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.

That’s because Del Rio is rehabbing a groin injury suffered in the main event of last Monday’s RAW broadcast. While he’s not expected to be out a long time, he will be out for a little while, as a precautionary measure, so that the injury doesn’t lead to a more long-term issue.

Of his former Real World cast mates, Miz said, “MTV makes sure they pick out girls that are off their rocker, so there are more meltdowns. No thanks on that one.”

That might come as news to Coral, Nicole, Rachel and Lori. Had they not given him a chance on that show to come out of his shell, he might not be in the WWE today.

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 WWE Divas title changed hands on RAW, when Alicia Fox scored an upset victory over Beth Phoenix to win the title. Fox is a babyface compared to the heelish Phoenix. I guess that leaves Phoenix free to browse stylish maternity clothes.

At the WWE TLC PPV, in perhaps the most enjoyable match of the night, Zack Ryder scored an upset win over Dolph Ziggler to obtain his first legitimate title since entering WWE. Woo, woo, woo! You know it!

Also at the PPV, Big Show won his first title in nine years, scoring a victory over Mark Henry. His reign, though, lasted all of forty-five seconds as Daniel Bryan cashed in his Money In the Bank contract four months earlier than he had promised, taking advantage of a Henry post-match attack on Big Show to pin a passed-out Show and score the World Heavyweight Championship.

At TLC, the only champ to retain his title was face champ, WWE Title holder, C.M. Punk.

The WWE Tag Team titles are held by Air Boom, meaning that the only meaningful WWE title currently held by a heel is the WWE Intercontinental Championship, currently held by Cody Rhodes. Does this make Rhodes the top heel in the WWE?

Probably not. But it does mean that we could see some potential heel turns in the near future if the current set of champions lasts for a while. And I wouldn’t complain at all if John Cena was among them; a heel turn could be a career-saver, in his case.

Also of interest is the Mark Henry vs. Big Show rematch. In the first go-round, they wrestled to no decision after a reverse body drop of Show by Henry off the top rope collapsed the ring, a callback to the Show/Brock Lesnar match on Smackdown several years ago. If WWE is wise, they’ll put this match on last if they intend to collapse the ring again.

Finally, the long-delayed payoff to the Kevin Nash-Triple H feud will take place tonight as well. Those are three main-event-worthy matches, and set the table well to leave 2011 in a high note, if they all deliver.

Will Cena really no-show TLC? Or will a last-minute match be found? We’ll know soon enough.

But in a recent ESPN interview, Punk ripped on The Rock for not mixing well with other workers and crew backstage, a problem Austin never had but has been a frequent complaint about The People’s Champ since his days as a WWE regular.

Still, I get nervous when WWE starts booking main events a year away and more; after all, every WWE talent is one wellness policy violation, one bad fall on an ankle, or one back surgery laser away from sitting out for months while rehabbing. It’s risky business.

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.

So if you’re searching for good girlfriend gift ideas for Christmas, a campaign contribution to the Romney campaign is one way to go among East Coast RINOs, especially if you’re a WWE-loving one.

But I’m certain there are better ideas.

The WWE may have embraced Zack Ryder as an in-ring TV personality in recent weeks, but now that he’s officially under contract, the WWE Internet Champion has had the latest episode of his weekly Z! The Long Island Ice Z Story blocked by WWE, under the claim it’s now WWE copyrighted material.

Ryder posted a frustrated tweet on YouTube, but hey, at least he’s pulling down a WWE paycheck now, right? When you take credit card factoring into the calculation, he’s still better off.

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.