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WRESTLING COLUMNS

Y2J Watered Down"
July 18, 2005 by Michael Nader


This is my first attempt at an article. I was originally going to write about Matt Hardy and the balls he had for what he did, but I'm pretty sure I'd have been beaten to it. So instead, I will talk of an injustice that has been bothering me for quite sometime. I'm no English major, but you should be able understand the point I'm trying to get across.

I'd like to know what WWE's problem with Chris Irvine (or Jericho) is. If there is no grudge against this man then it is clear Y2J is being ignored. The man has got great charisma and has great in ring skills.

Back in 2001 Y2J was a face. He feuded with the likes of Chris Benoit, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Through it all he was screwed many times over. But to make up for all the screw jobs he always had a way of verbally defeating his opponent i.e. "Look how big our little girl has grown" showing before and after pictures of Stephanie McMahon, making reference to the weight she put on over time. Whenever Jericho was there, he made people laugh.

Around the end of 2001, Jericho started feuding with the Rock, leading to Jericho's reign as WWE undisputed champion. On December 9th (I think) Y2J beat two of the biggest babyfaces I've ever known on the same night to become the very first Undisputed Champion. Jericho was more cocky now, pleased with himself for finally making all those who doubted his chances at the belt finally shut up. Jericho was the same funny guy he was before, only he was a heel. He would do stuff like sit down next to JR and Jerry Lawler while The Rock was in the middle of a match and taunt him from the announce table. Jericho was great. Some people even liked him better bad. So what is it that's bugging me"

When Jericho was a heel, WWE wasted no time in making him look like evil court jester. Occasionally a face comes down to the ring and says or does something to embarrass the heel. That happened to Jericho a lot. At first I thought "ok he is a heel and that's his job: to be hated and be made to look bad. If I don't like it, all I can do is wait for him to turn good again." WWE took their time doing it but they turned him into a face again. I knew immediately the Jericho I knew and loved in 2001 would return with that quick-witted silver tongue of his. And it did... for a while. They tried to have Trish Stratus fill in the void for Stephanie McMahon as the labelled ho.

But what about the rest of his face turn" After Jericho put Christian on the shelf in a caged match, things started going downhill for him. Even though he was a face again he was still made to look weak. There was one incident where Batista knocked Y2J out cold with a clothesline leaving Edge alone in a tag team match. One week later there was a rematch and Jericho made up for costing them the match the week before, by pinning Batista. Why" Why have Y2J get knocked out senseless WITH ONE CLOTHESLINE in the first place" A couple of weeks later there was the Battle Royal to determine who would face Benoit at SummerSlam for the title. In the match Edge and Y2J worked as a team. Then what happens" Y2J turns his back on Edge and slaps him out of the ring. I understand that Edge was beginning to turn bad, but why have JERICHO doing something very heel-like after starting his face turn" Edge confronts Jericho next week on the Highlight Reel and says, "I haven't seen you dumped of like that since Trish Stratus". And what do the writers give Jericho to say" "You're entrance music poses the question 'you think you know me"' Well I know you as the assclown that's going to lose the IC title to Chris Jericho" What happened to the honorable rhetoric snappy babyface Chris Jericho"

Could it have been that the writers were ignoring him" Maybe. He didn't get one title shot as face (and the elimination chamber match doesn't count. He never really had a chance) I didn't expect him to become the champ again but I did expect there would be AT LEAST ONE MATCH. He did win the IC belt, but he didn't even get to retain it in ONE DECENT MATCH (and I am considering his match with HBK mind you) Thus Jericho was going through a rut which eventually led to a heel turn. Jericho eventually got his quick wit back (fortunately).

Now Cena is on RAW calling Jericho cheap. WWE didn't seem to have any problems making him look BAD. Can Jericho really be described as "cheap"" Or does that fit a better description of the way he's been used"

My first article. Like it" Hate it" Let me know.

by Michael Nader ..


Ross Hoare wrote:
Well done man! That's exactly what me and my friends who actually do follow wrestling say every time we see "The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla" on RAW. Jericho's talents have been underutilised for far too long, I mean Jericho has been consistent in his performances when compared to some on the roster (cough, TOMKO!). I only hope and pray to the great god of wrestling that he wins the title at summerslam and has a decent run. However I can't see that happening while Mr Stephanie McMahon is on the roster. By the way, your site rocks!
Jose Perez wrote:
I would like to say to be your first article it's not bad, but you can tell it's your first article, cuz you go through everything to fast, and just try to get a point across, but I�'m sure you'll improve. I have never written an article, but read many. Your point about Jericho is true, he has great ring skills and great mic skills, and it's not very understandable that he's not being used like he should, BUT at the same time, I believe that Jericho is getting very stale. Mind you, I haven't gotten RAw since I moved to Spain from Canada 7 years ago, so my opinion might not be the best, but I do follow it via the internet. Jericho is getting stale in the sense that his character is the same as it was in Jericho, with the funny and witty insults, and the same thing holds true during his whole time in the WWE, whether he be a face or a heel. It's getting really kind of old, and he's changing from face to heel every so often. I say Jericho needs a real change in character.
Daz McCune wrote:
I agree with this column 100% all the way. Y2J is without a doubt, THE best mic worker in the WWE at this moment in time, possibly the best wrestler. He has amazing talents and he uses them, one example is Y2J vs Benoit in the Royal Rumble ladder match, this match was one of the best matches I've seen.

Jericho's downfall came after he lost the undisputed champion, he never got the push that he deserved, his reign was short lived and very dissappointing. What happened to the funny Jericho who made us laugh after every promo" What happened to the Jericho that made us say "woah" when he finished his matches" Jericho in my view will never get back on top of the WWE, but I still think he is better than Cena, mic wise and wrestling ability.. word up for Cena.. OVER-RATED! The Writers should really get their acts together and give us, the Jerichoholics, back our hero.
Kyle Dunham wrote:
Okay I agree with you on most of your article. Jericho is my favorite wrestler and is the main reason I watch Raw. (When RVD comes back I'll watch it every night) Jericho has been HUGE in the WWE and is a big star now. But when he was in WCW he was hilarious, I have been missing that Jericho for a while. Yes the Steph jokes are funny, but I miss Ralfus! I think they should do another storyline involving Jericho's body guards.

His current storyline with Cena is almost boredom. They don't give him a chance. You hear Cena saying Y2cheap, which is the dumbest one by Cena yet. But when they fight notice how Cena doesn't attempt to make Jericho, no, anyone look good. Jericho won't win the match at Summer Slam, and they played the storyline wrong. Jericho needs to win the title.

When Jericho came to the WWF it was on a sinking ship. They were being destroyed in the ratings by WCW. He said he was their savior. And I think he was right. Ever since he came ratings started to climb, and Raw wasn't boring. They need to give him another chance at the title. Or At least the Intercontinental.
Kevin Luu wrote:
Cool column, Michael. It's all about star quality. Some have it, some don't. Jericho definitely has it. He has enough to spare. It doesn't really matter whether he's a face or a heel. He'll still make me laugh and entertain me. In fact, you'll find that there have been many times where Jericho is a heel and stills gets cheers.

Jericho now has a shot against Cena at Summerslam. Not many people think Jericho will win but you never know. I agree Jericho is being overlooked. It might be backstage politics. I hear a lot of talk about how HHH doesn't like Jericho and that's why he rarely gets title shots but I'm no insider, I'm just a fan. Nice first article. Y-2-J Y-2-J
Johnny LaRue wrote:
Actually I believe Jericho was referring to Steph "cup size" and not her weight. That being said I don't think Jericho is "cheap" but is a mere shadow of his former self. In WCW his Ralphus idea, mocking Malenko by calling himself the man of 1001 holds and reading them all off in the ring then every few holds he would say "armbar". His Conspiracy Victim promos after losing to "Stinko Malenko" That was classic Jericho and sadly I have yet to see any of that kind of humour from him on WWE TV.

My guess is the WWE has no clue what to do with Jericho and they already have too many "stars". This was the same problem WCW had when they had too much talent and not enough airtime to go around even with 3 hours of Nitro and 2 hours of Thunder and WCW Saturday Night.
michael nader wrote:
Yes!!! I knew i wasn't alone on this one. I just want to thank everyone for not picking on me about the thing i said about matt hardy in the beginning. I just wrote this article while i was still affected over the whole "the wwe can kiss my ass" thing that was going on. But I digress i just wanted to say something to those who responded.

Ross Hoare, thanks for the feedback. I just wanna say i'm praying with you. Although I doubt our prayers are going to be answered. A shame really. Everytime i see y2j being misused on tv, it just... it just... makes me WANT TO SET THE TV ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!! i kid... i kid...

Joe Perez, i appreciate the honesty, and yes it's true, i did rush through it. The reason is I actually had more to say, but i didn't feel like having to talk to those people who do nothing but bitch about how all some fans do is bitch. Plus I'm more of a numbers guy. My writing skills SUCK.

Daz McCune, I agree with every word you just said. I really don't know what else to say. You said it all.

Kyle Dunham, your one of the reasons i wrote back. I'm going to be really honest. I started watching wrestling January 2002, and read the episode summaries all the way down to 2001. I've heard of WCW, and even though i didn't see Jericho in it, I still have to say i have no room to disagree that he probably was funnier back then. And as far as im concerned, Jericho DID HELP SAVE THE WWE. Fine way to thank him vince.

Kevin Luu, I know exactly what you mean man. Jericho is talented and he deserves more than this shit. And i heard HHH hates him too, i'm trying to verify whethere that's true or not. Bet you it is though.

Johny Larue, as i said before i didn't start watching wrestling till 2002. I only saw a clip of jericho saying that. I stand corrected. Although I gotta say if the wwe didn't know what to do with y2j, then they should have sent him to smackdown. Smackdown really would have benefitted from him. Ya know, sometimes i think they only try to spread those "jericho's a hasbeen" chants just so they don't have to do anything with him.

Well I've said my peace. If i didn't get you, i apoligize. But if i didn't respond bear in mind i will still read what you have to say.
Barker wrote:
Y2J has been watered down since they turned him into a face at WM20. the new Jericho is a wusse compared to the old Jericho. even when he was a heel he was cool now that he is a heel again he sucks. this begging jericho that is acting like jbl is a loser and they need to bring back the old jericho that was king of the world. it seems he joined eric's kiss my but club. good article, thanks for keeping us informed.
Anita wrote:
I'm so glad that I'm not the only one that thinks Chris is being shafted. Guys like Cena and and this assclown they brought from smackdown (I don't know his name, its not worth remembering) walk around with belts and the fans cheer for them. Theyre are so many guys that have no talent these these days but are made to be heroes. I have been a fan for over 30 years, and within the last few months I'm thankful for my DVR. I can watch RAW in 1/2 hour and I dont even watch smackdown anymore. I feel cheated as a lifelong fan. What happened to the shows I couldnt wait to come on" Anyways I'm getting off track. I just got finished watching what happened with the battle of the bands. Ya know, that is so unfair. FOZZY rocks and It sickens me to hear the fans diss them, and yet they are probably the same ones that would pay money to see FOZZY perform. They are not a part of RAW and should not be treated that way. Nor should Chris. He is the absolute COOLEST. He's got the talent the moves the voice he's what it takes to make a show. He could be the whole show then i wouldnt ff anymore. Its such a waste. He deserves respect and so much more. Thanks for listening and letting me vent.
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