Chris Jericho Will Finally Reinvent Himself as Heel on Road to WrestleMania 32

When talking about the legacy of Chris Jericho, it reads like pro wrestling scripture: his days as a dominant, yet underutilized cruiserweight in WCW; his memorable WWE debut; the Undisputed Championship.

The armbar.

But one facet of Jericho's career that has been lightly mocked recently are his comebacks. Jericho has had more surprise returns than Brett Favre. They're always good for an initial pop, but the main reason it has become so easy to poke fun at his recent comebacks is because they all seem to lead down the same road.

"

@WWFRAWISWAR Chris Jericho's career is a series of comebacks.

— Ian (@PrototypeIV) January 13, 2014"

Jericho has failed to reinvent himself for years now, instead reverting to his old Y2J catchphrases. For a man with such a finger on the pulse of pro wrestling psychology, it's been frustrating to see him settle for the cheap pop that comes with screaming, "Raw is Jericho!"

But after turning heel on Raw and deftly explaining his actions on SmackDown, it appears the next reincarnation of Jericho is finally here, and not a moment too soon.

After seeking inspiration from memorable villainous performances to remain fresh and innovative years ago, the 2016 Y2J came off as an old wrestler having a midlife crisis.

Jericho, who has portrayed his Y2J incarnation since 2013, was once was a master at changing with the times. His brilliant run as a heel in 2008 might have raised expectations too high.

Jericho himself sounded committed to abandoning the Y2J character entirely when he told Kevin Eck of the Baltimore Sun: "A lot of people are like, 'We love Y2J. Why don’t you go back to this, grow your hair back?' It’s like, that was cool, that was me in the ’90s and early 2000s, but this is me now, and I think that what I’m doing is just as exciting if not more exciting than it’s ever been." 

Jericho's work as a heel and subsequent feud with Shawn Michaels became the toast of WWE in 2008. Their final showdown, a ladder match at No Mercy, was described as "a classic ladder match with an innovative finish" by Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net.

Jericho was named Superstar of the Year, to boot.

The new Chris Jericho, the one who turned on AJ Styles and burned a T-shirt, is a welcome addition to a shaky WrestleMania picture. Jericho's jealous, insecure, self-congratulatory and acerbic character will make for a great complement to the mild-mannered, likable Styles.

"The steam is still rising off the cup of his WWE coffee, and yet you chose him over me. Shame on you. Shame on all of you!" said Jericho on SmackDown.

Jericho's mannerisms, his motivation and even his wardrobe have all been updated to fit a fresher and more sinister persona. With both men excellent in the ring, the good-versus-evil storyline will add another dimension to what should be a great wrestling match at WrestleMania. This was the same template that allowed Jericho to rewrite wrestling alongside Michaels.

A match against Styles at WrestleMania 32 is imminent. There's no doubt that the new Jericho will generate more of an emotional investment from fans, which will go a long way toward elevating the match to the level of an instant classic.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Like him on Facebook and listen to him on WrestleZone Daily.