WWE Wrestlemania 28: Can CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho Live Up to the Hype?

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho: It’s been talked about, dreamed about, fantasy booked—you name it, it’s happened. 

But it’s finally happening on the grand stage of WrestleMania 28. 

The hype surrounding this match is unbelievable. But at the same time, it’s what we should expect from a feud pitting “the best in the world at what I do” against “the best wrestler in the world."

When you hear the names Punk and Jericho, you can’t help but think that “the best in the world vs. the best in the world” isn’t just a tagline. 

It’s reality. It’s actuality.

It’s Y2J vs. The Voice of the Voiceless. It’s wrestling’s complete package taking on, well, wrestling’s complete package. 

At least on paper, you would think that Punk and Jericho are going to have a classic match—something that rivals Jericho’s match with Shawn Michaels at No Mercy in 2008 or Punk’s match with John Cena at Money in the Bank in 2011. 

The question on everyone’s mind, however, is: Will it? Will Punk and and Jericho live up to all the hype surrounding one of the most anticipated matches in recent WWE history? 

Yes. Yes, it will. 

Every time that Punk has been put into a high-profile match, it resulted in a show-stealing spectacle. Just take a look at Punk vs. Jeff Hardy from SummerSlam in 2009, Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler from Raw in 2011, Punk’s two PPV matches with Cena in 2011, his slew of PPV matches with Rey Mysterio in 2010 and with Randy Orton in 2011. 

Punk thrives when the spotlight is on him, when the pressure is at its highest and even when he’s involved in a match that is being overlooked in favor of other matches of the card. 

In fact, I would be hard pressed to find a Punk pay-per-view match that wasn’t above average. Heck, even his bouts when he was an ECW star (such as his Triple Threat with The Miz and John Morrison) exceeded expectations. 

Punk has made a habit out of delivering the goods no matter what the circumstances. As has Jericho. 

Y2J has a long list of phenomenal matches: Jericho vs. HBK at WrestleMania XIX, against Chris Benoit at the Royal Rumble in 2001, against The Rock at No Mercy in 2001 and so on and so forth. 

He, like Punk, is one of the few wrestlers around who rarely has a bad match. An off day for both Punk and Jericho means that their match was just good, instead of great. 

Now, just imagine what happens if Punk and Jericho face off at WrestleMania 28 and both men are on like they usually are. The result is going to be something amazing, something magical. 

We got a small taste of it on Monday’s episode of Raw. And it tasted good. 

All it took was that tiny sample of wrestling between Punk and Jericho—like we got on Monday’s Raw—to see that these two phenomenal competitors are only going to make each other better when they step in the ring together. 

And if Punk and Jericho do that and both truly perform like “the best in the world,” then a five-star classic is just waiting to happen.

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.