WWE Wrestlemania 28: Who Will Steal the Show in the Top Half of the Card?

WrestleMania 28 truly does have the potential to be one of the best pay-per-views in WWE history, but the company will be walking the tightrope between a historically great show and an incredibly disappointing one. 

We’ve seen a number of WrestleManias with loaded cards—especially in recent years—that ended up failing miserably, whether that was because of sub-par performances by the superstars or bad booking by the creative team. 

Fortunately for the WWE, WrestleMania 28 is a stacked show with four fantastic matchups that will make it a lot easier to avoid screwing it up. 

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship should be a high-quality bout between two up-and-comers, The Undertaker vs. Triple H inside Hell in a Cell could be even better than their terrific bout at WrestleMania 27, and The Rock vs. John Cena is arguably the biggest match ever, which should be reflected in the electric atmosphere and raucous crowd. 

Those three matches should all be well above average, with each offering up something unique and different from the other top matches on the card. 

However, the one bout that will steal the show is none other than Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship. 

While The Rock vs. Cena might be the most entertaining match at WrestleMania 28, neither superstar sticks out as a phenomenal in-ring competitor. The Rock hasn’t had a singles match in eight years, and this bout will be a clash of superstars more than it will be a battle between two wrestlers. Meanwhile, Undertaker and Triple H are sure to tear the house down once again, but as learned from Punk/Cena last year or HBK/Undertaker at WrestleManias 25 and 26, rematches are like movie sequels—they almost never live up to the original. 

Those factors open up the door for Punk vs. Jericho to upstage Rock/Cena and HHH/Taker and become the most unforgettable bout at WrestleMania 28. And it all starts with the “best in the world” storyline. 

At the heart of just about every great match in wrestling history, there’s been an equally great story. When it comes to Punk/Jericho, you could argue that their current story is the (pun intended) best one as we head to WrestleMania. 

When Jericho left the WWE in the fall of 2010, he was considered by many to be the top overall wrestler on the planet or, in his terms, “the best in the world at what I do.” When he parted ways with the company, however, Punk stepped up in his absence, took over as wrestling’s total package and started calling himself “the best wrestler in the world.” 

This didn’t sit well with Jericho, who came back for one reason: “The end of the world as you know it.” 

What Jericho meant by that was that he would stop Punk from “stealing his gimmick” and end his world by beating him to become the WWE Champion. It’s made for a phenomenal story so far, with a great promo between Jericho and Punk on last week’s Raw that has many wondering whether this feud is based on legitimate heat between the two. 

Much like The Rock vs. Cena, the blurred line between what’s a work and what’s a shoot in the feud between Punk and Jericho is making for compelling TV, compelling TV that will lead to a compelling match at WrestleMania 28 in Miami. 

It’s a match that’s been nearly a year in the making, ever since Punk started calling himself “the best in the world” and proving that every night on the mic and in the ring. 

Punk delivered the two best matches of his WWE career last summer at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam and he did so against a guy named John Cena, who is supposedly a “bad wrestler.” He’s not, but what Punk did here was prove that he can put on a great match with just about anybody. 

Now, when you pair him up with someone who’s also known as a great wrestler, the result is going to be something magical. It’s happened three times with Daniel Bryan over the last couple of months, and it’ll happen again—only, this time it’ll be with Chris Jericho. 

Jericho showed in his short sequence with Sheamus at the end of the Royal Rumble that he hasn’t lost a step in the ring and he’s known for putting on amazing matches throughout his career: Jericho vs. HBK at No Mercy in 2008, Y2J vs. Chris Benoit at Royal Rumble in 2001, Jericho vs. Triple H at Fully Loaded in 2000, etc. 

When Jericho gets in the ring, incredible things usually result. 

There’s no reason to think that when an all-time great like Y2J steps in the ring with the current best in the world—with the right storyline and the right stage (WrestleMania) as well—that these two won’t blow the roof off like they’re capable of. 

If Jericho is Jericho and Punk is Punk, then forget about the “biggest match ever” or the Hell in a Cell. “The best wrestler in the world” vs. the “best in the world at what I do” will be just that: The best.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.