PWith the return of Y2J, PWP’s Zak Fellows explains why Chris Jericho has tremendous value as WWE’s utility veteran.
One of the more notable of revelations that was hyped up for the recent Night of Champions event, aside from the question of whether or not Seth Rollins will retain both his championships, was the mystery partner reveal for the six man tag match. With Chris Jericho being revealed as the partner fans have generally reacted with apathy or outright hatred of the result.
This is mainly spawned from the circumstances of his reveal, in my opinion: After all the overall critical reception, indeed the final result, structure and a majority of what goes into booking a match would stem from the big selling point of why people would be invested in it.
Not to say the six man tag was bad in fact it served its purpose in giving the Wyatt Family the win, specifically Braun Strowman which…you know my thoughts on that, but the big problem is that the reveal fell flat in fact…announce Jericho ahead of time and fans probably would not have reacted by the majority that it has.
With that said, a bigger story emerged in the fires of this situation as it pertains to Chris Jericho and that is his status and appeal as a Utility Veteran. If you are currently scratching your head as to what a Utility Veteran means in this situation allow me to present you with my own personal definition:
“A Utility Veteran is a wrestler long established and positively perceived by the audience whose name value and history is being used to improve the image and perception of a less experienced adversary.”
This is how I have viewed Jericho for some time now, you see, as he has increasingly taken on a part time schedule as a means of prolonging his career and to avoid potential overexposure for an audience that is increasingly in search of new and fresh talent. A veteran’s life cycle, naturally, is not set in stone: It’s about maintaining their relevance and appeal to a general, and ever-changing, audience. And, as we have seen in years past, the more tried and tested structure for booking a veteran by promoters is to use them to prepare the next generation.
Generally speaking, Utility Veterans will be used as a means of lending their lasting appeal to a newer name and to draw more attention to said name. Even though fans are becoming more and more eager to become invested in fresher talents sometimes they need the proper reason to become invested: Hence pitting them against a name they are familiar with and behind aiding in their ascension to a higher position in the eyes of the circling wheel that consists of promoters, fans and fellow wrestlers. A wrestler can only beat wrestlers of a similar stature and position for so long in the long run before it becomes…overdone for lack of a better term.
Let me stress this since I’m sure it has crossed your mind and justifiably so: No a Utility Veteran is NOT a Jobber. There are elements of the duties of a jobber, case by case natch, but a fundamental difference is in the way of booking the wrestler to whom it is all in aid of. A jobber, which still isn’t as bad as people make out, is used as a means of portraying the strength of one wrestler through selling and being shown as weak by comparison in a squash. They are meant to sell the audience on a new character’s main shtick.
While a Utility Veteran does share that primary objective it is their longevity and entrenched background that sets them apart and why beating them should, conceivably, be a bigger deal. For example people remember Umaga beating Ric Flair more than they remember him beating Eugene because who is the more well-known and successful?
Unfortunately a general trapping that befalls booking a Utility Veteran that has reared its head as it relates to Chris Jericho is a lack of restraint on the part of booking. A newer name beating an established one should be a big deal because it is the inexperienced beating the experienced, the underdog defeating the old lion…and it shouldn’t be relied upon as a crutch for getting a busload of people over against the same guy. Chris Jericho, Kane to a lesser extent and especially Ric Flair between 2001 and 2008 are examples of the Utility Veteran being used so often to the point of dilution rendering their value as one to a nil.
For the sake of perspective since 2012 Jericho has put over wrestlers across the card from CM Punk to Fandango. And as we have seen very little is made of a majority of the wrestlers he is involved him (and I mean immediate follow up). By losing so often it has become more routine, this may be par for the course with who Jericho is compared to other names like John Cena, and beating him isn’t as impactful as it could potentially be. Not to say a new wrestler has to win in order to be put over (I mean Austin never beat Bret) but doing something that a bunch of other people has done surely won’t go anywhere in terms of fan perception.
Ric Flair is one of the most infamous examples of a Utility Veteran being relied upon as a crutch for wrestlers across the roster and why I also feel he serves as a great comparison to Jericho’s current predicament. For every Randy Orton and Undertaker he lost to he also lost to Rico and Kenny Dykstra (the equivalent of Fandango) which lessens the level of prestige that would come with beating a legend like him.
That’s why, in the past and now, beating Hulk Hogan and Cena is considered a stamp of approval since, as the top draws of their respective eras, they almost never lose and therefore barely touch the risk of a diminished impact upon defeat.
I’m not approaching the argument that I’m sick of part timers: I’m sick when they are fighting each other again and again (like the rumoured Rock/HHH match for the billionth time) don’t get me wrong but put them against new acts that I’m into and don’t portray them weakly by comparison and by all means go for it. There will always be room for a veteran due to easy nostalgia money and the immense talent that some of them possess.
BUT…if you are going to use them as Utility Veteran’s for the purpose of bolstering the image of your new wrestler do not rely on that veterans loss as an immediate springboard to superstardom. I suppose the ultimate lesson in restraint is “Don’t do it…unless you’re absolutely serious and sure in your pursuit”
[Zak Fellows is absolutely serious half of the time]
Seriously though…Rock and Triple H…no more; let’s move on.