Chris Jericho - Your Country Needs You

Ever since July 4th, the anniversary of the day in which the Great British Empire got rid of a piece of dead weight called the USA, I've been getting a strange feeling of deja-vu. It all began when Canadian citizens Lance Storm, Christian and Test stormed to the ring during a Smackdown broadcast, and proclaimed that everything in the good old US of A sucked. And so, the Anti-Americans were born.

Obviously, I am not, and will not be, the first, or the last, to draw comparisons to two other Canadian/anti-American scenarios in the world of professional wrestling. But this time, there is one significant difference.

Let's step into the time machine and journey back to 1997. Bret Hart, now a Yank-hating heel, sought the aid of old comrades Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith and Brian Pillman in forming the second incarnation of the Hart Foundation. Despised on American soil, they were national heroes in Canada. They proclaimed everything in the good old US of A sucked.

But let's just remind ourselves just what made up this new Canadian army. Of the five original members, only the Hart brothers were Canadian. Old Jim boy hailed from Nevada, if memory serves, and Davey Boy came from good old Blighty. The only reason they cheered for Canada was the fact that they were married to two of Stu and Helen's little girls, a form of guilt by association, if you will. Pillman, meanwhile, was only there because of his long-time association with the Hart family, going all the way back to being shown the ropes by Stu in the infamous Calgary dungeon at the beginning of his career.

Let's move forward a couple of years or so, to Team Canada. Let's once again look at the members of this second Canadian army. Lance Storm, it's fearless leader, was Canadian, and one of the finest grapplers to come out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in recent years. But as far as I know, none of his other comrades did.

Elix Skipper, I admit, I know very little about his heritage or parentage. If truth be known, I never really liked the man. If he was born in Canada, I apologise now for giving out the wrong information, but if he wasn't, then I think I've proven my point.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan didn't really fit in at all. This whole defection thing didn't really work for me. Who, after all, would want to defect to Canada from America? This storyline would have worked around 1987, during the Cold War. It would have had more effect of Duggan had turned heel then and joined the likes of Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik in proclaiming his disgust of all things American.

Duggan's replacement, Mike Awesome, again didn't fit into the mould very well. Although his team with Storm on occasions was good, again, why would old Mike want to defect to Canada?

Major Gunns? I think we should leave it at that.

So let's come back to the modern day world of the WWE, and the new Anti-American army of Test, Storm and Christian.

For me, this angle shows more promise that the other two incarnations because of one simple fact - all of the Anti-Americans are actually from outside of America. They are all Canadian.

Having them feud with the all-American hero Hulk Hogan is another good way to go. If Kurt Angle had been face instead of heel, it would have been better to have him join the cause. But I guess that just isn't going to happen. After all, Rikishi, who not long ago was saying that American wrestling promotions were always against the "island boys", doesn't quite seem to fit into the mould.

Despite the fact that the Anti-Americans are a talented bunch, and Storm and Christian are now the tag-team champions, they are still missing one vital ingredient. Team Canada didn't have it, but the Hart Foundation did. What they need is a bona-fide, main event calibre star.

Could that man be Edge? When the tag match for Vengeance was first announced, my prediction was that Edge would turn on Hogan and side with his Canadian brothers. This turned out to be wrong. Edge will probably stay on Hogan's side, fighting the good fight for his adoptive country.

In my opinion, there is only one man who could come forward and lead the third incarnation of this Canadian army. He has the wrestling skill, the charisma, the personality, and he certainly has all the verbal skills to be the perfect anti-American spokesman for this new fighting force.

Step forward Chris Jericho. Your country needs you.

Ever since Wrestlemania, Jericho has been crying out for a good angle. His recent angle with John Cena was a perfect example. Although a good prospect, the days when Cena will be able to hang and bang with the upper mid-carders and main eventers is a long way off. His angle with Jericho was good, and exciting at times, but perhaps, on Jericho's part, it was just something to keep him occupied until he received his call-up papers from the new Canadian army.

Y2J is the perfect leader for the new Team Canada. He would be a more than credible opponent for Hulk Hogan. Hogan should be kept out of the WWE title picture, mainly because of his age, and this angle would be a good swan song for him, a perfect way to go out the way he came in, bashing the hell out of everyone who hates his beloved America.

Will we see this angle, in the way I have described, on Smackdown anytime soon? Probably not. I hardly think that Princess Stephanie and her writing team will read this little column of mine and think "my good, that's a brilliant idea!" If she does though, then perhaps I should ask the WWE for a consultation fee. After all, I could do with a bit of money right now