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Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Even When They Say Nothing

Posted: Feb 11th 2012 By: CMBurnham

For weeks, the mysterious videos played. A small boy. A young girl. Heavily veiled statements about a return.

The rumours circulated. Was it the Undertaker? Could it be Sting? Or maybe someone else that hadn't been seen in months.

Then, the moment arrived. The arena darkened. And the outline of a jacket, facing away from us let us all know that it was Chris Jericho. He made his way down the aisle, slapping hands, looking excited. He got in the ring, continuing to point to and acknowledge the crowd. On a few occasions he appeared to be ready to speak into the microphone, but instead, deferred, waving and pointing to the crowd.

And then, he left up the ramp. Never saying a word. Some of the fans in attendance weren't pleased with this and voiced their confusion. Other fans were confused. If he'd gone to such lengths to send those harbingers of his return, why not say something?

The next week, the same behaviour. And this time, the crowd began to voice its frustration. Noticeably. But still, not further revelation about his intentions.

Week 3 and this time Jericho was booked into a 6-man tag team match. But just as he was tagged in....he left. He never actually locked up with an opponent. He just went around the ring, pointing and waving, then tagged out to WWE Smackdown World Champion Daniel Bryan and left.

Then, on week 4, a massive change as finally, Jericho spoke. After playing a retrospective of highlights of his career, Jericho simply said that at the Royal Rumble, the end of the world would happen. Many thought this prophesied his win in the event. But while he WAS one of the last two people in the ring, ultimately, he was eliminated by Sheamus.

This meant the guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania wasn't his. So he'd have to find a different way. And last week, he seemingly began that path, attacking WWE RAW World Champion C. M. Punk after a match. Again, no words. No explanation. He just did the actions and left.

This past Monday on RAW, for the first time since his return to the WWE, Jericho opened up and spoke at length to the audience. Jericho was proud that he had manipulated everyone without saying a word, trolling them all. He explained that his "end of the world" comment meant that it was time to get rid of all the thieves, charlatans and liars. Jericho said that his return had made everyone else obsolete. In his opinion, they are all Chris Jericho wannabees or cheap copies. The Miz talks slowly, but Jericho did that years before. Kofi Kingston does high-flying moves, but Jericho began his career that way. After comparisons to R-Truth and Dolph Ziggler, Jericho then focuses in on C. M. Punk. He said that Punk was the worst offender of all because he said he was the best in the world. That wasn't original or unique, it just made him a Chris Jericho wannabee because everyone knows that Jericho is the best in the world. The difference is that Jericho doesn't have to write it on the back of a t-shirt. He lives it. He became it when he became the first Unified World Champion, defeating the Rock and Steve Austin on the same night. He went on to claim that he eliminated 28 other people in the Royal Rumble weeks earlier (obviously a lie) including Randy Orton in his own home town.

Jericho culminated his speech by saying he was coming back to claim what was rightfully his. And then C. M. Punk's music played. Punk walked to the ring, standing toe-to-toe with Jericho.

But he said nothing. Instead, after a brief staredown and with Punk lifting the mic to his mouth, he dropped it and left.

Jericho was irate! He furiously screamed at Punk, asking him what right he had to do that and repeating that he was just a Jericho wannabee. And all the while, Punk simply strode up the ramp smiling.

The main event that evening saw both of these men as well as all the other men Jericho had labeled as Jericho wannabees in a 6-Pack challenge with the winner of the match, earning the right to enter last in the Elimination Chamber match. Odds for the other contestants increased when R-Truth miscalculated a move on the outside, falling short of the Miz (his intended target) and hitting the back of his head on the mats. He had to be removed from the match, so it was down to five competitors. In the end, Punk hoisted Ziggler up for the GTS and connected, but before he could make the cover, Jericho yanked punk to the outside and threw him through the announce table. He then slithered back into the ring and pinned the prone Ziggler, winning the match.

Then, in an act of sheer mockery, Jericho grabbed the WWE RAW World Title belt and sat down in the ring, cross-legged, much like Punk would do.

While Jericho's statements about everyone being a copycat are borderline ludicrous, his desire to come back to the top of the WWE is not one to be scoffed at. As one of the most veteran members of the roster, Jericho certainly knows what he has to do in order to get to the top. And then perhaps his statement will ring a little truer. Everyone loves a champion. And everyone wants to be the champion of the world.

The big question is: If Jericho defeats Punk for the RAW World Title at the Elimination Chamber, will his actions that night be louder than his words the next?