Chris Jericho's 'It Begins' Return - Why We Should Be Excited, Not Upset
If Chris Jericho made you feel anxious, slightly disappointed, or even a little bit angry last night, he did his job perfectly.
The end of the world as you know it is here...now, were the final words spoken before the lights in the arena shut off and the Memphis crowd erupted with anticipation. At hand: the return of an undisclosed superstar, a culmination of weeks worth of eerie promo packages that claimed The end begins on the 2nd day of January, 2012. After moments of unwavering crowd noise, a blue dotted silhouette striking a familiar pose appeared in the entrance way, revealing the secret every fan had been dying to know. The mystery man behind the It Begins campaign was none other than Chris Jericho. Immediately after spinning around from his signature pose, Jericho began to revel in the applause from the crowd. He egged them on, slapped hands, and entered the ring with a huge smile on his face. His demeanor was the polar opposite of what the promo packages suggested. What we assumed was dark and ominous was actually friendly, excited, and borderline cheesy. For the next ten minutes, Jericho proceeded to play the over-the-top babyface, almost to the point of farce. Each time he raised the microphone to his mouth to speak, the crowd swelled and Chris dropped the prop back to his side, continuing to bask in the audiences warm welcome. Before long, it became clear that the incomparable mind of Y2J was at work and something far bigger was at play here. Jericho made his way up the ramp to slap hands with the fans he missed the first time around, but, rather than head back to the ring, he made his way up to the entrance way and simply left, giving the crowd one last big smile before turning away. Immediately, the Internet was abuzz with overwhelming negativity. Sure, Jericho returned, but he didnt even say anything. Stupid, one Twitter user remarked. All those dark videos for that? I would have rather it been The Undertaker, exclaimed another. The reason for the disconnect is simple - these days, wrestling fans are adamant about an immediate payoff. It would appear as though a large majority went into last nights Raw expecting all the answers. When instead they were given a single answer that led to a plethora of questions, they took to social media to swiftly express their disappointment to both the WWE, and to Chris Jericho himself. All the while, they failed to pay attention to the most important part of this angle - it began on January 2nd, 2012. What we witnessed last night is only the introductory piece to a much larger puzzle. The who?, the where? and the when? have been answered, and so now we get to move on to the fun part - the what? and why?, the bread and butter of any good story. The possibilities are virtually endless, much like the questions. Who is the girl in the videos? Does she mean anything? Are the videos simply a conversation piece, or will they tie in with Jerichos new character? What does he want, and why does he want it? Chris Jericho is one of the most beloved entertainers in the industry because hes a perfectionist at his craft. That fact gives me faith that hed never have accepted this angle if he didnt believe the payoff was truly worth it. Above all else, we, as fans, simply need to be patient. The word I find most frequently being used to describe last nights strange reveal is failure, which to me, indicates a situation from which positive cannot be salvaged, a story in which the viewing audience has lost interest. Yet those same people are spending hours speculating as to the deeper meaning behind the promos, and what exactly they think Jericho is going to do next. This doesnt spell failure, but rather, enormous success for both the WWE and Chris Jericho. In fact, Jerichos return sparked so much intrigue and controversy that for a brief period of time, WWE had the top three worldwide trending topics on Twitter - Chris Jericho, Y2J, and It Begins. Now, nearly a day later, the conversation still continues all across message boards and blogs worldwide. If Chris Jericho made you feel anxious, slightly disappointed, or even a little bit angry last night, he did his job perfectly. The most important thing to remember is that the anticipation may be over, but the fun is only beginning. Next weeks Raw is an absolute must see.