What If: Chris Jericho is the Raw GM

The Anonymous Raw GM has seen his or her role diminish greatly over the last 2 weeks with Austin filling the role one week and the fans taking the reigns the next. The workload of the GM will be lightened once again next week when Raw adapts it’s annual roulette gimmick for their Vegas show. It’s quite possible that this is the beginning of the end of anonymity for the GM or it could mean that the angle might be written off entirely soon. The random presence of Teddy Long on Raw could be be an indicator for the latter. Alas, the fanboy in me has been daydreaming about this post for a week so I’ll give you at least one final What If: What If Chris Jericho is the Raw GM?

Why It Would Work
Superior mic skills. The ability to generate heat and garner a pop almost simultaneously. Ready to transition back into the ring once a suitable feud arises. Check. Check. Check. If history is any indicator, Chris Jericho can’t just show up on Raw randomly. His debut in August 1999 was one of the most anticipated and memorable debuts in the company’s history. 8 years later, his return to the WWE was proceeded by the cryptic save_us vignettes which put fans into a frenzy as each video made it increasingly apparent that the sexy beast was on his way back. Knowing that a return is imminent in 2011, the GM angle would be a great vehicle for Jericho. I envision Miz in the ring demanding some sort of match when he is suddenly interrupted by the GM’s signature tri-tone. He’d ignore the message, telling Cole to take a seat. As he attempted to continue, the GM would send another email, followed by several more in a similar fashion to Austin’s encounter with the computer weeks ago (Ask Mike, I pitched this idea to him well before that happened…I swear!) Finally the Miz would get out of the ring, grab the computer and begin to smash it. With each hit, the lights would flicker and the alerts would continue. The pace of the lights and sound effect would eventually slow to trickle as Miz completely dismembers the computer. From there, the lights would eventually go out and the tone would slowly drown into the countdown of Jericho’s music. Jericho could then come out donning an sparkling silver suit to begin his feud with the Miz (Nerdy fashion note: Y2J wore a short sleeve silver button up in his first WWE appearance and a silver vest made of the same material for his comeback). You know you’d love it.

Why It Wouldn’t Work
Jericho interacted with the GM before his most recent departure. But that’s only a point of contention if you believe the WWE has respect for a fan’s memory which I do not. In the last few months they’ve asked us to forget that Triple H and Taker already fought at Wrestlemania, they’ve asked us to forget the presence of a ‘mastermind’ behind the Nexus angle and they’ve asked us to forget that we’re watching something that use to be known as ‘wrestling’. If Jericho was revealed to be the GM, I’d be willing to forget anything they wanted me to.

Soooo…
I think we’re heading down a path where the GM is fired before we ever find out who he or she is. With that said, Jericho is locked up with tour dates for his band Fozzy for the next few weeks. Interestingly, Fozzy’s world tour ends the same night as Money in the Bank. If CM Punk is really on his way out of the company, WWE will need to find a way ease the pain of longtime wrestling fan. A reemergence of Chris Jericho and an end to the GM angle would go a long way in that effort. I’m terrible with timezone and international flight math, but is it possible to get Jericho from London to Chicago by the end of MitB? Would Jericho be willing to get back on the road with WWE 24 hours after wrapping up a 6 week international tour? I think the answer to both questions is no, but the fanboy in me is holding out hope.