WWE over the Limit 2012 Results: Why Turning Christian Face Is Brilliant Move

It was announced just about an hour before Over the Limit went on the air that there would be a battle royal, with the winner having the opportunity to face either the Intercontinental or United States Champion later in the night. It came as a big surprise to see Christian in the match, but the biggest surprise was still to come.

Christian won the match and seemed to initially gesture toward Santino. Cody Rhodes was shown talking to Eve backstage a bit later, and he had some disparaging remarks to say about Christian. Not surprisingly, Christian was standing right behind Rhodes and decided to change his mind and face Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship instead.

Based on the way Christian was acting during the battle royal, it seemed like he might be turning face, but it was cemented when he decided to take on Rhodes. Christian went on to win the match and the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time in his career, so in the matter of one night, he became the company's top midcard face, for all intents and purposes.

The way that the turn was executed wasn't especially good considering the way Christian had been acting prior to his return. He was still asking for one more match for the World Heavyweight Championship and had denounced his fans, but suddenly he returned as a face who was pandering to the "peeps" once again.

That notwithstanding, though, the choice to make Christian face was a smart one. It may not seem like it at first glance, but the WWE has a major face deficiency. The top four guys in the company are John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton and Sheamus, but they are all main-event-level competitors. That means that there isn't anyone to fill out the rest of the card and chase the midcard titles.

Aside from those elite faces, there isn't much out there. Brodus Clay and Ryback are both still in the squash-match stage, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are busy in the tag-team ranks and Santino isn't doing much with the United States Championship. Then you have a guys like Zack Ryder and Alex Riley, who are floundering, as well as a number of injured or suspended stars in Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara.

When you add to that the fact that Big Show turned heel on Sunday by helping John Laurinaitis beat Cena, turning Christian was really the only option. The creative team is very lucky to have a versatile performer like Christian in the fold because he is good enough in the ring and on the stick to sell being a heel or a face equally well. He's so good at it, in fact, that the weak turn itself shouldn't hamper him.

There is still a lot left to be desired in terms of midcard faces, but putting the top midcard belt on a face Christian certainly makes things much better in that regard. Putting Christian in this spot builds a very solid foundation, and when guys like Sin Cara and Ted DiBiase return, and perhaps Tyler Black and Kassius Ohno debut, the midcard will be that much deeper and more impressive.

Even if Christian isn't going to be a face permanently, the WWE needed to find a stopgap option of some sort. Christian has played the face role perfectly in the past, and it's nice to know that he is essentially guaranteed a spot on the card now that he's back. Christian is too talented to be misused as he was before his injury, so the transformation is encouraging.

I'm sure many would rather see him in the position he occupied as World Heavyweight Champion when he was a main-event heel, but every career experiences peaks and valleys. Luckily for fans of Christian, he is now much closer to a peak than he was several months ago.

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