Daniel Bryan Should Be Chris Jericho's 1st Feud Upon WWE Return

Since retiring from active competition in 2010, Chris Jericho has returned to WWE for brief stints in between touring with Fozzy (his rock band) and his other endeavors. He's welcomed back by the fans with open arms but doesn't always find himself in the most prominent of programs.

Upon his WWE return in 2012, Jericho was immediately thrust into an angle with then-WWE champion CM Punk. As expected, the two had an entertaining feud that saw them have great matches over the title, but WWE hasn't utilized Jericho to his full potential since then.

He floundered for the remainder of his run in 2012 before making a third comeback in early 2013, feuding with Fandango going into WrestleMania. The goal of that rivalry was to make a star out of the ballroom dancer, but obviously, that didn't work out in the long term.

Jericho's most recent run was perhaps his best in recent memory, engaging in an intriguing rivalry with Bray Wyatt. While their SummerSlam and Steel Cage matches were quite good, the program on the whole didn't meet the lofty expectations set by fans.

However, none of this should be blamed on Jericho.

As a consummate professional, Jericho has always taken whatever is given to him by the powers that be and made it work to the best of his ability. His feud with Wyatt wasn't given much storyline support, but both of them made the most of what was presented to them.

I'm not arguing that Jericho should be contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship every time he returns (though I can't say I'd complain), but WWE should make better use of him when he does. He is a one-of-a-kind talent who shouldn't be put to waste.

As for his in-ring work, the inaugural Undisputed WWE champion hasn't lost a step over the years. Look no further than his high-quality matches with the likes of Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk and others.

While Jericho is currently under contract to the company, he is only working house shows for the time being. He reportedly (per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestleZone.com) turned down a spot in the 2015 Royal Rumble match because he wanted his return to TV to mean something, and he should be commended for that.

That said, it's only a matter of time before Y2J graces the WWE Universe with his presence on programming again. The question on everyone's mind is who he should work with next.

There are several fresh faces, such as Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, who would make great rivals for Jericho. But there's no better person for him to feud with upon his return than Daniel Bryan.

In a recent interview with Wrestling101 (h/t WrestlingInc), Jericho named Bryan as someone he'd enjoy working with during his next run, going so far as to say that he and Bryan would "tear the house down." Needless to say, there's no doubt about that.

Credit: WWE.com

He mentioned on an episode of his hit podcast Talk is Jericho last April that he would have liked to work with either Bryan or Wyatt during WrestleMania 30 season, but when neither were available, he turned down the offer to come back for the event.

Obviously, Bryan ended up being primed for bigger and better things at The Show of Shows that year, but a match against Jericho would have been killer. Thankfully, there's still time to do it.

While it isn't believed Jericho will be working WrestleMania this year, that doesn't stop them from feuding at some point later in 2015. Jericho is already an established talent, of course, but Bryan is in desperate need of a feud that will get him back to the main event level.

A rivalry between them wouldn't necessarily need to be over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, it'd be fitting within the context of the story given Jericho is a former undisputed world champion himself.

It was almost exactly five years ago this month that Bryan made his WWE debut on the inaugural episode of NXT. That same night, he wrestled his first WWE match against then-world heavyweight champion Jericho in a losing effort.

Even then, it was evident that a future feud was only inevitable.

They'd clash once more on the February 11, 2013, edition of Raw in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying match, which was won by Jericho. They haven't crossed paths since.

As beloved as Jericho is as a babyface, there's no questioning there's still a lot of money left in him as a heel. He played that role to perfection from 2008 to 2012 and morphed into one of the most despised villains in WWE history.

Bryan, as the immensely popular underdog babyface, would be the ultimate foil to heel Jericho. As previously mentioned, the matches they could produce would be nothing short of amazing.

In my opinion, the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla deserves one more run as world champion before he retires (which hopefully won't be anytime soon). Who better to win the belt back from than Bryan?

Again, even if it wasn't over the prestigious prize, Bryan vs. Jericho would quell any anger from fans who want to see him as champion at this very second. It'd be an ideal placeholder for The Bearded One before he re-enters the championship picture.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website at Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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