The WWE star and Fozzy frontman told us he first pitched the idea to Vince McMahon in August — four months before vignettes started appearing which hinted at his return.
Jericho and Punk feuded over the use of the term ‘Best in the World’.
They later clashed again when Jericho claimed Punk’s family were addicts and he tried to instigate the famously Straight Edge WWE champion into drinking himself.
The feud was well put together and received critical acclaim from fans and critics alike.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Jericho said: “It was a blast. It was the reason I came back.
“I went to meet with Vince in August to discuss working Wrestlemania with Punk.
“I knew we could do something with the ‘best in the world’ thing, and it amped up really well with the alcohol thing.
"It’s all about the storyline to get you to the match and I thought both matches were great.
“All that I care about is that I walked out of both of them feeling very vindicated and very happy with both.
"They were both excellent matches to add to my résumé.
“There were people that thought our match at Wrestlemania was the best.
"We didn’t have the attraction vibe that the other two matches had. The Rock is an attraction at this point. The Undertaker’s streak is an attraction.
“Punk and Jericho was just your good old-fashioned wrestling match for a title.
"The other matches were amazing too. That some people said we had the best match on the show, I was very proud of that.”
Jericho’s return was pre-empted by a series of cryptic vignettes featuring mysterious schoolchildren in an empty classroom, spliced with bleak music and images.
The clips went viral online, sparking speculation that it could be foreshadowing his big return.
Fans looking deep into the videos thought they saw images of Jericho, whispered messages and felt that the schoolgirl in the clips represented his desrie to return to the squared circle.
But Jericho said: "They were looking too deep into it — WAY too deep.
“It was just supposed to be a creepy thing. My idea was that it was the Mayan calendar in 2012 saying it’s the end of the world and I was going back and it’s the ‘end of the world as you know it’.
“That means that if one day you are walking down the street and you find a dog, and then the dog lives in your house, then it's the ‘end of the world as you know it’.
"It’s the end of the way that you used to live and it’s a new world.
“The girl we just put in because she was creepy looking.
"There was never supposed to be a girl coming in with me — there wasn’t a change of plan.
"It was exactly what it was intended to be — a cryptic little cool thing that led to me coming back and doing what I did.”
When Jericho did return, on January 2, he strutted to the ring to a huge reception, milked the crowd’s cheers for minutes on end and then left without saying a word.
Fans were shocked but intrigued and it certainly created a major buzz for his latest comeback.
He said: “That part was Vince’s idea. He was the one that suggested that and I thought it was great.
"I like to do something different that people don’t expect. That’s what I’ve always been about, in everything I do.”
