Ranking Every Chris Jericho Surprise WWE Return

If anyone has mastered the art of surprise returns in sports entertainment, it’s Chris Jericho.

Every time Jericho makes a triumphant comeback to WWE, he knows how to make an absolute spectacle of the moment. He’s done everything from teaser vignettes with secret codes to just showing up and shocking the wrestling world in the process.

No one does it better.

Entertainment value and overall shock factor were weighed heavily as the list was made. There’s no denying that each return had both in spades, but some simply had more than others.

Let the countdown begin.

 

4. Wyatt….2J? (Monday Night Raw, June 30, 2014)

While we’re guilty of spoiling Jericho’s return here at WrestlingRumors.net one week ago, we’re still trying to figure out what WWE was thinking by telling fans “The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla” was in the house on Instagram roughly 15 minutes before he came out.

We were all caught off guard when The Miz made his way to the ring at the XL Center in Hartford. Maybe we got our report wrong. Maybe Jericho wasn’t there at all.

After five minutes of Miz blabbing on about how he was a big shot Hollywood actor, Jericho interrupted the festivities in dramatic fashion by delivering a Codebreaker to the self-proclaimed “Most Must-See WWE Superstar of All-Time.”

“Welcome to……….Raw………is……….”

Cue flickering lights.

Here comes The Wyatt Family.

A kiss to the forehead and a brutal Sister Abigail finisher put Jericho down and out, leading one to believe that a Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho match is somewhere on the horizon.

While this was certainly a momentous return, it didn’t quite have the sizzle of some of his others.

 

 

3. Save_Us.Y2J (Monday Night Raw, Nov. 19, 2007)

We have officially entered the Matrix.

If you’re able to read and understand binary code, you probably didn’t have any problems analyzing the video packages leading up to Jericho’s first major return. Those with fast eyes and the ability to think on their feet had just as much success.

Randy Orton had a “passing of the torch” ceremony set up in his honor, complete with a marathon runner bringing an actual torch into the arena.

Before the runner could make it to the ring, Jericho appeared out of nowhere and decked the young man with a clothesline.

“The Code is the Answer. The Answer is the Code.”

After a two-year hiatus, Jericho was back and looking better than ever.  He even wore an outfit similar to the one he donned during his debut in 1999.

His pursuit of the WWE Championship was just about ready to begin.

 

 

2. End of the World (Monday Night Raw, Jan. 2, 2012)

Orton punted Jericho in the head during an episode of “Raw” on Sep. 27, 2010. This was used to explain his second departure from the company.

Beginning in Nov. 2011, ambiguous video packages began airing on television featuring a young girl and boy in a school setting.

The boy would write on his notepad, proclaiming that on the second day of 2012, “a prophet will emerge and destroy the weak.”

“It will be the end of the world as you know it.”

Fans figured it was Jericho. They were even chanting his name as the final video played. It tarnished the moment, but only just a little bit. There was always a chance that it wasn’t him. The packages were all open to interpretation.

With the arena in total darkness and the WWE Universe waiting in anticipation, the outline of Jericho’s signature pose appeared on stage through a vibrant Lite-Brite inspired jacket.

What followed was a good eight minutes of Jericho “trolling” the live crowd, pandering to those in attendance by shaking hands, pumping his fists and even grabbing the camera.

He never said a word.

It was brilliant. What began as jubilation and unbridled enthusiasm for his return immediately turned into a sea of frustrated faces.

It’s what he wanted.

 

 

1. Rumble Night Shocker (Royal Rumble, Jan. 7, 2013)

In an era where everything seems to be spoiled on the internet, Jericho managed to find a way to pull the wool over our eyes and keep fans in the dark over his return in the Royal Rumble match.

No one saw this coming. It wasn’t reported in the dirt sheets, nor was it teased through weeks of buildup.

“It’s funny because, two things about that was; one, I was so happy that it didn’t leak. I thought for sure, sooner or later it’s going to leak on a website or dirt sheet, or somebody would hear something and it would get out,” Jericho told Busted Open Radio (via Fighting Spirit Magazine).

“Nobody knew that I was there until the moment that music played, and I think that was such a cool vibe, that we could still surprise people, still surprise guys like you who have your finger on the pulse and have spies, contacts and sources. That’s what wrestling is all about. It’s all about the surprise element that takes you back to when you were a kid.”

Jericho lasted an impressive 47 minutes and 53 seconds, the second-longest stretch of the night. Only Dolph Ziggler, the man Y2J shocked as the No. 2 entrant, lasted longer (49:47).

Following the pay-per-view, Jericho described the reaction he got from the Phoenix faithful as one of the loudest pops of his career.

Christopher Walder is a staff writer for WrestlingRumors.net. His work has also been published at Bleacher Report, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated and other online media outlets. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports.