Who is returning to the WWE on January 2? Part 1 - It Begins

This is a six part series, analysing the six cryptic videos that have aired over the past few weeks leading up to the return of a WWE superstar on January 2nd, 2012.

Pro-wrestling comebacks are special. If its that of a big star, then it is extra special. Generally, wrestlers make a comeback from injuries or from a time-off. During this time, fans are prone to forget about them and hence the main element in the comeback is the surprise factor. A recent series of cryptic videos being shown by the WWE which teases the comeback of a star on next week’s Raw on January 2, 2012, has succeeded in building hype to the return. The Internet Wrestling Community has been buzzing with predictions about the star that is going to return, ever since the first video was aired. This is the first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wJyBulTtgCU

If you had listened it closely, you should’ve heard this,

“Come my people and shut thy doors about thee. For power should come to punish the meek for their inequity. For on the second day of 2012, a familiar force shall arrive to claim what it is his. And it will be the end of the world as you know it.”

Chris Jericho

First of all, the video played during a match between Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett in the November 21 episode of Raw and wasn’t promoted by the WWE announcers. The twitter graphic which is usually shown promoting trends, started to become fuzzy and then the video played. The video ended with the message ‘It begins’.

Since the promo has ‘familiar force’ in it, only a big superstar is supposed to be meant by that. So which famous WWE superstar is returing on the second day of 2012?

The first time I watched this promo, the first wrestler that came to my mind was Chris Jericho. “It will be the end of the world as you know it” seemed similar to his debut in 1999 when everyone was worried that the world might end due to the Y2K syndrome at the turn of the new millenium. At that time, Jericho debuted as Y2J, interrupting The Rock. Moreover the words used in this video sounded Jericho-ish. Jericho is known for the usage of uncommon words in his promos. So, I thought that Jericho would be the man making his return after a 2-year break.

The Undertaker

But, the creepiness of the video forced me to think about another man – The Undertaker. Wrestlemania is just 3 months away and it isn’t special without the Undertaker. But since Undertaker made his return last year through the 21-2-11 promo, I don’t think WWE wanted to bring him back again this year through a promo. Undertaker can suffice without a promotional video return because the people already know that its Wrestlemania time and the Undertaker would be there. But it is the WWE and anything can happen. Undertaker may return on January 2.

Some other argue that it is Brodus Clay. I vehemently deny it. Brodus Clay is not a ‘familiar force’. He was a sidekick for Alberto Del Rio during his last stint in the WWE. So it will not be Brodus Clay. It is certainly not gonna be Dave Batista who is busy with his movie commitments.

Whoever makes his return, it is going to be awesome on January 2.

Post your comments and check back tomorrow for the next part of this series.