Chris Jericho Nearly Causes International Incident, Gets Suspended After Crumpling A Brazilian Flag

Fresh off a compilation of wrestlers beating up inanimate objects, here's another one: at a house (non-televised) show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last night, WWE's Chris Jericho crumpled and kicked a Brazilian flag. He's a bad guy, you see, and really good at riling up the crowd. But according to Jericho was informed by local law enforcement that desecrating the flag is a crime, and he could either face charges or publicly apologize. He grabbed the mic and gave what sounded like a heartfelt apology, and the match was allowed to continue.

Credit goes to WWE (or the current frosty state of Americo-Brazilian relations), because it's the first time in a long time we honestly didn't know if something was a shoot or a work. Either possibility seems totally plausible, and it's not resolved by WWE making Jericho's indefinite suspension a front-page story on their website. (There's also a separate story with an apologetic statement from Jericho, but the real surprising news there is that WWE.com commenters are more intelligent and rational than Yahoo commenters.)

Jericho's rock band has already announced a summer tour in support of a new album, so it's no secret that he was going to be taking some time off. (He's 41 years old, and has already reached the Rock-stage of his career where he pops in and out of wrestling every few years.) Depending on which side you believe, the whole incident was staged to explain his departure, or WWE was happy to defuse an actual situation with a moved-up unpaid vacation for Jericho.