WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho, one of my all-time favorite workers. CM Punk, the guy who shook up the wrestling industry in 2011 (and his from Chicago…). Who the heck am I supposed to cheer for here? The build to this match started terrible, sacrificing an epic Jericho return for poor booking and even worse story telling. After a Rumble loss and a pitiful Chamber performance it actually seemed like creative was trying to burry Jericho from the very start! But these guys bounced back, and in the last three weeks they’ve turned this feud from forgettable into intriguing.
Jericho plays the mental villain so well, and it’s refreshing to see CM Punk being pushed to his limits emotionally. Y2J has always been a mastermind of taking his opponents out of their comfort zone and bringing out the best (or worst) in each of them. I’m excited for the match – it should steal the show from a technical perspective. But I’m more excited to see where this feud goes after WrestleMania.
Ace: I know, CM Punk is really really popular, and being a hipster, I feel like I should not like him, but dammit, I do. I really like CM Punk. He seems more real than everyone else. Maybe it is because he is more from a sub-culture I understand, with his straight edge values and sleeves of tattoos. Maybe it is because he is not another over-bulked meathead. I just really like CM Punk. For the longest time though, I did not really understand what made Jericho so great. He lost a bunch of matches, and then told CM Punk that he was the best. Not convincing to me. But, recently I have come to appreciate him. I think the “I am going to attack your personal live and deep seeded values” angle really made me understand why Jericho is such a legend. I see him, finally as the no boundaries, psychological heel that I have heard he is really well known for being. I want CM Punk to win, not just because I like him, but because Jericho has finally gotten his act together and become the bad guy I want beat. I was always voting for CM Punk, but before it was because I really didn’t see why Jericho should beat him. Now it is because Jericho has stepped into the role as the person who needs to get beat.
Ken: This is the match to pay for. The people’s true main event. It sits comfortably in the Steamboat/ Savage spot and both of these men will deliver in this battle of The Best versus the The Best. Some could probably poke holes in the storyline and build up to this one. Like most of this card there seemed to be something lacking, but, really, that doesn’t matter. Once these two get into the ring, the real show will begin. (And one nice part of the feud is that we haven’t really seen them in the ring together for the last month. It will mean something when they finally are.) With a somewhat light ‘Mania card in place, there should be plenty’o time for Jericho and Punk to let this match breath. If it’s less than thirty minutes long, we all deserve our money back. Punk wins, Punk wins, Punk wins.
My Prediction: Jericho defeats CM Punk, takes the WWE title and causes him to snap even further. The hunt towards reclaiming the title at Extreme Rules, in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, begins!
