Best Feuds and Predictions for Randy Orton After TLC

WWE's TLC pay-per-view is finished, with Randy Orton emerging from the wreckage of his main event bout against John Cena as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

It was an impressive performance from the third-generation star.

Maybe because Cena was still banged up from his triceps surgery and thus unable to take any major risks or bumps, Orton stepped up to carry much of the action, doing so admirably.

It wasn't the best main event ever—and couldn't really equal Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler from last year's TLC—but it was very, very good.

So what now for Orton?

He could of course face Cena for a rematch at next month's Royal Rumble, but who really wants to see that? Orton vs. Cena has been done to death at this point and isn't really an attraction anymore.

The most popular babyface in the company right now is easily Daniel Bryan, who has been receiving crowd pops recently that have to be heard to be believed. Of course, similar to Orton-Cena, Orton has taken on Bryan too many times to count.

The dismal buyrates for the pay-per-views the two men headlined earlier this year, as reported by WWE and F4WOnline (via WrestlingInc.com), are also good reasons not to book another program featuring the pair.

There would be little interest in the new champion taking on The Big Show, either.

So, heading into WrestleMania season, Orton's going to have to find a fresh foe.

But who?

Alas, WWE's booking team have struggled greatly to create new stars. And if they do somehow stumble across one—Bryan being a good example—they still manage to find a way to squander his potential.

In a thin field of candidates, the recently returned Rey Mysterio may be the best option. Despite his various injuries and hiatuses, the 38-year-old is as popular as ever. A Mysterio-Orton program could help fill the time until WrestleMania.

CM Punk is another perfectly adequate choice. He and Orton could churn out matches even if the promo work wasn't very good and/or imaginative (although Monday's booking may have indicated he's set to clash with Triple H first).

If WWE felt like taking a risk it could also book rising star Big E Langston as the new challenger.

Langston wouldn't win the belts, of course—it's way too soon for that—but it would give him a chance to get his foot in the door and establish himself as someone truly capable of being in main events.

Summarily, it's hard to see Orton's title run drastically shaking up the product or curing all of WWE's creative problems.

Neither he nor the two belts he now holds come off as that huge a deal. But ideally, the company will attempt to push someone new to go against him over the next months—preferably Langston. The last thing we need is another Cena-Orton match.