Whether you like him or not, we can all agree that Chris Jericho has paid his dues to the wrestling business. In addition to that, even though he's been in and out of the business in recent years, he's still one of the most over-hyped performers in all of WWE.
So why on earth would Vince McMahon and the creative team pair him with Fandango on the biggest show of the year? I mean, this match screams "dark match" to me. I would have expected something like this on an episode of Sunday Night Heat.
Yes, it's "good business" to put over younger talent when you're getting up there in years and are going to be retiring. That's not really Jericho's situation right now. Even though he's getting up there in age, he's still a terrific in-ring performer. His skills have eroded ever-so-slightly, but that's it.
As far as Fandango is concerned, we've seen next to nothing from him. He hasn't shown any range on the mic, as his promos have consisted of the exact same shtick. He's performed one move (albeit a nice one) on television. He's had zero actual television matches.
Will Jericho and Fandango have a good match? Yes, most likely. Jericho doesn't have many bad matches, and there's a reason why Fandango has been brought up to the main roster. He's not a terrific promo and he's not a behemoth, so it's got to be his wrestling ability.
Still, the question lingers like a stale fart: Why would they put a seasoned worker who is tremendously over with a noob who garners a lot of "X-Pac" heat? This isn't William Regal putting over a new talent, this is Y2J we're talking about.
Is it possible that Jericho simply needs the money and was willing to face any opponent that Vince wanted him to? I know Fozzy has a following overseas, but certainly Jericho isn't bleeding all of his personal money into that.
WrestleMania provides one of the biggest paydays for wrestlers each year. I'm not certain that Mr. Jericho actually needs the money, but another big check never hurts. Still, it can't be a money deal. I think it's something altogether different.
Unless you're a megastar (cough Rock cough Stone Cold), Vince doesn't have a lot of love for performers that are wishy-washy about the business. Jericho was a loyal employee for many, many years. However, lately he's been putting more of his time and effort into other avenues. Vince doesn't take well to that unless it's ventures that WWE is backing.
I don't buy the "there's no room on the card" crap. Injecting Jericho into just about any storyline makes it that much better. This just feels like sour grapes and another example of Vince flexing his aging muscles to show everyone he's still the boss.
No comments:
Post a Comment