WWE Extreme Rules 2012: Why Chris Jericho Must Best CM Punk for WWE Championship

While not everybody has enjoyed it thus far, the feud between CM Punk and Chris Jericho for the WWE championship and the title of best in the world has been the most compelling thing the company has to offer over the past couple of months. In order to keep it going, Jericho should score the win at Extreme Rules.

This rivalry has become quite heated as Jericho has pulled Punk's family into the equation and continually attempted to make Punk an alcoholic. Punk pulled a ruse by pretending to be drunk on RAW in a funny moment that added some levity to the feud. Punk and Jericho have provided pretty much everything a fan could want, as they have gotten personal, they have been humorous and they put on a great match at WrestleMania.

With all of that said, it would be a shame if it all came to an end at Extreme Rules. Jericho is scheduled to leave the company again in August in order to tour with his band Fozzy, but that doesn't mean that he has to lose to Punk. August is still a few months away, so Jericho can easily win on Sunday in a Chicago Street Fight in order to prolong the feud.

If Punk wins, he will have retained the title at Jericho's expense twice, so yet another rematch would be pretty unlikely. With rumors that Punk may be feuding with Lord Tensai next, Jericho would probably have to move on. Punk and Jericho have been so entertaining together, though, that the creative team needs to do everything it can to preserve the rivalry.

If there is any worry about a loss weakening Punk, the Street Fight stipulation should soften the blow. I initially expected it to be an I Quit match because of Jericho's Walls of Jericho and Punk's Anaconda Vice, but they went in a different direction. I believe they went with the Street Fight instead so that Punk wouldn't have to hurt his mystique by giving up.

Many figure that it's a foregone conclusion Punk will win since Jericho isn't exactly in it for the long haul, but there is no reason why this feud can't continue for another month or two with Punk eventually conquering his demons and capturing the title.

It would be interesting to see what creative could come up with if Punk were to lose the title. There is no doubt that he would be crushed if he were to lose to Jericho in his hometown, so Jericho could play off of that in trying to push him toward alcoholism. There is a lot of untapped potential still waiting to be let out in this rivalry, so ending it now doesn't make a lot of sense.

Punk's title reign has been a long and fruitful one by today's standards, and while it's understandable that his fans would like him to continue to hold the title, losing it may be necessary to spark his character a bit. Some have suggested the Punk has lost his edge a bit since he became a true star last summer, and I believe that is a fair assessment.

His character may very well need a spark of some kind and losing the WWE Championship to Jericho in Chicago would be that spark. He would continue to have to deal with the temptation of abusing alcohol as Jericho will push it on him even more, and he would have to channel his rage in a way that allows him to refocus and get the title back.

What it all really comes down to, though, is that any true wrestling fan has to be enjoying this feud. Punk and Jericho are two of the best in the business in and ring and on the mic and they are truly two of the best in the world at what they do. If that isn't enough to warrant this feud continuing, then I'm not sure what is.

With Jericho leaving in August, it would seem like a good idea to continue the rivalry either until Money in the Bank in July or even SummerSlam in August. That would allow Punk to finally get the best of Jericho once and for all, while Y2J can quietly return to his other profession for the time being.