WWE Money in the Bank Results: Top 7 Challengers for the World Heavyweight Title

Lost in the shuffle of a fantastic Money in the Bank pay-per-view is that Christian is now a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. After spitting in the fact of Randy Orton, Christian was kicked below the waist, prompting a disqualification for Orton.

Due to the existing circumstances of the match, the disqualification for Orton granted Christian the championship. Orton went after the new champion immediately, cementing his spot for a rematch for the title.

Going into this match, seeing Orton against Christian yet again was very dragging and the matchup was in need of some spicing up.

A few developments took place tonight that may go a long way into possibly throwing a wrench into the plans of Christian/Orton Part 29 at SummerSlam.

Here are the top seven challengers going forward for the brand-new champion.

7) Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes had a few chances to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, only to fall short. The man with the see-through mask showed a lot of maturity and better ability in his second chance at a briefcase.

Rhodes may have a strong gimmick going with the paper bags and whatnot, but he also has has a program going with Daniel Bryan, who won Money in the Bank for Smackdown.

The two could fight over the briefcase or Rhodes could simply climb the ladder for it, only to have Bryan snatch it from him.

Whichever way they choose to go with it, Rhodes re-established himself as a contender for the first time since his huge win at WrestleMania.

6) Kane

As a big monster and a former World Heavyweight Champion, Kane is still in the thick of the title hunt. Kane also came up short at Money in the Bank, but The Big Red Monster does not need the briefcase in the same way that he needed it a year ago.

The landscape of Smackdown is vastly different than it was back then, and Kane sticks out much more than he ever has.

Kane could be a No. 1 contender tomorrow if he wanted to, but it is all depending on how they book him from here on out.

Will they have him still involved with Big Show's feud with Mark Henry? Will Kane be the next challenger for Ezekiel Jackson's Intercontinental Championship? Only time can tell.

5) Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett brought it at Money in the Bank and it looked like he might have had what it took to win the match. Unfortunately, Barrett lost and his character may be just as lost.

No longer in the Intercontinental Championship hunt, Barrett's sights should be set higher.

Oddly enough, Barrett was working alongside of Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, his ex-friends with Nexus and The Corre. One would have assumed that they would have had a feud before a brand-new alliance.

Barrett kept seeming close and ideas of Orton/Barrett matches, which we saw eight months ago on RAW, began to get me amped up as I watched Barrett climb the rungs.

After the pay-per-view was over, the match between the two seemed more likely, but only for a No. 1 contender's match instead. Barrett should be in the discussion again, even with a heel champion.

4) Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan is Mr. Money in the Bank. That is an odd thing to say and will take some getting used to. After pulling off the upset in the title match, Bryan can create a World Heavyweight Championship match for himself at any time for the next year.

After Orton beat up Christian post-match, it seemed like Bryan may have been ready. He didn't come out after all, meaning that Bryan will need to wait for his world title match.

Bryan didn't seem to be ready to cash in immediately after. It would have taken away from the Punk/Cena match and having both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as champions would have sent the Chicago fans into a frenzy.

The briefcase alone makes a superstar into a contender. With no other top faces on Smackdown outside of Randy Orton, WWE's job now is to sell Daniel Bryan as a main eventer to us all in the coming weeks and months. If not, Bryan may not hold onto the briefcase forever.

3) Mark Henry

Mark Henry had one of his biggest victories at Money in the Bank, defeating Big Show and taking him out with a splash off the turnbuckle with a chair for good measure.

Mark Henry has never been a world champion in his long career and may have never looked stronger for the honor than right now.

Henry doesn't care who is in front of him and who he has to take out for it, but he wants to be a world champion. In the way that he is performing, he may just deserve it.

2) Sheamus

Despite missing out on Money in the Bank, Sheamus has hovered around the world title match for quite some time now.

Now that Christian is back to being World Heavyweight Champion, it may be time for Sheamus to assert himself as the top contender. Sheamus has beaten Christian in the past, so it only makes sense.

The world title match at Money in the Bank could have easily been a triple threat match with Sheamus facing Orton and Christian.

Instead, the two faced each other one-on-one yet again. Sheamus is not a stretch to be in the title picture. That's why he never needed the briefcase and can probably be World Heavyweight Champion without it.

1) Randy Orton

It's the obvious choice. Not only is he the former champion, but he is also the top face on Smackdown and is booked as the best man in the brand.

Orton was never pinned to win the title, but got frustrated as got disqualified for it. Couple that with a title change and that is almost automatically a rematch.

In just a month at SummerSlam, how will the world title picture look? If The Viper has anything to say about it, it would be much like how it was before Money in the Bank for Randy Orton.