Chris Jericho will challenge C.M. Punk for the WWE Championship on Sunday at Wrestlemania 28. I don't think there's any doubt in anybody's mind that, in terms of pure wrestling showmanship, this is likely going to be the best match of the night by a wide margin. These are two of WWE's best and most skilled workers, and the story they've managed to put together over the course of the past few weeks has just added to the intrigue of this match.
The genesis for this particular feud came at this year's Elimination Chamber event, when Punk kicked Jericho in the back of the head, knocking him out and causing him to be taken from the Chamber without actually having been eliminated. Jericho was pretty angry about that, and won a battle royale the next night on Monday Night Raw to earn the right to face Punk at Wrestlemania.
Jericho has taken the volume up a notch in the past few weeks, however, attacking the family of the "Straight-Edge Superstar." He has informed the world through interviews that Punk's father is an alcoholic (albeit one that has been sober for a very long time, from all accounts) and that Punk's sister has had her own issues with drugs. Those were the reasons that Punk adopted the "straight-edge" lifestyle, and Jericho's mocking of his family finally got to Punk on last Monday's Raw, when he administered a beating to Christian that knocked "Captain Charisma" out of the "Team Teddy vs Team Johnny" match that we previewed earlier.
Punk is no stranger to strong words in interviews. . .look no further than his "pipe bomb" promo that kicked off 2011's Summer of Punk. But his reactions to Jericho's most recent comments have made what was already a pretty good feud a great one, and it should come to a head this Sunday with an outstanding match.
Punk has had a pretty nice run in his most recent title reign, but I have a feeling that Chris Jericho is finally going to fulfill the hype that his return to the WWE was given earlier this year and find a way to walk out with another WWE championship.
SB Nation Minnesota prediction - Chris Jericho by pinfall, becoming the new WWE Champion