1.2.12 is Chris Jericho - and here's why.

Chris Jericho's WWF debut saw a countdown clock leading up to his debut.  There was no code to break or anything to figure out - it just forced you to sit and wait for the clock to hit zero in order to find out what it was for.

When he returned in 2007, we had a code that was meant for viewers to break.  It wasn't extremely difficult but if you weren't computer savvy or smart enough to realize that letters can be given number associations, you didn't know what it was and again, you just waited for it to happen.

In 2011, we have been given new promos and if they are for Chris Jericho, they certainly aren't going to be a countdown or some alphanumeric code for you to try breaking.  Jericho is an evolving character that hates being repetitive.  In 2011, the itbegins series is a series of symbolic representations of Chris Jericho and his first target when he returns on January Second.  In this post, I explain everything.



To start things out, I'm going to discuss the six promos and take them as literally as possible.  I'm going to describe everything that is going on inside the classroom without trying to read into what the potential symbolism could mean, and then after I've typographically observed the six promos, I will go into each one, breaking down the symbolism and what the story being told translates to.  So, let's get this started at the beginning - literally.

The first promo was relatively cryptic and just watching that one you wouldn't know what these were for.  There was a mention of a familiar force taking back what is his, so immediately everybody who follows Jericho on twitter knew it was him.  Jericho has been calling out superstars such as CM Punk and The Miz for what he essentially chalks up to gimmick infringement.  Punk calling himself Best in the World, Miz wearing suits and using big words...Jericho took advantage and worked the internet by griping about something that he knows full well he is just as guilty of as any of the guys working for the company now.  He even said in interviews that his most recent Chris Jericho character was inspired by Anton from No Country for Old Men.  Anybody who thinks that Jericho has legitimate gripes about WWE guys using bits and pieces from his character is mistaken - it's all a work.

The second promo didn't tell a whole hell of a lot much more than the first, but at the end of the promo a little girl appeared on the table.  It's at this point that it goes from trying to crack codes like how "itbegins" can be shuffled around to make out "i be sting" to trying to pay attention to the story being told.  Is the girl a wrestler?  Is the girl management, maybe Stephanie McMahon?  Is the girl even a girl?  It's all symbolism, and it's all a story being told.

The third promo sees the little girl running around with a ball, almost taunting the boy, who is hard at work writing in his notebook.  The little girl likes to take little peeks at the boy's notebook, almost as if she's trying to learn from him as he writes.  Towards the end of the promo the little boy is standing in the corner with his hands behind his back.  The girl seems concerned, as if she wants him to come back to the desk and continue writing.  The promo ends with the boy back at the desk and writing while the girl is standing there, seemingly waiting for something.

The fourth promo sees the little boy actually acknowledging the girl for the first time.  Not only that, but he plants the seeds that the little girl holds the key to his arrival and rebirth.  The boy is writing but the girl is no longer peeking at his notebook - she is patiently waiting on the table, swaying her legs as the boy writes what is seemingly the final chapter in whatever he is writing in that notebook.  There is a hallway scene of the girl chasing the boy - following him, in a sense.  And then the boy disappears and all that is left is the girl.

The fifth promo shows the desk and classroom empty.  The boy is nowhere in sight.  Next thing you know we see the boy standing in the corner again.  The girl shoves the notebook off the desk and this is where we see the word Chris crossed out on the notebook.  This is key, but not for the same reasons you probably think.  This promo sees the least amount of speaking of all of them, and the boy simply says "I cannot help you anymore.  Do you understand?" - he was teaching the girl the whole time.  The girl shoves the notebook off the desk and as the boy asks "Do you understand?" the word Prophetless comes up on the screen.

In the sixth promo, everything really does reveal itself - people just didn't realize it.  This whole thing is like a good psychological thriller where you watch the movie, see the end, process everything, then watch the movie again to try and piece the puzzle together.  The girl just knocked the notebook off the desk - is she going to rewrite the story that the boy had been writing this whole time?  Is she going to try and write an entirely new story?  Perhaps a new era?  The boy is back at the desk and as he reads over what is in the notebook he looks disgusted - the girl looks happy and proud of herself while the boy is busy facepalming his ass off.  The girl starts to look like she sees the mistakes she made and is starting to feel bad for them as the promo goes on, and the boy just looks angry with her.  The boy says "the powers that be will be shaken," leaving us to figure out who, exactly, the powers that be really are.

It's all a story.  It isn't even a "Monday Night Raw, what happens over the course of two hours" story.  It is the story of Chris Jericho's timeline, starting with his run leading up to Night of Champions 2010 and ending with his return to Raw on 1/2/12.

The familiar force, The prophet, The coming power...it's all symbolism for Jericho.  Taking back what belongs to him is not him trying to reclaim his gimmick...it's the WWE title.  Jericho was chasing the WWE title until Randy Orton punted him out of the WWE, and since Orton is on Smackdown and the WWE title is on Raw, Jericho's priority is with the title; he might go after Orton for revenge at a later date, but for right now, he wants the WWE title.

It was at this time that CM Punk was breaking away from the Straightedge Society and coming into his own.  He got traded to Raw soon after Jericho got punted.  He was a midcarder until he got injured and the WWE decided to put a microphone in front of him on commentary.  It was at that point that everybody who was watching WWE programming realized how damn good CM Punk is at talking, and what with him being a former ROH guy and all, he's got to know how to wrestle in the ring.  This also allowed Punk to take a break, and whenever somebody takes a break, their return is always a big deal.

The second promo introduces the girl - the girl is a symbol for CM Punk.  She barely exists in the second promo, which is around when Punk was lost in the shuffle on Smackdown - sure, he was around, and a clear presence in the eyes of anyone willing to look hard enough, but he was irrelevant to the common viewer.

The third promo puts a lot into perspective, in hindsight.  I personally think that the third promo is a symbolic representation with Chris Jericho's exit from the company.  Those of you who were on the internet during this time know that Jericho's contract expired and then he worked out a deal with the WWE to stick around for another month or so before taking his leave that is still going on today.  That could be the image of the boy in the corner, and then showing up again at the desk to continue writing for a short period; Jericho was out of the company and then came in just long enough to finish up and tie any loose ends.  The little girl is CM Punk waiting in the wings for Jericho to leave so he can take over as the top heel on Raw.

As soon as the injury  was healed, Punk started going after John Cena and immediately became the #1 heel in the company.  This is around the time that the fourth promo comes into play.  Before I go any further, let me take you back a little while.  A wrestler sits in the middle of the ring demanding an opportunity at the WWE title because he is the best in the world.  The anonymous Raw GM chimes in, and as Cole is about to say "May I have your attention please," the wrestler interrupts him and asks him to read the email and make it official that said wrestler has his title shot at the upcoming PPV.  Cole announces, and I'm paraphrasing of course, "You can have your title shot as long as you defeat these two men tonight".  Who is the wrestler?

If you said CM Punk, you are correct.  If you said Chris Jericho, you are also correct.  This segment happened with Jericho in September of 2010 where he had to beat the Hart Dynasty in order to get put back into the Six Pack Challenge at Night of Champions.  It also happened with CM Punk in June of 2011 where he had to beat Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE title at the Money in the Bank PPV.  Same segment.  Same build.  Same title.  Same stipulations.  Jericho did it first, though, and that is important.

The fourth promo is Jericho planting the seeds that CM Punk claiming to be the Best in the World is what will be the key to Jericho's revival.  Remember, Jericho is the little boy.  CM Punk is the little girl.  Punk spent this whole time observing and learning how to be a top heel from Jericho - maybe not for real, but in kayfabe Chris Jericho's eyes, this is how it all went down.  Jericho, in his own eyes, of course, taught CM Punk how to be the top heel of a company.  And now it's Punk's turn to take over.

The fifth promo is amazing because it just fits together perfectly.  The boy standing in the corner is Jericho not being anywhere near the WWE.  The little girl is still CM Punk, but she decides to do away with all that she learned from the boy.  CM Punk doesn't want to be the top heel of the company, he wants to be the face of the company.  She tosses the notebook where she has already crossed out the "Chris" from and paves her own way, much like what CM Punk has been doing.  He was a heel going into Money in the Bank - then he started getting face reactions and everybody, including himself, felt obligated to turn CM Punk, the top heel in the company, face.  Chris Jericho always knew his role as the top heel...it was simply to make the fans hate him as much as possible.  When CM Punk started shooting on the WWE and spouting off a lot of truths about the company, he went from angry heel to rebellious babyface.  This was an injustice in Jericho's eyes because he thought that he taught Punk better.

The sixth promo was cut to while CM Punk was holding his WWE title above his head toward the beginning of Raw.  It showed the scene where the little girl throws the notebook off the table to start.  Throughout this promo we see the little boy disgusted at what the little girl has done in his notebook.  The notebook is a symbol that represents the WWE as an entity.  Chris Jericho is pissed off at CM Punk for forgetting his role and being a babyface instead of accepting his role as the top heel of the company.  Chris Jericho is disgusted that the man who he thought was his protege started pulling some Triple H shit and cutting babyface promos as a heel leading up to the Money in the Bank PPV.  Jericho is coming back to claim what is his - this could be either the WWE title, the role of top heel of the company, or even both.  The Powers that Be refers to the WWE Champion, CM Punk.

Every one of these promos ends with either "It will be the end of the world as you know it" or "Do you understand?" - on top of that, in the fourth promo, the boy says, and I quote, "things shall never be the same again".  This is all very Chris Jericho sounding language to and it is all just the icing on the cake at this point.

On the second day of 2012, Chris Jericho will arrive to reclaim the top heel spot in the WWE and CM Punk and the WWE title will be shaken.  It will be the end of WWE Raw as you know it.