At Night Of Champions, Chris Jericho was revealed as the third man of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose’s team to go up against the Wyatt Family. Chris Jericho excitedly tagged himself in, which led to the downfall of the team. Following the match, Jericho bumped away Dean Ambrose to tease a bit of tension. This incident was obviously intentional, as the finish to the match was set up to lead to Dean and Roman being upset at Jericho. This also led into the events of the events of RAW, as they were centred around Roman and Dean’s abilities to trust others. However, it did seem to hint towards a potential heel turn for Chris Jericho.
For the record, he’s not currently a heel at the moment. I say this because Jericho took on the heel Kevin Owens at Madison Square Garden on Saturday for the Intercontinental Championship. So WWE are still booking him to be a babyface. However, him returning to television as a heel would be a great way to revitalize his career.
Chris Jericho has been a face since 2012. Jericho’s a popular character, with his podcasts and music giving him a strong showing in the eyes of mainstream and social media. Someone like Jericho would want to take being a heel very seriously. Jericho commentated once on wanting to maintain his heel persona in 2008, even in his every day life. Back in the old days, a lot of heels would try to maintain their character every time they make a public appearance. Jericho wanted to stay true to his character.
I personally believe that Jericho could shine as a heel, giving him a lot of new content to work with. There’s only one problem that could prevent a potential Chris Jericho heel turn from working… the man himself.
I’m not really talking about the character of Chris Jericho here. I’m talking about the musician, podcast machine Chris Jericho, that has openly stated that his dedication is mostly aimed at his music career with Fozzy. This is obvious, considering that Jericho only ever appears in live shows and a few TV shows for WWE. Therefore, it’s important for Jericho to look out for his interests in entertainment more than his interests in wrestling. If he were to turn heel on WWE television, it would put a dent on his ability to maintain a popular image. It’s like if you were to ask John Cena to turn heel and then go meet a Make-A-Wish child. It doesn’t really work well with Jericho’s outside endeavours.
It’s a bit of a balancing act that would be difficult to balance for Jericho. Jericho has to maintain his heel persona but act super cool during his podcasts and music appearances. The two just don’t mix. Turning heel wouldn’t be too big of a dent to Jericho’s public image, but it would be hard for Jericho to still be the exciting podcast host and keep his heel persona in tact. The thing is, he wouldn’t have to. I don’t believe Jericho would not go out of his own way to act like a bad guy when his main intentions are to convince everyone to listen to his podcast. Therefore, Jericho’s heel turn could never reach its full potential.
Of course, a lot the success of a potential heel turn would depend on Jericho’s scheduling. It was speculated by Wrestling Observer that Jericho was going to work a lot more after Night Of Champions. However, he’s not been seen since. So will his actions at the PPV simply be forgotten the next time he’s on television? What will his wrestling schedule be like when he gets back? Will he be back for one more Wrestlemania run? Only time will tell…
Recent Comments