And I suspect this is going to be brilliant on his part.

Last week, Jericho seemed to channel the over-jubilant superstar. His “lean back into a group of fans” shot in week one was an almost perfect re-framing of C.M. Punk’s first title win, where he literally walked out of the PPV with the WWE title, despite not being under contract (in storyline).

This week, Jericho targeted the “emotional return” take that happens when folks long thought retired – folks like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and more – usually channel when they come back. He became weepy and too overcome to utter a single word.

On the surface, the segment might appear identical to most folks; but the subtle differences are what made the segment sweet.

Going into last night, I figured Jericho would make last week’s gimmick a one-week aberration and finally get down to business, or I figured he’d go the other way… extend it and turn it into a multi-week gig that will pay off when someone in back, the person he’ll probably feud with at WrestleMania, perhaps, like CM Punk, finally gets fed up and comes out to get him to stop.

Jericho’s return is almost a send-up of his own original WWE debut, when he made the words, “Would you please shut the hell up?” WWE gold. This time around, he’s shut himself up, and I hope it goes on a few more weeks before the payoff.

In fact, a way to make this gimmick legendary would be to have Jericho continue to appear, not speak, not wrestle, and leave, all the way through the Royal Rumble PPV. Having him disrupt and change the result of a main event match at Royal Rumble would be the perfect way to cap the gimmick, and the perfect motivation to have someone finally interrupt him and confront him at the Raw following the Royal Rumble.

And also the perfect way to make sure he turns the crowd against him so Jericho can establish his heel cred clearly, which is how his character has always worked best.

Clay is a large and imposing wrestler who could legitimately stand toe-to-toe with Big Show and Mark Henry, once he is established. But the Planet Funk gimmick he was given seemed like a really bad ripoff of The Godfather’s old gimmick, only it feels even more dated now.

Booking Clay as a comedy act is not an uncommon way for WWE to debut a superstar. And we all know that the right talent can overcome bad gimmicks. Steve Austin overcame The Ringmaster. John Cena took what could have been a goofy Rap Star gimmick and used it to get over as a monster heel… back in the good ol’ days.

I’m not going to suggest Brodus Clay can’t turn this into something and spin this into gold. But to do that, he needs to break out of it into … something else … sooner than later.

Preferably, next week.

Kane was injured by Mark Henry and his english riding boots, which caused him to be written out of TV while he rehabbed. It was widely expected that upon his return, Kane would feud with Henry, possibly over the World Title. But with the storylines going where they’ve gone, Henry nursing a real injury of his own, and other changes, Kane’s shift to the RAW roster gives Cena someone interesting and fresh to feud with until his big WM match against The Rock.

The suspension went into effect after Monday’s RAW, so Killing won’t be eligible to return until the RAW broadcast following Christmas Day, on Monday, December 26. The injury angle and the breakup of the Awesome Truth team will offer an immediate feud for Killings upon his return, with former tag teammate The Miz.

Let’s hope Killings learns his lesson and doesn’t flush away a promising in-ring career. It would be a shame to see an entertainer with his feel for the business to end up selling medical step stools for a living. There are plenty of folks gifted at that already.

In the meantime, Henry will face C.M. Punk as part of the build-up to Punk’s Survivor Series showdown with WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio. That’s if Punk survives his match with the World’s Strongest Man to begin with. If he doesn’t, Punk might be able to rehab by taking Medical Records Assistant Jobs while he’s recovering.

In the meantime, the nice angle here is that they didn’t go with the typical “Vince returns” option, but named the tall, creepy-looking, heel-fave, John Laurenitis, as RAW’s “interim general manager.” The raspy-voice, behind-the-scenes power broker, who is vice president of talent relations, is not naturally charismatic but is drawing a solid heel-pop from the crowd so far.

Laurenitis looks sharp in his Armani exchange coupons-acquired suits, though he’s quite raw in front of the camera has lacks the necessary presence to be a long-term answer. Still, kudos to Vince and company for moving the storyline in a less-predictable direction.

Of course, this sets up a potential roster-trimming for the future, meaning some WWE superstars could be headed for physician assistant jobs soon. After all, the brand split was created so that the top-tier names wouldn’t dominate the screen time on both shows; now that the brand-split is ended, it is likely that both shows will give a majority of screen time to the top names, leaving less room for legit midcarders.

While it might sound like great news for some folks, rest assured, this will lead some lower-level wrestlers straight the the soup kitchen lines.

We all know the predictable way they’ll handle this in the metal buildings that comprise the WWE’s creative studios; Cena wins and Punk leaves the company disgraced. Nothing too surprising or interesting.

But there is another way… a way to completely upset the apple cart and send WWE fans home shocked but pleased.

So if I were writing the Money In the Bank PPV, here’s how I’d write it.

First, though, I’ll touch on an earlier match: the Raw Brand Money In the Bank ladder match. This match has eight talented WWE superstars involved, including Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, R-Truth and Jack Swagger; but for me the main draw is the potential showdown between Alex Riley and The Miz.

So here’s what I think would work well there; to keep the Miz-Riley feud front-and-center, I’d have Riley win the suitcase. Doing that successfully would add fuel to the fire between Riley and Miz, with “the student surpassing the teacher.”

But back to the main event.

I’d keep the context between Cena and Punk close with several near falls, but then, just as it seems Cena’s about to win, I’d have Punk manage a pinfall after both competitors are nearly out on their feet. One of those endings where both Cena and Punk collapse, but Punk lands on top of Cena and gets the three-count.

Punk is announced as the new WWE champion and the announcers go ape, with Michael Cole alone in loving it on the announce team. However, as a dazed Punk is holding up the title and struggling to his feet … Riley rushes the ring with a fresh referee in tow!

Riley does some quick offense and a finisher and pins Punk, and is announced as the second new WWE Champion of the PPV. Punk leaves in disgrace. As Riley is celebrating, The Miz rushes to the ring and beats him down, setting up the next stage of their feud.

With an ending like that, it could come off as a redux of thee infamous “Montreal Screw Job” Vince McMahon pulled on Bret Hart. And while WWE wants the title on Cena when he faces The Rock at WrestleMania next spring, there’s plenty of time to get that accomplished. In the meantime, elevating Riley to main event status through a short title reign while Cena frets about how to regain the title would open up fresher storyline possibilities in the meantime.

That’s my two cents. That’s how I’d write it.

Christian has proven his ability to be a credible solo champion over in TNA, and while he’ll probably be a transitional champ until they put the belt around Randy Orton’s waist, where it will likely stay until Wrestlemania, don’t be surprised if Christian’s run is at least entertaining. He’s one of the guys on the roster who is always undervalued and therefore doesn’t need to look for Columbus jobsprior to every PPV.

John Cena’s quest to enter his Wrestlemania match against the Rock as WWE champion doesn’t need to be settled for a while, and meanwhile WWE doesn’t need a title around Cena’s waist to sell a summer-long feud with Alberto Del Rio. The best post workout supplement Cena has is a hardcore heel like Del Rio to feud with, not a cool heel like Miz.

Cena’s title quest can be put on hold until Summer Slam, and perhaps even until Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble.

In the meantime, after a double elimination on Tough Enough, a “shocking announcement” from Austin was teased for next week’s episode. And no, it’s not Bret Hart’s guest appearance.

No word on whether The Rock will appear live the same night as Austin, but I’d give a diamond tennis bracelet to see them both back in a WWE ring again. I was appreciative of their star runs during the WWE Attitude Era, and with WrestleMania approaching, a little nostalgia could go a long way.