I don't know that the end of the Jericho-Show match was a botch as they came back from commercial and "fixed" it.
I think the Punk-Bryan match at Raw a couple of months ago that went to a double-pin, followed by the back-and-forth they had over Raw and Smackdown (and during which both men got great crowd reactions in-ring) made the point that a Punk-Bryan feud (even if it ends up being a min-feud) could work very well and be profitable for the WWE.
Face champs carrying the belt get stale. That's the way of things most of the time. Fans get tired of overbearing faces that always win (see: Hogan, Hulk; Cena, John). Human beings get tired of constant success and want adversity (see: Eden, Garden of) because winning all the time is boring. I can easily see Bryan going over Punk for the WWE Championship at OTL, just to have Punk chase the belt and win it back in time to be challenged for it at SummerSlam by Brock Lesnar. I think it makes the story more interesting (and remember, it is a story, not an actual competition) and it would make for some great matches, plus it boosts Bryan's profile (by cementing him even more as a credible threat to win the title from anyone) and it gives Punk something fresh to do (rather than just being pseudo-snarky, or "as snarky as we'll allow a face to be", whichever you prefer).
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