Unless WWE is pulling a major swerve, Chris Jericho is about to embrace his inner heel again.
It was hinted at last week on Raw when he was stirring the pot during the interview segment with Shawn Michaels and Batista. Last night on Raw, Jericho was even more heelish.
First, he interrupted another strong promo by Michaels by coming out to Ric Flair’s entrance music, which naturally elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd. Then, in trying to goad Michaels into admitting that he retired Flair to satisfy his own ego, Jericho recited Michaels’ past transgressions, including the fact that he had conspired against Bret Hart in Montreal in ’97. After Michaels had heard enough, he gave Jericho a superkick that looked as if it legitimately caught him square on the chin.
Later in the show, Jericho successfully defended the Intercontinental title against Umaga by scoring the pinfall with his feet on the ropes.
I enjoyed the interaction between Jericho and Michaels, who are two of my favorite performers, and I’m looking forward to them reviving their rivalry.
It was announced that Jericho will be the guest referee in the Michaels-Batista match at the Backlash pay-per-view on April 27 at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. It sure seems like Jericho will be turning against Michaels at that show. Raw could use another good heel, and Jericho always is entertaining whether he’s a heel or a face.
Other thoughts on last night’s show:
It was a nice surprise to see Mickie James defeat Beth Phoenix for the WWE women’s title. I just wish WWE would have followed through on the story line of James chasing Phoenix, with the title change occurring at WrestleMania XXIV. It would have meant a lot more. Instead, we got a lackluster women’s tag-team match at WrestleMania and Snoop Dogg making out with Maria. …
I feared for the worst when Randy Orton landed badly on his head and neck from a suplex by William Regal. I’m amazed that he wasn’t seriously hurt and was able to finish the match. I also was surprised at how much offense Regal got in. I know he was wrestling in front of his countrymen, but I don’t think the Raw general manager should be able to physically dominate the WWE champion. …
The main event between Triple H and JBL whetted my appetite for a singles program between them. They’re both strong characters, and I’m sure the promos would be great. …
When JBL and Orton double-teamed Triple H after the match, it was pretty obvious that one of the heels was going to turn on the other, and it ended up being JBL who laid out both guys. It sounded like the fans were expecting to see John Cena make the save, but he did not appear on the show. …
Carlito and Santino Marella versus Paul London and Brian Kendrick was a good-but-short, fast-paced match. Carlito and Marella prevailed in the bout, which was to determine the No. 1 contenders to the tag-team title. I would love to see Carlito and Marella get a run as tag-team champions, although those belts don’t really mean much at this point.
Labels: baltimore sun, carlito, chris jericho, paul london
