Jericho booted off Fox

Chris Jericho found out last night that the transition to the mainstream might be a little harder than he had initially thought.

As mentioned last week in Thursday's Thoughts, Jericho was a contestant on a new show called Celebrity Duets. The concept is simple. They take a group of B-list celebs, (Cheech Marin, Alfonso Ribero, Xena Warrior Princess and a bunch of other people I've never hear of) and have them sing a song while being teamed up with someone currently working in the music biz (Michael Bolton, Michelle Williams, Randy Travis etc).

At the end of last night's two hour debut episode, Jericho was sent packing.

In fairness, they did sort of pull a fast one on The Ayatollah Of Rock and Rolla. This week the celeb was voted off the show by the juding panel – consisting of Marie Osmond, Little Richard and David Foster. Starting next week, a contestant must be voted off by the viewing audience. Why they decided to change such an integral piece of the show after one week, I have no idea. Maybe they weren't sure anyone would actually be watching.

You have to assume that SOME wrestling fans would tune in and support ol' Y2J. Right? Well, maybe not.

The judges certainly didn't know a damn thing about the former Unified Champ. They just took the opportunity to throw out some brutal wrestling references and cheap shots. They referred to his performance as weaker than a reversed suplex - like what the hell does that mean? One judge suggested Jericho start a rock band. Um, hello? Of course, Mr. Witty Judge thought the band should be called Jerichole. Knee slapper. The jokes never stop on a show with Simon Cowell's name attached to it.

Here's the tricky thing for wrestlers breaking into the mainstream. If you're an active wrestler and dip your toe into another area, the fans will support you en mass. Proof: Mick Foley is an author who's been on the NY Times Best Seller's List three times. Now, Mr. Foley is a talented writer, but if he made his living as a meat packer from Wisconsin, I promise you he never would have reached number one. Kane's movie 'See No Evil' quadrupled company expectations at the gate. Sable, Chyna, Torrie and Candice Michelle have all been on the cover of Playboy and been part of some of the highest selling issues in it's history.

Then there are those who dabble once they've left the big time. Maven was a bomb on a VH1's Surreal Life. Chyna made a porn that nobody watched other than Sean Waltman and some really horny 17 year old guys with Limewire. Jeff Hardy's band sucked more ass than a champion ass sucker at an ass sucking contest (that was Dan-e-o by the way).

Wrestling fans support wrestlers when they are relevant and wrestling.

Look at The Rock's biggest Hollywood successes. The Mummy 2 and The Scorpion King. Why? He was still a semi-active member of the roster. When he came back after a few films and had ignored his wrestling fans, they booed him mercilessly. You could argue that The Rock has been the most successful of any wrestler in the mainstream, but he is a B or C-lister at best.

To wrestling fans – you're only a 'wrestler' as long as you are either A) active or B) still respectful and proud of your wrestling roots. To the mainstream, you're always an ex-wrestler.

Case in point – Jericho. These days he is billed as “Actor, Musician, Comedian”. When anyone talks about him freely, he's “former WWF guy and world rasslin' champ, Chris Jericho”.

Jesse Ventura got the support of wrestling fans in Minnesota and rode it all the way to the Governor's mansion. But when Jesse appeared on CSPAN or CNN or MSNBC – he was always dubbed, Ex-Wrestler and Governor of Minnesota.
There is a negative stigma attached to those who participate in this great sport when they attempt to break free of this niche.

Hell look at Hogan. He's done a ton of movies. Virtually all of them were filmed while on some sort of wrestling hiatus. Have ANY of them made a nickel, save for Rocky? (which was completely on Stallone's shoulders).

Don't feel bad Jericho. You've still got your gig at McDonalds.

By the way – just in case you thought I actually watched that lame ass Celebrity Duets to write this piece, I didn't. All info about last night's show was pulled from Fox's website. I'd never watch anything that gay. I was busy watching Big Brother.

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