WWE WrestleMania: What every main event should have been

WrestleMania XXVIII

Actual main event: John Cena vs. The Rock

What the main event should have been: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

“… the fact that Dwayne’s in the main event of WrestleMania next year and I’m not makes me sick.” These were the words of CM Punk as part of his famous “Pipebomb” promo during his epic run in the summer of 2011, and in my eyes, they were (and still are) insanely accurate. I’m not going to pretend to be the biggest Punk fan in the world, but he was very good at his job and did deserve a spot at the end of the night.

Yes, I’m aware that a match between The Rock and John Cena was a dream match for some, but I never wanted to see it. The Rock had chosen to leave WWE and do his thing in Hollywood and that’s great. He’s really good at what he does, but I wasn’t a fan of his return. The promos had gotten long-winded and I simply wasn’t entertained. I’m not saying that some of the build wasn’t fun, especially with Cena cutting him down to size, but again, I want a title match to close the show. Enter Chris Jericho and CM Punk.

These were two guys at the top of their game, and not only was their match that night in Miami better, their build was better as well. Jericho got extremely personal and things felt very real. Sure, there was the matter of the “best in the world” line, but bringing up the problems with Punk’s dad and sister proved why Jericho is one of the best heels of all time. Being no stranger to good mic work, Punk combated nicely and it set up the match beautifully. While I do think they could have done better with more time, they still put on a great show and it should have ended the card. This was part of Punk’s 434-day reign as WWE Champion and he deserved better.