WWE: With Orton Down and Out, Who Will Take over on Smackdown as the No. 1 Guy?

I’m going on a leap of faith and will guess that most of you by now have heard of Randy Orton’s unfortunate back injury...if you haven’t...my bad! This really couldn’t have come at a worse time for Vinnie Mac’s No. 2 show. Orton has spent almost all of his time on the blue brand helping young stars and veterans attain main event and championship status by putting them before himself while still looking as dominate as ever (that’s got to be pretty difficult).

Now, with this injury sidelining him for what could be upwards of six months, there’s a large void that needs to be filled. Otherwise, Smackdown (which has been getting very good ratings as of late) could begin to suffer, and more importantly, without an established veteran such as Orton there to help, these up-and-coming wrestlers may become another victim of Vin-Man being too cautions and not wanting to take a chance on the new guys.

On the other hand, as awful as it is, Orton’s injury could be a blessing in disguise because now without a main event babyface on Smackdown and the brand separation basically dead, someone will need to be pushed to fill that void.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see Punk, Miz, Truth or anyone from Raw going over to Smackdown. Will Daniel Bryan run the show? Is it possible that upon his return, Christian will take over Smackdown? Will this mysterious man who the “1:2:12” promos are for take over Smackdown?

How about Sheamus? He’s been falling into a groove the last few months, but creative seems to be lost as to what to do with him…could this be his shinning opportunity? Or will creative upgrade one of the other mid-carders?

What do you think will happen? Do you think someone will be elevated to take Orton’s spot? If so, who?

On a side note:

Some of you reading this may remember me writing for the site back in the early part of this year, I had planned on continuing to do so, but I had a lot of things fall onto my plate (family issues, college and work). I started planning my return back in September, but a film I had written and directed back in the spring began getting accepted into film festivals, so I focused all my attention on that.

However, I have finally balanced everything out, and now, I’m ready to come back here with a fresh start and hopefully still entertain you guys with my random ramblings that even I don’t understand. And possibly, if you (the reader) and I are up to it, perhaps I may resurrect the “IWC Votes” that many of you had always participated in.

Update:

It was brought to my attention that Orton will now only be out for a "few weeks." I looked into this, and Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reports that  it is correct and the previous diagnosis of six months was fabricated.

Well, I don't want this article to be a total waste, so who do you think takes over for the next few weeks until Orton's return?