WWE Rumors: Chris Jericho Can Take Bray Wyatt's Career to New Heights

A while back, I had a theory on how WWE could handle its classic formula of babyfaces and heels. Almost all storytelling is based on the notion of good vs. evil, and pro wrestling has been no different for decades. But recently, as fans have educated themselves about the behind-the-scenes workings of the product, it has become harder to be a bad guy in pro wrestling.

If fans like you, then they're going to cheer you. We don't cheer or boo the character anymore. We cheer or boo the man or woman behind the character. Paul Heyman says, "Brock Lesnar is not here to put smiles on people's faces. Brock Lesnar is here to put tears in the eyes of children," and fans applaud and cheer wildly. This is the current state of pro wrestling.

So my theory was, now that we're in this "Reality Era" as Triple H calls it, to go with the crowd's reaction. WWE has a focus group of 15,000-plus every week. So take all the performers the crowd loves (Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, etc.) and make them faces, and then take all the people we can't stand (The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, etc.) and make them heels.

There are numerous flaws in my plan, of course, but that's not the point of this article. I bring this up to acknowledge that my theory does not have a solution for someone like John Cena, an all-around wonderful human being who fans boo because they're sick of seeing him with belts around his waist or because they don't want him shoved down their throats anymore.

But my plan also runs into the opposite problem: Bray Wyatt. Fans love Bray Wyatt because of Windham Rotunda's commitment to the character and his performance both on the mic and in the ring. But Bray Wyatt the character is a dangerous psychopath who continually says he wants to burn down the world and rebuild it in his own image. This guy we cheer, but John Cena we boo.

So how did WWE solve this problem once the months-long feud between Cena and Wyatt ended with the former standing tall in a Last Man Standing match at Payback? They broke the walls down and brought back Chris Jericho to clash with Wyatt for the next few months.

This is a brilliant move on WWE's part for several reasons. For starters, the promos between Jericho and Wyatt are going to be stellar. Wyatt is only 26, but he has already proven his ability to work a crowd and knows how to deliver his words in just the right way so that he doesn't become cartoonish and over the top.

Jericho, the seasoned veteran, has been making his opponents look like chumps on the mic for two decades. These two are going to play off each other wonderfully and should bring out the best in each other.

But more importantly, fans now have a reason to boo the bad guy again. Chris Jericho has been brilliant as both a face and a heel throughout his career, but he's back this time as a good guy. The only way to get fans to boo Wyatt is to match him up with someone whom the fans almost universally love. John Cena did not fit that bill, but Chris Jericho does.

It doesn't really matter that we know Wyatt is going to win this feud. We figured that out the second he attacked Jericho on Monday Night Raw because at this stage of his career, Jericho comes back for a stint to work with younger talent and help push them to the next level. When this is all said and done, Bray Wyatt will be able to say he vanquished the beloved veteran Y2J.

That alone is enough reason to cheer.