The Cashbox: Breaking Down The Walls of Jericho’s Return

January 4, 2012

I'm now interested to see how Jericho follows up next week. I still believe the plan is to have Jericho/Punk at 'Mania, but that's several months away. How do you keep fans interested that far in advance? You don't rush it.

Here's what concerns me most. WWE now has options. Jericho's silence on Monday left the door open for them to go in any direction that want. Does Jericho continue playing games with the audience for a couple weeks? Does he state his intentions quickly? Do those intentions include winning the WWE Championship, proving he's actually the best in the world over Punk, both, or something entirely different?

When WWE has multiple options available, they often choose the wrong one. That, or they over-think it to the point of creating a big mess (ex: the conspiracy angle with Nash and Punk). The fact that Vince didn't allow Jericho to immediately reveal his plans "could" mean he's still undecided as to what those plans will actually be. I think that is only partly true with Jericho.

My guess is that Vince "knows" he wants CM Punk vs Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 28. The only part he may not know yet is how he wants to get there. Mind you, three months is a long time in pro wrestling these days and by having Jericho target Punk immediately, you risk fans losing interest by the time the big event comes around in late March.

While that is always a concern, I think this is one of the times Vince can rest easy either way. Punk is great. Jericho is great. The two of them will be great together — even three months from now.

The story is the right for one man to claim he's the "best in the world". The prize is the WWE Championship. The stage is WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida.

That should be easy to book, right?

Chris Cash can be reached via email at wzchriscash@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @RealityofChris and tune in live every Monday night from 7-8 EST where Chris Cash and Nick Paglino host the Voice of Wrestling, exclusively on WrestleZone.com and VOWLive.com.

Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.

Nick attended New York University and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Drama.

Nick first entered the internet wrestling community back in 2004 when he became the co-host of The Voice of Wrestling Radio Show. From there, Nick made the transition from radio personality to editor when he began working with WrestleZone in 2008.

Nick is a member of two Off-Broadway theatre companies, Another Urban Riff, and the Drama Desk Award winning Godlight Theatre Company. Nick has appeared in over a dozen Off-Broadway plays since he moved to New York City, and has shot several short and feature length films. In 2010, he completed principle photography on a film titled "How to Score Your Life," which also features TNA Knockout ODB.

Inspiration in his life has come from many people including his family, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, The Beatles, and of course, Lassie.