WWE announced that a former WWE champion will be returning to Monday Night RAW. Since there are rumors about Brock Lesnar facing John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, the WWE universe expected the returning superstar to be Lesnar. Instead, we listened to a returning Miz talking about proving himself in the WWE just like he did in Hollywood. Then the lights went out and Chris Jericho made his amazing surprise return. Jericho has always been good at surprising the fans by keeping his returns a secret. For example, last year he was the second entrant in the Royal Rumble match and it was one of the biggest pops that a returning superstar had received in the past few years. This time his return was also surprising. It was surprising not only because of the absence of spoilers but also because earlier this year Jericho tweeted that he won't be back to WWE anytime soon.
If there's something Chris Jericho loves doing besides trolling the WWE Universe, it is being unselfish and putting over young talents. Last time he was here for example, he lost a WrestleMania match against a newcomer to the main roster: Fandango.
The Wyatt family did not give Jericho enough time to celebrate his return; they attacked him minutes after he hit the Miz with the Code Breaker. That act will more than likely be the start of a very interesting feud between "two monsters of the microphone" as hardcore legend Mick Foley has so colorfully called them in one of his Facebook posts. Their respective mic skills make both Jericho and Bray two of the most entertaining characters on WWE TV today. Furthermore, it allowed Chris Jericho to captivate millions of Jerichoholics around the world and because of that "they will never ever be the same again" and Bray Wyatt managed to have "the whole crowd in his hand" in a very short time after his debut in what seemed like a mix of love, hate and fear.
Next Smackdown, Chris Jericho appeared to cut a promo. He thanked Bray Wyatt for reminding him that WWE is about survival but didn't forget to remind him that he could be very dangerous too. Then on the July 7th episode of RAW and after Jericho made his in-ring return by defeating The Miz, Bray Wyatt was there to cut another great promo, he asked him "How are you planning on saving an entire universe when you can't even save yourself?" Y2J hasn't been able to get his hands on Bray because Luke Harper and Erick Rowan protect him like always. On 07/14/201, during the next episode of Monday Night RAW, Jericho came out to the ring and said he is at home now. He goes on to say he has done and seen it all but he has never seen anything like Bray Wyatt. He also demanded an explanation on why he was attacked by the Wyatts and talked about their upcoming match at WWE Battleground. Bray appeared to tell Jericho he attacked him because he abandoned them when they needed him. After that, Rowan and Harper tried to attack Jericho so he escaped from the ring only to be attacked from behind by Wyatt who executed his finisher "Sister Abigail" on him.
The Battleground Pay-Per-View won't the first time Chris Jericho faces Bray Wyatt. Indeed, they faced each other in the main event of the May 2nd, 2013 episode of WWE NXT. The match stipulation was that Jericho has to join the Wyatt Family if he loses. Wyatt was given the opportunity to say a few words before the match, he called himself a hero and told Jericho that he would break down his walls. It was a very good match. Despite the interference of Luke Harper and Erik Rowan at some point of the match (which caused Rowan to be ejected from ringside), Jericho was able to walk out victorious after Bray tapped out to the "Walls Of Jericho".
Chris also said in an interview last year that Wyatt would be a main roster star in one year and a major star in two. Jericho has said in other interviews that he requested to work with Wyatt when he went to NXT. This is what he said about the character of Bray Wyatt in his last interview before Battleground: "It's different. It's something nobody's ever seen before. It's a character that he's really dropped into. People believe it's real, and when people believe it's real, they get into it. Same thing as heel Jericho from 2008 and 2009. People wanted to fight me on the streets for real." Y2J is not the only "big fan" of Wyatt and that's totally understandable. He has a unique style, a mysterious character, and is creepy as heck. He wants a world with no rules, total anarchy and chaos at any cost even if that means doing the necessary evil. Bray is the villain who thinks of himself as a hero and a savior.
People like to compare his style and charisma to WWF Mankind. Mick Foley himself once tweeted the following: "I think Bray Wyatt may be a better Mankind than Mankind." He despises all the popular heroes that the modern world worships and tries to take them down. He started with John Cena but failed to defeat him more than once. He now has his mind set on destroying Chris Jericho. Bray thinks that Jericho has failed to be there for the people who chanted "Save Us Y2J"! The Eater Of Worlds has the chance to enter WWE history not only as one of the greatest and most intriguing characters but also as a wrestler who proved it was possible to achieve greatness even when you look and act differently from a typical WWE Top Star.
This Sunday, at WWE Battleground, it's going to be an epic battle that might end up in different ways :
1) Bray Wyatt wins:
*With Bray Wyatt being always protected by Rowan and Harper (who never leave his side) it might be very hard for Chris Jericho to stand up alone against three giant opponents. Unless Jericho brought back up, he won't be able to defeat Bray if his "guardian angels" decide to interfere.
*We cannot forget that Y2J ruined Mr. Money Maker's big return and stopped him from getting his revenge when he defeated him during the only match they had. He might be willing to do anything to make Jericho pay so it's plausible for him to interfere and make him lose his big match against Wyatt this Sunday.
2) Chris Jericho wins:
This great feud can't logically be 3 weeks long. It is very likely that there will be a rematch at WWE SummerSlam. So it's possible that Jericho picks up the win this Sunday at Battleground only to make Bray Wyatt madder and allow him to get his great victory at the biggest Summer Pay-Per-View.
So will the Eater Of Worlds be able to break down the walls of Jericho at WWE Battleground this Sunday or will Y2J prove that he's different from any competitor that Bray Wyatt has defeated?
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below and be sure to check out Vavel USA for the best pro wrestling coverage!