[COLUMN] Did Chris Jericho Give The IWC Ammunition To Ruin Roman Reigns?

Chris Jericho is responsible for the rise and success of many of today’s stars. He has helped propel stars such as Orton, Cena, Batista, Christian, Edge, and more. And most recently Bray Wyatt. He is a future hall of famer than seemingly can have a great match with anyone. When Jericho speaks wrestlers and fans listen. Chris Jericho deserves all the praise and attention he has gotten in the past twenty plus years in the ring.

This leads me to comments Jericho made recently an interview with Digital Spy out of the UK. He was asked if Roman Reigns should be in the main event at WrestleMania XXXI. His answer was as follows.

“I think Roman’s doing great, I think there’s a lot of guys doing great, but it all depends on the reaction of the fans and I think right now the next two or three weeks are crucial to see what kind of reaction these guys get and that will decide where they are going to be slotted in WrestleMania. They’re listening to what the crowd is reacting to, and then deciding from there.”

“If Roman Reigns is getting a great crowd reaction. Then there’s a great chance he’s going to get more and more of a push- that’s how things go. I think they probably have a tentative plan already for the top three or four matches at WrestleMania, now they just have to see if the pieces continue to fall into place.”

These comments are seemingly harmless and laced with a healthy dose of the truth, Jericho knows very well how the WWE machine works. Here is what could be the potential fallout of Chris Jericho’s comments.

Roman Reigns has faced great scrutiny lately for an abundant of reasons. His skills on the microphone have been very limited at best. Then about a week ago it was reported that Vince McMahon was the one writing the lines for Reigns. The same Vince McMahon that the IWC dislikes and feels is out of touch with what the fans really want. Reigns has also not shown a large variety of moves in the ring which leads to comparisons that can only do him harm. I think it is a sad situation when being compared to John Cena is bad thing, but with the given state of mind of many fans that’s exactly the case. Reigns is being compared to Cena on every level from move set to being pushed down our throats. Many fans and members of the IWC feel Reigns is getting thrown upon us just like Cena has been.

Are there other wrestlers that deserve a push over Reigns? Perhaps this is the case and there are more deserving wrestlers. Names like Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have been brought to the forefront as deserving a push over Reigns. My issue with this is Ambrose just headlined a major pay-per view with Bray Wyatt. And Seth Rollins is the holder of the “Money in the Bank” briefcase at the moment, and is set to be in the triple threat match at the Royal Rumble. It seems to me both are being pushed. Ziggler is another name and he is also in a major storyline. Daniel Bryan is another wrestler often mentioned as the deserving headliner for WrestleMania. My　advice to the fans and the IWC would be to　relax Daniel Bryan is going to be just fine.

Reigns gets slammed on social media and other sites on a daily basis something that cannot be good for his career. This brings me back to Chris Jericho’s comments and how they may be harmful to Reigns. The IWC is already waiting to pounce on every move and mistake that Reigns makes. Now that Jericho has implied the crowd reaction to Reigns may be the deciding factor in his push the IWC has their golden ticket. This will spread like wildfire and the cheers for Reigns will become jeers and the crowd reaction will sour. Reigns will never stand a chance because the IWC feels he doesn’t deserve it.

I know Chris Jericho only meant praise for Roman Reigns and he was simply stating a fact. Unfortunately the man who has helped create so many stars may have just destroyed one.