings? Since when was WWE in the business of admitting the truth? It just felt very inside baseball, tipping your cap to the smart fans who know hes there to lend star power to a company desperately in need of it, rather than Jericho just saying he wants to headline WrestleMania again and be champion one last time. Who on the creative team thought it was a good idea to let Jericho admit that. Throw in his silly rooty, tooty booty comment, and you have your strikes against an otherwise fine return for Y2J.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
