Let me get this straight:
Chris Jericho, acknowledged as one of the all-time nice guys in wrestling and a normal person away from the ring, is in the news. It is alleged that Jericho, a man who has had no run-ins with anyone of consequence (I’m looking your way, Bill Goldberg) and zealously protects his image, punched a female fan who accosted him after an appearance in Victoria, British Columbia.
Hmmm….
And, in the ironies of ironies, the very first time Jericho nuts up and slugs a mouthy mark just so happens to be captured on videotape.
Hmmm….
We are to believe that this is "definitely a 100% shoot" because, in addition to other evidence, the fans in Victoria are notoriously crazy. News to me. And probably the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Board.
Hmmm….
The local law enforcement officers involved in the incident described it as "minor" and elected not to charge the "assailants," Ashley Levey and Kalen Johl. Much like the Memphis Police Department did not charge Eddie Gilbert when he ran over Jerry Lawler in the Channel 5 parking lot.
Hmmm….
The WWE released an "official statement" regarding the incident. When in the blue hell did the WWE start releasing official statements about contact their "superstars" have with law enforcement? Was there a statement about any of the performers linked to the various steroid investigations? What about the DUI’s? I haven’t heard a peep about any paternity and/or child support petitions. What about those statements?
Hmmm….
The "incident" has gotten a great deal of mainstream press. TMZ, FOXNews, FOXSports, Yahoo! and all of their subscribers have covered the story.
Wait a minute…..
As the WWE begins the run up to its biggest PPV of the year (Wrestlemania) by presenting their smallest PPV of the year (No Way Out) about a week after their, arguably, #1 heel gets a lot of ink and bandwith for, well, being a heel? Could it be….
A work?
The pieces all add up to this incident being an angle to elevate Jericho to an even higher level of assholedom. He’s never done anything like this + the marks are not charged + there is a video tape + there are ready made scapegoats in the "Security" team that did not protect Jericho + tons of pub including a WWE press release = WORK.
This is, of course, brilliant. The WWE never ceases to amaze me. Just when I’m ready to write the creative team off – they go and do something creative.
QUICK POST-WRESTLEMANIA BOOKING IDEA: How about we build a Randy Orton vs. JBL feud? The Legend Killer is called out by good ol’ jiggly boobs who taunts him with a line like, "You’re the legend killer!? Well, I’m still here! You ain’t killed me yet!" To which Orton responds, "That’s because you are not a legend." Discuss.
