The Fink's Payload 09.17.07: Book Chris Jericho's Return

Posted by Rob Halden on 09.17.2007

This week we look at how to book Chris Jericho's return! Come on in, join the fun!

Rob: Kicking the ever living crap out of the Monday blues, it's the Fink's Payload. Established literally months ago, the Fink's Payload asks you cherished readers for your Fantasy Booking Submissions, which we pint and then critique. I am Rob "King Of The Idiots" Halden and I'm joined as ever by my wingman and co-pilot…

Dan:‘Sup.

Jordan: Hey! Don't forget about me! I'm back.

Last week's assignment was to book the return of Chris Jericho to the WWE. John steps up to the plate first.

We'll assume that Cena will go over Orton at Unforgiven. The next night on Raw, John Cena comes out to start the show with a celebratory promo. At the end of his speech, the arena goes dark, and a Matrix-esque looking message shows up on the Titantron: "I'm coming for you, John Cena. The clock is ticking." Cena is visibly pissed. He heads backstage and is interviewed by Maria. She asks him if he's worried about the message from earlier, and who he thinks is behind it. Cena says "I'm not worried at all. I've taken on all challengers, and one way or another I've beaten them all down. I don't care who it is. If you want some, come get some." Later on, Cena is supposed to have a match against Shelton Benjamin, but he (Cena) is nowhere to be found. Several faces go looking for him, and find him knocked out in the middle of his locker room.

Next week on Raw, the intro plays, but is cut out halfway through by a message, similar to the one from the previous week. "The countdown is on, Cena, and when it's over there will be no mercy." Shortly into the show, Cena is interviewed again. "I was jumped from behind in my room, so I didn't see who attacked me. Whoever it is, though, they can't seem to face me like a man. They'd rather ambush me, and try to scare me by screwing with the Titantron. I'm not gonna play that game, though. I'm gonna find out who's doing this and take the fight to them." Cena starts his investigation with his two prime suspects, Shelton Benjamin and Randy Orton. Both claim that they'd like to take credit, but they had nothing to do with it. Cena comes back to his locker room to find it trashed, and his title belt missing.

Smackdown opens with Cena in the middle of the ring. He's calls out MVP, and accuses him of being behind the mind games, because he'd benefit from a stunt like this, and he has a clock at the start of his entrance. MVP denies involvement, as he has his hands full with Matt Hardy. Cena doesn't seem completely sure, but he lets MVP go. Cena heads out to the garage to find his car smashed up, with a spray painted message on the hood: "Don't forget about our history. Your time is up next Sunday."

The latest clue leads Cena to Carlito, and he brings up the nightclub incident from a few years back. Carlito, like MVP, is in the middle of a feud, but he talks shit to Cena, so Cena takes out some aggression on him. Towards the end of the night, Mr. McMahon comes to the ring with Cena's belt. He says that he's been in contact with the mystery man, who was kind enough to return the belt…for now. Cena will defend the WWE Championship against the mystery man at No Mercy. Both Vince and the mystery man think that the way Cena has been chasing his tail the past few weeks is hilarious, but pathetic, so they'll give him a few more clues. He's a former World Champion, and he hasn't been on Raw in a long time. Finally, Vince has a message for Cena from the mystery man: "That belt belongs to me, you're just keeping it warm until Sunday." Cena replies with a message for the mystery man, by F-Uing Vince to end the show.

Cena comes to Smackdown again, this time to accuse Batista. Batista isn't easily intimidated. He replies with something along the lines of "You should pay attention to what's going on in the WWE, John. If you did, you'd know I have a Punjabi Prison match to win on Sunday. Rest assured, I'm gonna come for you sooner or later, but when I do, I won't leave any doubt as to who it is (side note: this sows the seeds for the rumored Cena/Batista match at Wrestlemania 24)."

Cena comes out first for the main event. The lights go off, a countdown comes up on the Titantron, and when it hits zero, out comes the returning Chris Jericho. After a nice back and forth match, Jericho counters out of the F-U with an eye gouge while he's on Cena's shoulders, and then pins Cena with his feet on the ropes to win the WWE Championship. The next Raw kicks off with the obligatory "Welcome to RAW IS JERICHO". Y2J gloats about the mind games, the championship win, and the fact that he had Cena's number, when challenger after challenger didn't. He then explains his actions from the past few weeks. "For those of you who don't remember, Cena got a fluke win over me in a match that cost me my job. Lately though, some of WWE's Superstars haven't been doing so Well *wink*, so Vince had to shake things up, and who could he turn to but the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah? My phone was ringing off the hook, Vince and the other suits in the back were absolutely BEGGING me to grace you people with my presence. Once they put enough zeroes on my signing bonus, I agreed to come back as long as I got a shot at Cena. But don't think I'm through with you yet, Johnny. I might've enjoyed relaxing all day and living like the huge rock star that I am, but I never forgot who it was that forced my early retirement. Last night was just the beginning Cena. It's now my personal mission to make your life a living hell."

Rob: A pretty good start to the Payload this week, Cena is definitely a great choice to put Jericho up against on his return due to their history. It would also play on the fact that Jericho always has a large group of fans who will cheer for him no matter how big the baby-face across the ring from him is. And that in itself would make for some great audience chemistry with Cena. Critical speaking though, using the ticking clock kills the surprise of who it's gonna be. No matter how many vague clues come out after the fact, as soon as you use a countdown clock, anybody who's been watching WWE in recent years will know exactly who it is. Oh, and Raw is too cluttered with big names and about-to-be-big names. Jericho needs to fucking OWN Smackdown.

Dan: I agree that Jericho should go to SmackDown instead of Raw but I also have a few other complaints. One, the fact that you're depending on people buying a PPV when they only know half the main event. No advertising = no money, like Larry'll tell you. Secondly, I really wouldn't bring him back in this heel role because no one would want to boo the guy. I'd also keep him away from the WWE Championship when he first comes back.

Jordan: Aside from the fact that the ticking clock gives Jericho away, I like it. John Cena looks like the person many people are going to use based on the history. But I don't really remember Jericho being as malicious as you made him out to be. And I agree with Rob, Smackdown is Jericho!

Next to put his ideas before the judges is regular Finker Dan From Brooklyn.

John Cena faces Randy Orton at Unforgiven and the match ends in a DQ win for Orton as Cena totally flips out and bloodies Orton in his father's honor. DQ's on ppv suck but as Machiavellian would say, the ends here justify the means. So on Raw, Coach comes out and says Cena faces possible fines and suspensions for his actions at the ppv, and Orton will not be here since he has a concussion. He does say that Cena will face Orton one more time at No Mercy in a 3 Stages of Hell match where the first fall will be FIRST BLOOD, the second will be SUBMISSION and the final one will be CAGE. And to make damn sure order is restored they have called in a special referee for that match. Coach says, "No one will know who it is so they can't try to bribe him, but let's just say he knows you both very well."

They have been building up potential possibilities questioning Triple H, Mick Foley, and throwing around Shawn Michaels's name as well as Hulk Hogan's (to up the buyrate). So its No Mercy, and Orton enters first, and then Cena comes down with his title belt. They stand around waiting as the crowd gets pumped and then...BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!!!!!!!! Chris Jericho in all his glory returns in a ref shirt and marches down to the ring. The crowd goes APESHIT, and Jericho jumps in with both Cena and Orton stunned. The match goes on and Orton bloodies Cena to win the first fall. Cena gets the second fall tapping Orton with the STFU. Jericho isn't taking any shit from either man as the third and final fall starts in the cage. Its escape or pinfall rules and Orton goes for the door and grabs a chair but gets dragged back in by Cena. Orton chairs Cena but gets in Jericho's face after an exchange slaps him. He goes to RKO Cena but Jericho stops Orton and kicks him low and delivers a chair shot. Cena staggers to his feet sees Orton down but Jericho DESTROYS HIM with a chair shot and drapes Orton over Cena and counts the 1, 2, 3!!! ending Cena's epic reign. The show ends with both champion and challenger bloodied and out as Jericho stands over them holding the belt.

On Raw, Jericho comes out and says he was the "highlight of the night" last night at the ppv. The crowd is mixed for him. "I MADE John Cena. I issued an open challenge back in 2003 to any young rookie and on that night in Boston, a punk kid hit the lottery and got a fluke victory over Chris Jericho! The next thing I know that punk kid is taking Y2J's spot, winning championships, selling Rap albums, and main eventing Wrestlemania. And the final straw, just over 2 years ago, John Cena beats me forcing the legend out the door. So last night, I got revenge 2 years in the making!"

Y2J is back, main eventing on Raw and the storyline has 4 YEARS OF CONTINUITY!!! He is part of a Triple Threat Title match with Orton vs. Cena vs. Jericho at Survivor Series, and then as Triple H goes after Orton's title, Cena and Jericho have a long brutal feud ending at either the Royal Rumble or possibly Wrestlemania.

Rob: Another good one, and again I think Cena will be the guy everybody picks. The first person to put Jericho on Smackdown is gonna get a shit-load of Rob Points this week. I love the psychology and the continuity, and I like the way Jericho blasts Orton as well to establish himself as his own man, neither face nor heel. Two screwed-up finishes on back-to-back PPV's runs the risk of being a slap in the face of the paying public, but I think the angle is cool enough and the pay-off big enough that people won't be pissed. Nice work Dan!

Dan: I have the same problem with this idea as I did with the last. Though I have to add that making Jericho the referee is a terrible idea based on the fact that the majority of the heat will be on the referee and not the participants.

Jordan: There is some good and bad here. The good is the continuity. WWE isn't that well known for keeping their stories straight, so that is a plus. Second, I like tweener Jericho. The biggest thing I disapprove of is not advertising Jericho. I like a good surprise as much as the next guy, but Jericho is a big enough name that with the proper hype could really boost the buyrates. All in all, though, not too shabby.

Patrick Gruden decides not to throw Y2J up against John Cena as soon as he returns.

First week, have Orton win against some midcarder (doesn't really matter who), and as he's in the ring posing after the win, have his music/video cut out for just a brief moment (second or two at the most) and have the beginning countdown screen for Jericho show up. Have Orton look a little perplexed in the ring, but shrug it off. Don't have the announcers bring this up. Next week, more of the same. Orton wins again against a different midcarder, and his music/video go out for a little bit longer this time (maybe 3-4 seconds). Since this happened last week also, Orton is starting to get perturbed at this. Again, make no mention of this from the announce team. Third week, again more of the same. Another midcarder, another win. This time, you get about 5-6 seconds of the Jericho video/music. At this point, Orton is pretty upset, but no one else seems to notice that this is happening. At the PPV (doesn't really matter which one) have Orton come out to talk on the mic. He doesn't have an opponent tonight, because he's beaten all of the so-called legends in the WWE. He goes on for another 30 seconds or so when the lights go out. We hear the smack of a skull hitting a steel chair. And then (still while dark) we hear Jericho scream into the mic "Will you please SHUT THE HELL UP!" The lights come on to a laid out Orton, and Jericho standing over him saying that he may have beaten a lot of legends, but he hasn't beaten him. From here you have a program that you can work for a while to a blow off at a PPV a few months down the road.

Rob: I love the idea of the announcer's not bringing it up, because I love subtlety in any storytelling. But I don't think there's any chance in hell of Vinnie and Co. letting that happen. They have to shill everything to death and defuse any excitement with hyperbole. I like the build up a lot and I like pitting the Legend Killer against the first Undisputed Champion of the World…but I don't like the pay-off. It didn't have enough kick in it for me. A big debut from Jericho should be more rock and roll and less sneak attack.

Dan: Again, similar problems. Lack of advertisement, lack of "big moment" feel. It's just the kind of stuff that could suit any star on the roster.

Jordan: Having the announcers not notice it seems like an Undertaker thing. And those things, my friend, belong only to the Undertaker. I do like having Jericho against Orton, but WWE has a lot invested in Orton right now, so it is a tough call.

Nicholas Chase also wants Jericho/Orton to be the next big feud.

Orton emerges victorious at Unforgiven against Johnny. The next day we see Orton celebrating his accomplishment when HHH comes down to tell his former protégé that he wants a shot at the title. This leads to John Cena coming down demanding a rematch. Cena still has the psycho look in his eye and Coach lets them know that HHH and Cena will face each other tonight to determine the #1 contender. The match is back and forth but ends as a no contest when Orton interferes and both Cena and HHH repel him. Cena then goes ballistic and nails some brutal chair shots on HHH.

Next Raw has the start of a Cena vs. HHH feud while Orton wonders what to do with his belt. He claims that he beat Cena and HHH before in his career and now has no competition left on the roster.

Enter: Jericho
Jericho comes down to a magnificent pop and tells Orton that he is a legend that he has never killed and never will. Jericho claims that he is the first undisputed champion ever in the WWE and that he is a living legend that has returned to reclaim his throne as champion of wrestling. Orton obviously disagrees, and the match is made for the next PPV.

Next RAW we have Jericho making his in-ring debut against the undefeated Snitsky. Jericho emerges victorious, ending the streak, but gets attacked by Orton after the match.

Next week we see Jericho and Hardy face off against Orton and Carlito. The match ends when Hardy totally misses on a whisper in the wind and is dispatched from the ring. As Orton distracts Jericho from the ropes Carlito hits his back cracker for the W.

The last raw before Cyber Sunday will see the revealing of what match Jericho and Orton have. Orton and Jericho both have matches. Orton picks up the win on someone worthless like Val Venis and Jericho will probably beat some loser like a highlander or maybe have the uber-talented Shelton job to him. We find Jericho addressing his Jerichoholics at the end of the show. He said that Orton can choose whatever match he wants because he will win either way at Cyber Sunday. Orton comes out and tells Jericho that the match will be a cage match.

At Cyber Sunday, Orton retains, as we all know they won't let him lose the belt that quickly after taking so damn long to get it.

Rob: WOAH! First of-fucking-all, don't be going around calling Val Venis ‘worthless'. Val is one of the most talented and charismatic wrestlers in the WWE, a tragically overlooked talent who works incredibly hard whenever he's used on TV. …okay and breathe, Halden, breathe. Sorry about that. But Val is awesome. You had no build up to the return or Jericho. And I guess that's okay if that means his return is a wicked-awesome surprise at a crucial moment. But it's not, he just shows up when Orton says he doesn't have an opponent. If you don't build up Jericho's return, then make his big-surprise comeback a run-in or a screw job or a huge save-the-day moment. And you dropped the ball on the Cyber Sunday show, since the whole point is to have the fans vote for the match-type, not have one of the wrestlers do it. And really, I kind of want to know what the longer-term plans for this comeback are. You had Jericho come back unannounced and lose in a title match. Where does it go from here? Because honestly, it's not setting the world on fire.

Dan: Rob nails it again. Jericho is one of the biggest stars that could realistically come back and still be a draw and people are booking his potential return like any other mid-carder has had a few weeks off injured.

Jordan: Rob pretty much hit the nail on the head there. I mentioned before Jericho needs to be properly hyped. And Cyber Sunday is supposed to be a based on the fans decisions, so you kind of missed the whole point of that. Heck, the only good thing is Jericho beating Snitsky. But if you had him BURY Snitsky, well, then this would be the best ever.

Reichou Shinsake returns to the Payload and instantly earns himself some big-time points!

On the day of Teddy Long and Kristal's wedding, Teddy asks Kristal what else
he can do to make it the best day ever for her. Kristal says that she is a
long-time Oprah fan, and she wants to have her own book club so that fans
and wrestlers will become more intelligent [even if their wedding is like
most WWEddings and becomes disastrous, as the babyface GM he still keeps his
promise to give her a show]. On the first few weeks of "Kristal's Book
Club," she interviews people like Batista and other WWE superstars who have
or have had autobiographies on the market. She basically uses this time to
be a bitch to the wrestlers and fans. After a few weeks of annoying
everyone with "Kristal's Book Club," her shit comes to a screeching halt
when the old countdown clock shows up on the TitanTron. Jericho comes out,
does his "Would you please SHUT THE HELL UP" and "dirty, brutal, trash bag
whore" routines, and informs her that the Network has canceled "Kristal's
Book Club" and replaced it with "The Highlight Reel." So, he uses that
platform to hype his own new book, his band, maybe some T-shirts, etc...

Where it goes from there can depend on several things. If Kristal screws
Teddy over on the wedding day, Y2J can feud with whoever her new beau is.
Or, they can drop Kristal out of this equation altogether, and have Jericho
just get into it with Khali or some other big dumb oaf.

Is this the most thrilling angle ever? No. The real question is, will
Vince back an angle that is based on selling merchandise?

Rob: Well. You get 30, 000 Rob Points for being the first to put Jericho where he's needed, and that's on Smackdown. But I'm not sure about this angle. See, if Jericho was only making a couple of cameo appearances to shill his book and then disappear again, then I think this works well. But if this is Jericho's return to pro-wrestling then I'm disappointed with it. I don't understand why you're tying Jericho to the Teddy/Krystal thing, since it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Or he and Teddy buddies? After shilling his book, why would he carry on being involved in this angle? And why did you turn Krystal heel? Just to recreate the Jericho-Stephanie trash-talk? That seems a bit weak an unnecessary to me. So…I think I don't like this one. Other than Jericho is on Smackdown.

Dan: So you bring Jericho back to feud with Krystal? Next.

Jordan: Yeah, putting Jericho in this boring story pretty much kills Jericho. He doesn't come in with guns a blazin', but comes in and breaks up a book club. Not exactly the best way to bring back someone as awesome as Jericho.

Oh Jesus. And we finish with dlukiw who decided to write a freakin' term paper for us to trawl through. There is a word-limit, y'know!

RAW - September 17th
So it's the Monday after Unforgiven and out comes Vince McMahon who is really pissed off about Hornswaggle being his bastard child. He is so infuriated, he feels the need to take it out on someone and will do so by the end of the night. Normal matches ensue and finally, the end of the show closes. Mr. McMahon calls out Jeff Hardy. Mr. McMahon tells Jeff Hardy how humiliated he was last week. He reminds Jeff Hardy that he suspended Mr. Kennedy for impersonating a McMahon! Jeff doesn't get what Vince is trying to say, so Vince makes it simple for him. He tells Jeff Hardy that he is getting punished for NOT wanting to be a McMahon. So, first order of business is that he strips Jeff Hardy of the Intercontinental Title. Jeff, reluctant, obviously gives the title to the boss. Mr. McMahon then says that starting next week, there will be two qualifying matches for an 8 Man IC Title Tourney and anyone from Raw, Smackdown, ECW or former WWE Superstar is welcome to put their names in the hat for the tourney. Next order of business, Jeff Hardy, YOOOOOUURRR'EEEE FIIIIRRRRREEED!!!! We end the show with Jeff Hardy walking out in disgust.

Smackdown - September 21st
Matt Hardy & MVP Drop the Tag Titles on Smackdown to The Major Brothers, after MVP walks out on Hardy in the middle of the match (assuming they have not already lost the belts on Unforgiven to Deuce & Domino).

Raw - September 24th
Two Qualifying Matches
Shelton Benjamin def. Val Venis
Super Crazy def. Daivari

Smackdown - September 28th
After what happened between Matt Hardy and MVP, Matt Hardy says that he has a surprise for everyone. He goes on to say that Teddy Long has signed his brother, Jeff, and they are going to once more try to capture tag team gold. This will eventually lead to a program of The Hardy Boyz vs. The Major Brothers, a team that they have not beaten. It will also strengthen the tag team division of Smackdown by making it (Deuce & Domino, Major Brothers, Jesse & Festus, Hardy Boyz) and on Raw's side at some point, we will see (TWGTT, A DX Reunion, Cade & Murdoch, London & Kendrick). This balances things out with 4 tag teams on each show, not including whatever else team the WWE may just throw together.

RAW - October 1st
Two More Qualifying Matches
Carlito def. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Cody Rhodes def. Kevin Thorn

No Mercy - October 7th
The WWE Has announced that they will hold a Battle Royal, with 20 WWE Superstars, where the winner will get a guaranteed spot into the IC Title Tournament. The winner of the Battle Royal ends up being Snitsky. Also, we have a Hardy Boys vs. Major Brothers Tag Team Title Match -- Winner, Major Brothers Retain in an awesome match.

RAW - October 8th
Vince McMahon is out and says that the last two qualifying matches for the IC Title Tournament are tonight, but next week he will announce just who will be facing Snitsky in the IC Title Tournament, as it is not fair to give a WWE Superstar a "Bye" and he hints that a former WWE Superstar is making his return to the WWE. But for now, there are two more matches left to qualify some superstars.
Santino Marella def. Shannon Moore
The Sandman def. Elijah Burke via DQ

RAW - October 15th
We open up the show with Vince McMahon in the Ring, he brings out Snitsky. Snitsky cuts a nice little promo about how everyone is scared of him because he makes their pain, his pleasure. McMahon says that while this may be true, he does have one man who is willing to put Snitsky through the test. That man is none other than a returning WWE Superstar. That man is....

**CUE MUSIC**
BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!!!!

CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho comes out and grabs the mic and cuts a nice little promo about how he was fired from the WWE (on camera) and how he used that time to write his book and become a television star. He says though, that Vince McMahon has offered a chance for the Iatola of Rock and Rolla to come back and once again make Monday nights into a highlight reel, etc. You get where I am going, catch phrases and all that good stuff. He announces that next week, he will be facing off against Snitsky but tonight, will mark the return of the highlight reel.....

**I SPIT IN THE FACE, OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANNA BE COOL**

Out comes Carlito. Carlito, is livid. How dare Chris Jericho come out on RAW and steal the thunder away from Carlito's Cabana. He says that tonight, he will have a special guest on the Cabana and Chris Jericho needs to pay special attention to his guest. Jericho laughs at Carlito. They get in each other's faces and Carlito finds a way to sneak away from Jericho. So, the brackets for the IC Title Tournament look like this:

Snitsky vs. Chris Jericho
Shelton Benjamin vs. Super Crazy
Carlito vs. Cody Rhodes
The Sandman vs. Santino Marella

Later that night, Carlito's Cabana has a special guest of, Snitsky. Once again, promo by Snitsky and Carlito runs down Jericho. Jericho, finally hears enough, and interrupts the Cabana only to have apple spit in his face and a beat down by Snitsky as Carlito leaves. No highlight reel tonight, as Jericho will be beaten pretty badly. Later that night, Carlito has his match in which he beats Cody Rhodes.

RAW - October 22nd
The Sandman beats Santino Marella to advance and face Carlito in the next round. Highlights of last week with the beat down by Snitsky on Jericho. Jericho is on the shelf this week because of this.

Cyber Sunday - October 28th
Nothing of note here with Jericho, though if I remember correctly, the idea was his idea but once again he will be left out of the show. The main focus will be on already established champions, with one of the main matches ending up being a TLC Match between Hardy Boyz and Major Brothers.

RAW - October 29th
Shelton Benjamin beats Super Crazy to advance. Chris Jericho is back and this time with the Highlight Reel. His guest for the night... well, he has two guests. First, out comes Carlito. Next, out comes The Sandman! Yeah, a Sandman interview haha! Just imagine what he may say. Well, Carlito hears enough and Sandman whacks him with the Singapore Cane anyway. Out comes Snitsky to help Carlito and Jericho gets involved as well. This leads to a match later tonight, with Jericho/The Sandman vs. Snitsky/Carlito. Snitsky gets the pin on The Sandman.

RAW - November 5th
Chris Jericho def. Snitsky by DQ after Carlito comes in to try and interfere in the match, costing Snitsky the victory. Snitsky snaps and attacks Carlito.

RAW - November 12th
Chris Jericho def. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito def. The Sandman by DQ
It is announced that the winners of tonight's match ups go on to face each other at Survivor Series in a Ladder Match.

Survivor Series, November 18th
Chris Jericho vs. Carlito for the Vacant IC Title in a Ladder Match -- Jericho wins and is the new champ.

From here on out, you can have Jericho go ahead an feud with someone new like a returning Mr. Kennedy or Umaga or anyone else for that matter and continue more storylines. I know this may seem long, the only downside to all of this is having a vacant IC Title for over a month. But hey, this is the WWE. Half the time, I don't even remember there is an IC Title anyway or Tag Titles for that matter.

Rob: All of that…to stick Jericho back down in the fucking IC division? I don't understand the logic of taking one of the most popular and talented wrestlers, who has spent a shameful amount of time being passed over for the main event, bringing him back to TV…and hindering him in the mid-card of Raw. I think an IC title tournament is great idea and I think prestige needs to be put back on the belt, but I don't think that the way to do it is to force a main event talent into a lower-card position.

Also, Vinnie stripping Jeff Hardy of the belt made no sense at all. Tons of WWE Superstars didn't want to be McMahon's son, why is he singling out Jeff? A better angle would have been to have McMahon fix the tournament so Hornswoggle wins…but then, I guess that has nothing to do with Jericho. It seems like the only reason you stripped Jeff was to re-form the Hardy Boyz. Does the Tag Team division need help? Yes it certain does. Are the Hardy Boys the answer? Dear fucking Lord, no! Why do you hate Matt Hardy? WHY? He's getting over! He's moving up the card for fuck's sake! Smackdown has nobody else right now, and Hardy is PRIMED to take a great spotlight in the near future! Why would you do that to him? Huh? Why would you cripple his career by lumping him back in a tag team who had their hay-day seven years ago?
…*achem"…anyway. This angle serves to retard the careers of Jericho and Matt Hardy. Although you did strip Little Girl Jeff Hardy of the IC Title, so…Two Thumbs Up!

Dan: I like the idea of starting Jericho off small, ultimately feuding with Carlito, but the IC title doesn't need to be involved and why the hell are you trying to save Snitsky's streak at the expense of Jericho?! Why are taking the most popular IC champ in the last 5 years, stripping him and putting him in a tag team? Just, why?

Jordan: Why, oh why? Jericho as the IC Champ? This hurts, man. And you take the title away from Jeff, a superstar that I, for one, truly like. And the topic this week was to bring back Jericho, not fix the tag team division. I'm so confused and let down. And Snitsy won. Just bad all around.

And now on to the portion of the Payload in which we the judges make our submission suggestions.

Dan: Jericho's return needn't be a huge surprise, he just needs to come back as vintage Jericho. Run vignettes leading to Survivor Series. Have US Champ MVP cut promos running down Jericho leading to the PPV. Survivor Series kicks off with MVP's VIP Lounge. He trash talks and runs down Jericho some more. Y2J doesn't wait to be introduced and just interrupts. Typical Jericho with all the old phrases, "Shut the HELL up!" etc. Eventually they come to blows. Jericho locks on the Walls of Jericho and officials have to break it up.

This kicks off a feud between MVP and Jericho. At Armageddon, Jericho takes the title. In a two-out-of-three falls match at Royal Rumble, Jericho retains. Jericho then beats MVP in a Ladder Match at No Way Out, again retaining the title. In a Last Chance Loser-Leaves-SmackDown Steel Cage Match at Mania, MVP regains the championship in his first WrestleMania moment.

From here, Jericho moves to ECW where he feuds with Punk, Burke, Cor Von, and eventually Morrison over the title. He beats Morrison for the title at Summerslam and then turns heel and feuds with CM Punk through to Survivor Series 08 where Punk wins the title. Jericho then turns face again and wins the Royal Rumble. He goes onto WrestleMania 25 to face WWE Champion, Kurt Angle, who returned to the E after TNA went bust in mid-08. Jericho wins. You heard it here first.


Jordan: I'm not really going to book it, per say, but more or less give a few guidelines and have it go from there. The night after the PPV, Khali has beaten everyone, so he calls out someone, anyone. Howard Finkel comes down, much to the crowds liking. Fink says he has a message from his boss telling him to book a match for the next PPV. The crowd and Khali are confused. Next week it is revealed to be Jericho. Humungous pop. This gives the fans plenty of time to take notice and buy the PPV to see Jericho's wrestling return. He wins the title and we never have to see Khali again. Ever. Now he is on Smackdown and can have matches with everyone from Finlay to MVP. Everyone is happy, everyone wins.

That concludes another brilliant edition of the Fink's Payload. Next week's homework is especially awesome, so there will be tons of feedback. Therefore, the sooner you send it, the more likely it will show up.

Create a new stable in the WWE or TNA and book their formation.

Send all ideas to [e-mail] and we'll see you here next week!