Chris Jericho Heel Turn Benefits Company and Star on Road to WWE WrestleMania 32

If the disingenuous nature of Chris Jericho and his compliments directed at AJ Styles have taught us anything, it is that a heel turn for Y2J would greatly benefit both the performer and WWE as it heads into WrestleMania 32.

One of the biggest problems facing WWE at this point is a lack of quality heels. A great deal of the blame falls at the feet of the company itself, which has damaged the credibility of numerous characters beyond repair, its use of 50-50 booking leaving both villains and heroes to wade through the waters of sports-entertainment mediocrity.

Too regularly, bad guys are cycled into and out of feuds with babyfaces, little more than the latest hurdle for the more valued good guy to overcome.

The remainder of the blame belongs with the wrestlers themselves. Too often in today's industry, guys try too hard to be the cool heel and, in the process, lose track of what makes an effective wrestling villain.

The greatest heels throughout WWE history have been those truly despicable characters more concerned with eliciting a reaction full of raw emotion than being cool, an Internet darling or selling T-shirts. They were the ones who could be intensely loathsome and edgy but, at the same time, recognized the payoff to their story was their comeuppance.

One look at the career of Chris Jericho tells us that he is one of the few truly great heels of 21st century WWE.

Jericho has always had a penchant for infuriating fans, his slow and methodical speech a step above their intellect and his actions between the ropes more heinous than anything they had ever seen before. Worse yet, he's actually backed his talk up with wins. Sure, some have been sneaky and underhanded, but by the end of the night, his hand is the one raised in victory, leaving fans even more enraged at him than previously.

From 2008 until his departure from full-time action two years later, he was the most elite heel in the industry. It is time WWE bolster the villainous side of its roster and breath some freshness back into a Y2J character that has descended into staleness.

Since returning to McMahon Land back in January, it has been readily apparent to anyone paying attention how stale the Jericho character has become. Tired catchphrases and mind-numbing attempts to establish new ones (e.g.,"rooty tooty booty") have left Jericho a shell of his former self.

A heel turn would provide Jericho with that spark his character is in desperate need of. It would necessitate change rather than allowing him to skate by as the aging veteran who has not figured out it is no longer 1999 and he is not quite the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla that he used to be.

With a plethora of talented babyfaces with whom to have outstanding matches, and the opportunity to drag the product out of the doldrums as he did some eight years ago during the height of his No Country for Old Men-inspired character, the reward is evident.

At this point, the number of sustainable heels ahead of WrestleMania 32 is essentially limited to The Authority and The Wyatt Family. Sure, there is Kevin Owens, but he has been beaten down and cooled off to the point that he is in danger of becoming just another guy. Factions such as The League of Nations and The New Day fit a certain niche in today's WWE product and should not be disturbed.

The door is open for one last great run by Y2J, a cap to his Hall of Fame career. It would be wise for WWE and the talented former world champion to walk through it together and reap the rewards.

Jericho can be the Superstar who brings name value, delivers the tremendous in-ring performance and provides fans with the necessary evil to build quality and effective babyfaces. The result will be a show bolstered by a major star, a character freshened to the point of relevancy and a much better product than it otherwise would have been.