WrestleMania 28 Card: Why CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho Must Open the Show

There was a time when opening WrestleMania with the WWE championship match would have meant someone backstage went insane. Chris Jericho and CM Punk need to break that trend this year.

Sure, it is bad to have the WWE championship be positioned as the third-biggest feud entering WrestleMania. It is the one prize that everyone should be fighting for, yet it is hard to really think of it as something special when it isn't even the semi-main event of the biggest show of the year. 

With that said, if WWE really wants to blow the roof off this sure-to-be epic encounter between Punk and Jericho, it needs to be the match that opens the show. 

The crowd is going to be hot right away because they have just seen all the big pyro and are anxious to get the show going, which makes it easier for Punk and Jericho to get big reactions from the 60,000-plus that will be packed into the Orange Bowl. 

Another reason that it would be perfect to open the show is time. Most wrestling fans would tell you that, of all the matches on the show, this one has the chance to be the best worked because of who is in it. 

By allowing Punk and Jericho to open the show, they are given the exact amount of time they need to put on the match they want. 

At WrestleMania, a lot of things are going on with skits backstage, as well as long entrances because of the extended stage, meaning that matches often get cut for time as the event moves along. 

Jericho and Punk would not have to worry about any of that by opening the show. They could take 25-30 minutes to give the fans the best WWE championship match possible. 

This is not your older brother's WWE. The title isn't going to be the main event anymore because of the way Vince McMahon tries to do business at WrestleMania now.

With that in mind, the smartest place to put Punk and Jericho is right at the beginning. The fans will love it, they will have one of the best opening matches in WrestleMania history, and they can set the standard for all the matches to follow. 

WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII CARD
The Rock vs. John Cena
Hell In A Cell: The Undertaker vs. Triple H w/ Shawn Michaels as Special Referee
WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho
World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Sheamus
Randy Orton vs. Kane
Team John Laurinaitis (David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, The Miz, Jack Swagger) vs. Team Teddy Long (Santino Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Booker T, Great Khali, Zack Ryder)
Intercontinental Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Big Show
Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounous vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve

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