theFRANCHISE

I LOL'ed hard at Brodus' gimmick. I think they're going somewhere with this. But if not, at least I'm mildly amused. A small part of me is glad that at least Brodus isn't a generic monster heel -- but I still wanted him to be a monster heel with a quirk of some sort.

Jericho will come out and say nothing, effectively saying everything that he needs to say. They'll rename the show to RAW is Postmodernism!

Ever since a string of accidents with the announce tables, they haven't really done too many table spots lately. They're always reinforced too well, or not reinforced well enough. In a case of not being reinforced enough, Kurt Angle suffered a legitimate concussion at SummerSlam 2000 when the combined weight of himself and Triple H caused the announce table to collapse during an attempted Pedigree before Triple H could properly protect Angle's head. Triple H and The Rock had to improvise the rest of the match without Angle, as Angle was being evaluated backstage. Angle, to this day, doesn't remember the match. In a case of being reinforced too well, Randy Orton performed an RKO on Christian at a recent PPV but the table refused to break. They attempted the spot again, and the table still refused to break on the second try, so they just played it off as being part of the story. Unpredictable as they are, those table spots are always entertaining to watch!

I think there's still use for the brand split; they're just not executing it properly. If they unite the rosters again (like they've essentially done on RAW), there's less TV time for the younger stars like Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, even Daniel Bryan. In theory, by having two distinct shows, you have two separate main event tiers and two separate midcard tiers, which opens the door for more talent on TV. Otherwise, by combining the two shows, both would be dominated by John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), Triple H, Alberto Del Rio, etc. Also, the championships, while already devalued, would mean even less if the midcard champion doesn't get nearly as much TV time as the heavyweight champion. At least in today's current setup, the Intercontinental and U.S. Champions see a healthy amount of exposure.

Punk vs. Johnny Ace could work, but certainly not on an Austin-McMahon level. Not even close. Part of that is because Laurinaitis isn't nearly half the talker that McMahon was, even as weak as McMahon was on the mic when first becoming an on-screen villain. I'm just glad that CM Punk is still getting significant TV time in the main event. It's making me buy less into the dirtsheet reports that the office has huge concerns about Punk's segments getting fewer ratings. It was the same argument made when Eddie Guerrero was WWE Champion, that lower ratings must've meant people didn't want to see him -- hardly the case. If ratings were such a big deal, WWE wouldn't have given Eddie TV time and wouldn't have placed him back into a World Title feud with Batista prior to his death.

While I agree that RVD would have nothing new to offer and he'd likely fail a drug test, I wouldn't mind seeing him return in a limited capacity as an attraction wrestler. He could return for an occasional feud every 3 months to help elevate some younger guys. Maybe win a couple of small matches and then put over midcard talent in PPV matches. He'd also be great to see in another MITB match.

Given how JBL, Shane Helms, Lance Storm, and other wrestlers have come out and praised Jericho for the return and the audacity of the segment, I think they understand where the storyline is going -- and my speculation could be correct. But, we'll all find out soon enough. Every film class I've taken and dull arthouse screening I've attended has taught me that everything is deliberate in film and television. So for Jericho to come out and say nothing and to waste all that time, there's definitely a point to it even if the casual fan doesn't get it. Sure, it was disappointing initially, but in the long run, it will likely serve a greater purpose.

One final note on the Jericho segment: if you go back and carefully look at his facial mannerisms as he's walking to the back, you can see flashes of a psychotic or fake smile. He even drops the smile at one point, only to put it back on immediately.

It was a lackluster RAW overall, but I have to admit, it was at least different. That's somewhat of a good sign since a lot of tonight was reasonably unpredictable. In a sense, with the booking of the WWE Title match, the handling of Jericho's return, and the placement of midcarders in the main event, it was as if the show was booked smarter even if the execution of the rest of the show was lacking.

The only upside of Brodus Clay's debut being continually delayed is that he can incorporate it into a promo -- if he has the wrestling acumen to do so, anyway.

I'm almost certain we'll get validation by the Royal Rumble that this was all part of Jericho's plan, largely because he's had almost complete creative control of his character since his previous return. I believe he stated in his DVD documentary or one of his radio interviews that this was one of the stipulations of his last return.

Jericho just turned heel and blew all our minds without realizing it. Think about it: - The video promos were heel-ish - Jericho stayed out there long enough to get booed - A face-vs-face feud with Punk would be difficult to pull off, especially with a face-vs-face Rock-Cena match overshadowing it - The "she" in question could be WWE or the WWE Universe; "She (WWE Universe)" is announcing his return to destroy his enemies, but "she (WWE Universe)" can't help him anymore, so he turns his back on "her (WWE Universe)" Jericho has always been most effective as a heel. So what's the one way to get a crowd to boo? Overstay your welcome. I could see Jericho doing a variation of his egomanical rocker gimmick but with a more self-absorbed slant for a couple of weeks, and then morph back into his serious "Best in the World at What I Do" heel gimmick. It's almost like Inception. Because if this is what ends up happening, my mind will be blown even more.

The fans in attendance looked confused as to whether Ziggler won the belt. Maybe they should've had Justin Roberts announce that the belt cannot change hands on a DQ or countout. The commentators certainly should've done that for the folks at home, but then again, Michael Cole hasn't done a whole lot of what he should be doing, anyway...

I'm getting sleepy already...they need to hurry up with this Jericho return!

With that one dramatic pause and those 15 seconds of fame, watch that Little Jimmy become the next Rock or Miz.

Did anyone happen to catch a slight video blip almost immediately after Santino's music hit during Barrett's promo? I wasn't sure if that was a legit glitch or something related to tonight's big reveal. I wasn't looking at the screen at the time but saw it just as it passed.

I thought the opening segment with Cena fell flat. The intent was good but the execution was lacking because of the corny jokes and Cena rushing through his lines. I've come to accept WWE's desire to play up the hokey nature of Kane's supernatural abilities, but I could've done without the evil laugh.

I think, in this case, it's meant to build interest from casual fans and fans outside of the IWC. It was one thing for Rock to return as a surprise, as his return was carefully teased on social media and nowhere else. But in this case, Jericho's return was only teased on TV and YouTube, and not many outside of the IWC would've even guessed Jericho. Case-in-point: the few people in this thread who asked who those 1/2/12 videos were for, even though we've guessed Jericho for months now.

There was controversy over a number of unprotected chairshots during ROH's Final Battle PPV a couple of weeks ago, mainly during the tag match between Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team and the Brisco Brothers. I didn't order the event so I don't know how many but it was apparently an inordinate amount given today's climate of concussion awareness. I believe the chairshots are being incorporated into a worked shoot over Twitter between Kevin Kelly and WGTT (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some legit heat there. The match sparked a huge debate online over whether unprotected chairshots should return to mainstream wrestling. The Young Bucks may not exactly be the smartest guys in the business. While they're talented, a handful of veteran wrestlers have come out and publicly expressed their disappointment at how they handle themselves in the locker room. Usually, where there's smoke, there's fire.

Lol @ The Young Bucks' Nick Jackson defending the use of unprotected chair shots to the head, saying that back bumps are actually more dangerous. (LINK) I've taken TWO back bumps in an actual ring in my life, and yes, they hurt. I've also taken improper bumps on floors, mattresses, lawns, etc. just messing around. But, to say that an unprotected chair shot is less dangerous? Silly. Which would you rather have done to you?: Skull vs. Canvas, or Skull vs. Metal Hmm...

No, it's Chris Jericho and/or The Undertaker. Nothing to do with Brock Lesnar. Just coincidence that he retired from the UFC after losing to Alistair Overeem this past Friday.

Damn, I knew the Taker photo was too good to be true! It seems a little odd that Jericho's responding to the rumors, though. He almost never addresses rumors!

If Taker returned as the ABA or Big Evil, I totally wouldn't be disappointed if he were the 1/2/12 guy instead of Jericho. It'd be a nice consolation prize. I still need my Y2J fix, though!

It also looks like The Undertaker could return tonight! He, too, was spotted in a Tennessee airport! (LINK)

In this case, I don't mind Y2J's return being spoiled -- this only builds up my giddiness for tonight's show! Unless, of course, he doesn't return at all. Then I'll just be angry, unless the return ends up being someone else awesome.