5 ways I would write the return of Chris Jericho

Last night, Chris Jericho was eliminated from "Dancing with the Stars." No surprise there; he'd been in the middle of the pack through the majority of the season, and it was his time in the pecking order to go. I mean, it's not like this is a respectable competition, considering Kirstie Alley fucking fell and still got higher scores than he did. Anyhoo... he has been teasing that he is willing to come back to WWE sooner rather than later, especially with the untimely retirement of Edge. But he's not just some guy - he is without a doubt one of the best performers in the history of the business, and his return should not be some run-of-the-mill rehire. If I were writing for WWE, here are 5 suggestions I would make for the way to best utilize Jericho when he returns to WWE:

Have him become the new RAW GM. I am so over the GM angle. It is long past possible for it to be one person, and I don't think anyone even cares who it is anymore. It's a trigger the writers should have pulled MONTHS ago, and the fact that they didn't is a missed opportunity. Therefore, rather than continue the anonymous GM angle or even reveal that Jericho was the mystery GM all along (which isn't possible, but no one is), make it an off-camera negotiation between Jericho and the mystery GM that the GM handed RAW over to Jericho. This way it kills the mystery angle altogether and puts a face on the position again. Not to mention, Michael Cole is ridiculously out of control on that show, and he needs someone who can shut him down when he needs to be. If that person is Jericho, then he can fight when he needs to, such as when Cole sends Swagger (or another future recruit) to do his dirty work for him.

Have him come to Smackdown as a heel and pair him with Wade Barrett again. Barrett went from being the awesome alpha male leader of the Nexus on RAW to a lukewarm member of the Corre on Smackdown. If he is going to get back to being the future of the WWE, he needs a little help at this point. Cue Jericho. Jericho was his mentor on NXT, and both superstars have praised each other as a mentor/student. If they were to get back together, Jericho could win the heavyweight championship, and Barrett could continue running with the intercontinental championship. The two of them together would make the dominant heel team on the brand. In that time, Barrett's ego continues to grow and get out of control, to the point of wanting to take the heavyweight championship away from Jericho. Eventually he does, returning Jericho to the face spot and having Barrett become the all-out heel he should be. This is the kind of program you could run for a year, into Wrestlemania 28. Barrett beating Jericho at Wrestlemania will make that difference in him pulling that last heel trigger.

Have him come to Smackdown as a face to feud with Wade Barrett. Again, Barrett needs a strong feud to be a formidable heel. Going back to the NXT mentoring angle, Jericho tries to aid Barrett in his singles run. Barrett doesn't want it. He got rid of Nexus, got rid of the Corre, and doesn't think anyone should continue to hold him back, which is how he sees Jericho holding him down. Barrett loses the IC title, blames Jericho, and stars a non-title feud with him. This could work because both are good talkers, both could pull off a good story without having to have a title in the mix, and both could come out elevated from it. Not as much Jericho, but certainly Barrett. Clearly I think Barrett needs Jericho at this point to resuscitate his character. And if this is Jericho's last run in the ring, he can bring Barrett up, then enter one more title feud with whomever has the titles at that time.

Have him come to RAW as a face to feud with the Miz. If Cena moves on to a feud with Del Rio or Swagger, then what faces does Miz feud with? The logical answer should be Mysterio, but I think Mysterio should be used to elevate Evan Bourne or even John Morrison to future main event status, especially since Mysterio does not have a lot of matches left in him. Miz and Jericho are so well matched on the mic, and in the ring they can probably have some great chemistry. He would be a good choice for the Miz, even if Miz gets himself another lackey, like maybe Curt Hawkins, a recent RAW draft pick. It doesn't seem like there is much for Jericho at this point than to have him elevate the next future star or two, and maybe get another title run in with it.

Have him come to RAW as a heel and feud with Zack Ryder. Again, he's being used to elevate someone, but whatev. Zack Ryder is becoming WWE's biggest internet star with his youtube show, and deservedly so. That dude is damn funny, and will only get funnier. One of the problems right now is that TV time is so limited, and either the writers can't possibly come up with something to do for him, or they don't consider him a priority. It's probably a bit of both, which is unfortunate when the viewers would love to watch him. If Jericho comes back, have him come back to the same repressed character as before. This time, have Ryder try to cheer him up, or just get too close to Jericho while singing the latest boy band hit. With enough of this, Jericho will want to beat the business out of Ryder, and the fans will be all over Ryder when he wants to get his revenge. It's such an easy story line to go with, but it gets some great pops on RAW when the fans get Ryder on TV the way they want to. And it's not like they'd want Ryder on TV but Jericho off TV, because the fans have learned by now that Jericho equals great TV, no matter what.