Breaking News: Chris Jericho suspended from WWE indefinitely (now 30 days)
 

WWE announced Friday that Chris Jericho has been suspended indefinitely due to an irresponsible act at a WWE live event in São Paulo, Brazil on May 24.

Chris Jericho suspended

Chris Jericho as been suspended indefinitely due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24. WWE has apologized to the citizens and the government of Brazil for this incident.

Credit: http://rajah.com/base/node/27555.

Holy shit.

Apparently CM Punk was holding a fan's flag. Jericho took it from him threw it to the ground and stomped on it. Jericho had to be rushed out of the country and was nearly arrested.

amazing... just in time for his tour with Fozzy...

:shifty:

Jericho's posted a response which sounds sincere and like this isn't part of an angle. He basically says that he made a bad judgement call while trying to entertain people and apologises for it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Just for the record I love Brazil and wish we could've spent more time here. Beautiful country!</p>&mdash; Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/205893974072901632" data-datetime="2012-05-25T05:32:03+00:00">May 25, 2012</a></blockquote>
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lol, perfect. ALSO CALLED IT.

JERICHO is AWESOME

On the plus side, if he's suspended, it means he won't have to job to Randy Orton.

I don't buy it, but I guess it could be similar to why Finlay was fired.

Sounds odd.

It's not really that odd. Obviously, stomping on a flag in any country is offensive, but some far more than others.

I could have told you it was a horrible idea. Most South American countries are extremely patriotic. Jericho is an intelligent, worldly guy, and should of known better.

Shawn Michaels stuck the canadian flag up his nose, dropped it down his pants, and fellated it on PPV.

Chris Jericho stomps on a flag. Indefinitely suspended.

Bit of double standards, but HBK got away with a lot back in the day.

That's what he does, but as you said, you don't fucking do that in Brazil. One should know better than to do something like that in foreign lands without at least even googling what kind of consequence there would be.

It's not that WWE let him get away with it, it's that doing that shit here or in Canada isn't as much of a grievous offense.

Not so much a double standard as it is a cultural difference.

Also, am I the only one who when read that he was suspended for an "indecent act" thought that he may have exposed his cock or something?

Fair call, and yes, I thought he had gotten drunk again with Helms and did something stupid.

How many months until the next "Mysterious video"?

Wow! This is ridiculously depressing.

I guess it is different everywhere. If Kurt Angle were to disrespect the Indian flag in India, the crowd would have stormed in and beat the shit out of him. It has been only 64 years since Independence and we hold the flag in high regards.

The fact that this lines up so well with his planned time off is a little suspicious. If they did this on purpose for the heat (and this is old school heat, plain and simple) they risked Jericho being arrested and held for who knows how long. Calculated risk to make the angle real?

But right when he started a potentially big feud with Orton?

Jericho has even gotten physical with fans outside of an arena, and not even then was he suspended. So I'm not sure if this is legit. His Fozzy tour is coming up, and maybe this is the way they'll write him off tv for the time being, who knows?

But again, it's been said that WWE is going to great lengths in order to keep storylines under wraps, to the point of "punking" the talent itself, so I really don't know.

We'll find out, I guess.

If this a work, then it is one of the best ever.

Now, I'm all for respecting different cultures and races etc, but I hate that there are countries out there who feel so passionately for their countries flag. I dunno, to me, a flag is just a flag. Nothing more, nothing less. If the heel of an entertainment show is disrespecting your nations flag, it's pretty obviously a way to get the crowd against him.

Just one of those "I don't like it, but I'll have to go along with it" kinda things.

If this is legit it kinda surprises me that Brazil, the "carnival capital of the world", home of "the brazilian wax", would put people in jail for stomping on the flag. I thought they'd be a little bit more "open minded", if you will.

It is a cultural thing. It is not necessary for everyone to think alike.

The wonderful thing about indefinite suspension is that it can end at anytime. I don't think the suspension will last long due to the fact that he was just staying in character. Brazilian police acted correctly. The suspension though disappointing was the right thing to do to appease the country. I'm more interested on weather or not they'll work some kind of angel using this or just try to let it blow over.

This is true, but they should be smart enough to realize that Jericho is a paid performer whose goal is to piss them off..... I'm sure Chris Irvine the person loves Brazil.....

Haha TMZ picked up this story now. I guess it is legit.

http://i.imgur.com/XPRMZ.png

A WWE event in Brazil came to a screeching halt Thursday evening ... when local law enforcement stopped a live match and threatened to arrest Chris Jericho for desecrating the Brazilian flag.

It all went down during a match between Jericho and C.M. Punk -- who was proudly waving the flag in the ring. Jericho took the flag away, crumpled it up and kicked the flag out of the ring ... and that's when police stepped in and put a stop to the event.

We're told Jericho was informed that desecrating the national flag is a crime in Brazil ... punishable by incarceration.

Cops gave Jericho an option -- apologize to the arena ... or go to jail. Chris chose the former ... grabbing the mic and telling the crowd he immediately regretted his actions. Cops allowed the event to continue.

Sources connected to the WWE tell TMZ ... the flag stunt was NOT planned or approved by WWE officials.

The WWE has just released an official statement saying, "Chris Jericho has been suspended indefinitely due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE event in Sao Paulo on May 24. The WWE has apologized to the citizens and the government of Brazil for this incident."

That pic sends a very wrong message.

Wow, that's stupid that he is suspended. It's not like he did that to the American flag! And if he did freedom of speech and shit. This is why USA is better than all the countries in the world combined. Freedom.

Why would the WWE suspend him when the government let him slide? I hate how kiss-ass the company is. Love the troops, now love other countries - even when the country let the event go on after Y2J did the right thing.

And slightly off topic; stomping the flag is illegal over there? They should move from patriotic nonsense to solving those kidnapping sprees. Fuck Brazil. Blanka ain't shit.

Definitely. I'm gonna have to go with this is a work to cover his tour. WWE have really been high on the realism lately. Probably the only thing that wasn't planned was the cops getting involved, or the cops were local indy wrestlers as always. Brazil has indy wrestling right?

Suspense/ fozzy tour?. It is a work. The timing is right.

Who else would he leave wwe?

Why start a feud with Orton though if the plan was to write him off TV? I dunno, this seems like another work to me.

Also, the fact that cops stormed the ring during a match screams bullshit. You would think they would wait until after the match since all the citizens paid for it and what not. Some things here are not adding up.

This also comes within a few days of Jericho doing that video interview saying people were reading too much into the videos/storyline of his return and the rumors about him leaving the company. A video in which he didn't outright deny he was leaving, but seemed to indicate that he was staying with WWE for now.

Technically he is still with WWE... just not at the moment. He's touring, he'll be back. I'm interested to see what they plan to do next time, because he's allegedly going to be in and out until at least Summerslam. He's also quoted as saying he had to sign a much longer deal than he wanted.

946 years according to him.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XjK98AEK6Go?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RikjeeDaMxI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He even apologized.....

Wow if this isn't a work, which it seems it isn't, then it was a horrible call by Jericho. Hope this doesn't get blown too far out of proportion though. I mean Jericho should have known better, but the fans didn't seem that upset about it.

No, only Jiu Jitsu.

The videos have been pulled by WWE. This will air on RAW. Definitely a work.

It's not double standards if the business has changed (it has) or the locale is taken into account (it has to be) or this is an intentional on-air debacle (duh)

Oh shit. Does that mean when it does air, we're going to be subjected to six more months of Noid/SammyG whining "why didn't Jericho show up tonight! We were promised Jericho (Even though we weren't and it was all assumed and we totally hyped ourselves up, we will blame WWE for lying to us!!!)!"

Don't forget about JBL goose-stepping in Germany shortly before his gimmick change and multiple title runs.

India was so much better under British rule. Bring back the Raj!

Yeah this is no work, there is no upside to the angle, why work it? Jericho messed up and got told so by the police and then had to apologize before he got locked up in a Brazilian prison, where believe me, they love the back door adventures.

As far as him being suspended, it could work out in his favor as far as Fozzy but I doubt this is a planned incident and WWE has suspended him to leave a good taste in the mouths of whomever will decide to let WWE back into Brazil arena's in the future.

Just a difference of culture that's all.

I live in Brazil and it didn´t even enter my head that this was a work....it is completely beliavable, and what Fignuts said is dead on, Brazil is a South American country that is fiercely patriotic....so much so that ANY sport which has a Brazilian doing well becomes popular overnight, only to disappear when said Brazilian is not doing well...

This is a country where businesses close for World Cup games, everything is about their country and these fans are not used to being "worked"...Jericho should have realised this and WWE could well be pissed. THis could effect their standing here in the country too...

The suspension isn't a work, though he was probably on his way out after Orton anyway so he misses one PPV payday, MAYBE two. If I recall correctly, Fozzy has a show on the night of SummerSlam so he's not going to be with WWE then regardless.

My question is, though, whose idea was this? Did Jericho and Punk devise it? Did Jericho see the flag and think "I'll get some heat and snatch it from him"? Or was it a planned angle?

If it was a planned angle, this would be putting the blame on the wrong person.

I don't know, I would think that a smart guy like Chris and multi-million company would make sure everything is cool before doing it. This being 'real' is hard to buy. They could be using the internet and media to their avantage.

If it's real, they just did it to show Brazil that there were consequences and the company took responsibility.

It was after the gimmick change, and only a couple of weeks before his only WWE Title reign.

Shawn Michaels posted this on Twitter...

I'm glad HBK doesn't have to be a prisoner to WWE's PR. Look at me agreeing with that Jesus freak on a social issue. :y:

Different countries like Brazil and Mexico have severe laws against desecrating their flag... You will never see that in Lucha Libre... You can't even put a sticker of the Mexican Flag on a guitar without possible arrest...

That being said, even if it wasn't a work, great timing for his tour... As it was stated above...

How the fuck could this possibly be a work?

Why in fuck sake would WWE risk getting Jericho arrested, and potentially lose a big market, just to take Jericho off TV, when there are hundreds of other more sensible ways to do it?

Also, shawn michaels is being a bit ignorant there.

I'm as sick of the overly sensitive PC reactions as anyone, but there still has to be a limit to what you can and can't do.

Personally, like Michaels, I don't have a big problem with the american flag being disrespected for entertainment purposes, but I can surely empathize and understand that other countries feel differently.

It's not PC, it's common sense HBGAY.

haha look what I did there

HBK is totally right on this Fignuts. If anyone was actually offended by this then they need to go crawl under a rock and rot. Learn to laugh already.

I don't think this was intended as a work. I think Jericho did it, got hit in a shit storm, and WWE is taking advantage of it. His leaving looks legit now. I think this is one of those instances where a shoot turns into a work, like the Edge/Matt Hardy angle.

This is possible. No way this is a full on work. WWE isn't that stupid to do something like this just for a storyline.

Definitely. Suspend him for a bit and have him apologize to give off the idea that the company sympathizes with them and all is well. I'm sure Jericho's not pissed at the company right now.

I hate the fact that wrestling being a "fake sport" can be used to denigrate it... but when it comes to a situation like this, it can't be treated like any play, movie or other scripted form of entertainment.

Nope... it's pretty overly PC.

It's a flag... being kicked... by a man playing a character to draw the ire of the crowd.

And I won't even get into how silly the sacredness of flags are in the first place.

this reminds me of the old time heels where fans waited outside to kick there asses fred blasie had some good storys at getting shoot at.

Overall a pretty stupid thing Jericho did but in terms of wrestling he pulled off a great heel move since it got the crowd hating him.

Also seems to be part of the usual routine of face waves the flag while heel tries to grab the flag or taunt it unlike the really random time of Punk using a homophobic slur against a fan or JBL goosestepping in Germany.

I am going with this.

Should have made JBL's finisher a Goosestepping Big Boot.

Really interested if they just throw Orton into the title match with Sheamus and Del Rio or if they have someone else as a backup plan for him to feud with.

At least it was not a wellness policy violation.

It's really a coverup for his steroid use.

:shifty:

It'd actually be hilarious if they started issuing behavior violations with suspensions.

From WWE.com:

WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24.

His last two stints in the WWE have been very lackluster

Pretty coincidental since he's leaving to tour with Fozzy anyways.... I assume this was said already, but I'm lazy and not reading any posts

The HBK feud was one of the best feuds in recent memory. Could have and should have gone a year all the way up to WrestleMania. It makes up for whatever shit he did afterwards.

Wasn't that stint before his last two?

<font color=goldenrod>Nope, it was all during his second stint. His three stints have been:

1. 1999-2005
2. 2007-2010
3. 2012</font>

I do hope they can somehow use this in a storyline, maybe not showing the actual footage on-air, but they could definitely reference it, maybe it was Jericho's way of dodging Orton or something silly.

Normally suspensions are given for wellness violations, and never get mentioned on-air. This is entirely different and could be a huge asset to a storyline.

Wow, I didn't realize his second stint was that long

Yeah I didn't know that either(about his 2nd stinit). It had some good parts though. His last run overall hasn't been great. At best it's been ok.

I think this is legit. I def think the Flag thing in Brazil is a shoot if anything I question the suspension a little.

I'm saying 80% it's a all a shoot.

Again, just because you, and likely many other americans feel that the flag shouldn't be considered sacred, does not mean another country with a completely different history and culture should feel the same.

If you don't understand why they get so angry, that's fine. But I wouldn't say it's too PC unless I've lived in that country, and understand the culture.

Just a reminder- WWE has teased the burning of an American flag, and (if my memory serves me well, so we're talking a 50/50 shot here) even had people fly the American flag upside down. Just saying that some fans are pussies.

lol It's an entirely different country on a different contient.

They are going to have different customs then our own. So when you are in that country you should respect their customs, and not desecrate their flag. Apparently it's not taken well down there.

It just means he leaves a bit earlier, it will blow over well before he comes back from his Fozzy Tour. Plus like someone said, not having to job to Orton.

It doesn't matter. It's a flag. A flag symbolizing something is fine... when it gets to a point where just the act of it being kicked is a huge issue regardless of the meaning, then it's an issue of being overly PC. There is literally nothing in the history of the country that could put a piece of cloth on a stick, no matter what it symbolizes, in a position to cause an incident like this. Symbolism is fine... putting an object on such a high pedestal like that is ridiculous.

I just can't trust that it is a work because of the lvl of seriousness. At the end of the day he did disrespect the flag. And it is a crime. And he did apologize like he would have suppose to and he did get suspended like would have suppose to. He still has time b4 the tour and he just started a fight with Orton. And Orton has built a name for retaliation lately.

Agree to disagree.

I know, right? Like those people who sanctify those big wooden lower-case Ts. It's just an object, man.

I understand what fan is saying and i can see how a person would think like that but i just so disagree with him. Somethings just shouldn't be done. I personally don't place flags in that high a regard but I understand that other people do.

Time to leave.

I'm just pointing out that just because a symbol doesn't mean anything to one person (1wf) doesn't mean that it's inherently meaningless to everyone else by using an over-the-top example in an attempt to point out the error of his ways.

The general consensus seems to be "No matter what you think is important, someone else will make fun of you because it's stupid."

For some people, what a flag represents is highly important. For others, it's a religious symbol. For some it's drugs or alcohol, and yet others it's cash money. Where some people think trees and wildlife are important, others feel tech and progress is what matters. (These are all things that I have witnessed be a driving force in the life of people I have known.) What someone thinks is important can take any form.

There will always people who will tell you that what is important to you is fucking stupid.

Especially if you're a wrestling fan.

I don't get why all these Latino countries are so prideful. Most of them are total shitholes. Why do you think all the Mexicans illegally come here? Bc it sucks balls there. Why be proud over such a shitty place. Whatever. WWE shouldn't suspend Jericho what they should do is not ever go back to brazil. Seriously, other than their soccer team and carnivale what else does brazil do? Fuck em. USA #1!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Guayaquil is a rad city-sorry I couldnt perform for u guys tonight! Had a police escort to airport tho<a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523publicenemyno1">#publicenemyno1</a> <a href="http://t.co/i6ZOc9Rs" title="http://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/206226709048078336/photo/1">twitter.com/IAmJericho/sta…</a></p>&mdash; Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/206226709048078336" data-datetime="2012-05-26T03:34:14+00:00">May 26, 2012</a></blockquote>
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lol @ that pic.

this has to be made into a tshirt.

Jericho hates FLAGS

Brazil 1 Jericho 0

Rio De no Jericho

It failed because I put that lower case t in the same boat as a flag.

I understand it may have meaning to people. That's fine. It's only an issue when someone else does an action towards that symbol and you go apeshit. It's a flag. They're a mass produced product. One was kicked. Symbolism. Same with a cross. There should be no symbol that can anyone can do to anything no matter the meaning behind it that should remotely cause any kind of negative reaction like this when someone else is deemed as disrespecting it. It's just a reason for people to be pissed. It's ridiculous.