Will Randy Orton Losing At Extreme Rules Hurt His Momentum?

This Sunday, Jack Swagger will put the World Heavyweight Championship on the line in an "extreme rules" match against Randy Orton. While the match itself (and feud) is pretty fresh, the outcome couldn't be more obvious.

After losing to Orton twice on RAW (clean victories for Orton), losing to The Undertaker and most recently, losing clean to John Morrison on Smackdown, the WWE writers would love for the audience to think Swagger has no shot on Sunday. Of course, this means he will win without a doubt. Most of the critics who write up reports on the net say that Swagger needs the win, needs the credibility, and needs a long reign to establish himself in the main event scene and prove his worth as champion.

I am not suggesting that any of that isn't true. Instead, I would like to look at the consequences of Orton losing this match. Since his "face" turn (I put that in quotations because we all know he is more of a tweener), Randy Orton has been the hottest thing going in the WWE. He has been booked strong ever since WrestleMania (granted, not much has happened since) and he is rumored to be the big move in this year's draft, moving from RAW to Smackdown. Also, news came to light this past week that WWE are working on a three-disc Randy Orton DVD set to be released at some point late 2010 or early 2011. No doubt, Randy Orton is WWE right now.

So, if he does lose this Sunday (which will happen, I don't think that can be really debated), does it hurt this amazing momentum he has at the moment? What happens once (and if) he is drafted to Smackdown? Does he continue this feud with Swagger or move on to something else? If he stays on RAW, what in the world could WWE do with him that doesn't involve a rehash of any past feuds (especially considering both John Cena and Triple H are faces)? And once he loses to Swagger, how bad does that make him look considering Jack Swagger wasn't even able to defeat John Morrison in a non-title bout to open an episode of Smackdown?

I do agree that Swagger needs to be given some credibility and I haven't a clue why WWE had booked him so badly this early in his reign. The only logical answer is that the company wants the audience to believe that Orton will win without question on Sunday. This way, they "shock" everyone by having Swagger defeat him. Logical and smart wrestling fans know exactly what the WWE is planning and could see this whole thing coming a mile away.

So I ask the readers on here, how much does this inevitable loss to Swagger hurt the WWE's top star at the moment?

Leave some comments and check the poll!