WrestleMania 28: Why Chris Jericho Must Defeat CM Punk to Complete Comeback

There have been a lot of varying opinions about what will happen between Chris Jericho and CM Punk at WrestleMania. In order to make his comeback a success, Jericho needs to defeat Punk. That's why he'll walk out of Miami as the new WWE champion.

Jericho has steadily built himself into one of the WWE's biggest stars once again following his hyped return early in the year. Instead of giving him an instant monster push, the company took a more conservative push and it's worked out perfectly.

After falling short in the Royal Rumble, which was a good decision because he didn't need the boost, he made his intentions known on Raw by attacking Punk. It set up one of the most entertaining verbal feuds in a long time.

In recent weeks, Y2J has started to attack Punk's family issues and his straight edge lifestyle. Saying he'll cause the longtime champion to start mimicking his father and sister by losing his battle to remain straight edge has shown he's the perfect heel.

By adding a sense of realism to the mix, and equal credit should go to Punk for selling it so well, Jericho is starting to get the negative crowd reaction he craves. It should be even more prominent at WrestleMania.

I don't believe Jericho would have returned to the company unless he was given assurances by Vince McMahon that there were be big plans for his character.

If he were to go three straight pay-per-views without winning his match, the comeback attempt would start to veer toward shaky territory. He needs to start coming out on top in high-profile matches to keep riding the wave of success.

Punk doesn't need the belt to keep his spot in the main event scene anymore. He's established himself as one of the WWE's best workers and won't be going anywhere. So he can afford to drop the belt, which will also allow the feud to continue.

Even with two other major matches on the card, Jericho and Punk will likely steal the show. It's definitely going to be the best pure wrestling match on the card. But when push comes to shove, Y2J needs the win more.

For that simple reason, Jericho will find a way to emerge victorious, proving, at least in his mind, that he's the true best in the world.