WWE Extreme Rules 2011: Who Will Win the World Championship?

This Sunday at WWE Extreme Rules, Christian will face Alberto Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship.

Despite the match being booked late due to Edge's surprise retirement, these two superstars have a feud that started in September 2010, when Del Rio 'kayfabe' tore Christian's pectoral muscle.

There is no doubt that it will be a great ladder match, and I expect it to be the best match on the card. Neither Christian nor Del Rio have held a world championship in the WWE. This leaves Creative with an intriguing, and no doubt challenging, question to answer. Who goes over? Do they put the belt on Del Rio, instantly creating a main event star for the future? Or will Christian, after paying all his dues, finally win the big one?

Should Christian win, major respect would be paid to a true veteran of the business. Christian would also be tested as to whether he can handle a main event feud, something he has never done in the WWE. I think he could do it, he is a huge baby-face, which goes over in a big way with the fans.

For Christian to be utilized effectively as the WHC, a true heel is needed to take advantage of his popularity. This role could be filled by CM Punk, who fits the bill as one of the best heels in the business today. Although if rumors are to be believed, he is burned out and is looking to take a hiatus from wrestling, much like Chris Jericho back in 2005.

Randy Orton is a great opponent, as it could work with Christian as either a heel or face. Christian is arguably better at playing a heel than a face, and what better time to turn him than when Randy Orton—biggest face in the company other than John Cena—is his adversary. Alternatively, Orton could turn heel—which he has stated he would rather be—and feud with the baby-faced Christian.

However, if Alberto Del Rio wins at Extreme Rules, it would conclude his meteoric rise to the main event.

From a logical standpoint, Del Rio should win over Christian. Alberto has many more years left in the business than Christian, and with the WWE running low on main-event talent it would be wise to invest in the future and create another superstar in Del Rio.

In terms of character, we have seen Christian in every conceivable angle.

There isn't a direction Christian's character can go that we haven't seen before. We have only seen Del Rio for nine months in the one role. There's so much more left of Del Rio's character to showcase.

There's a subplot to this match that began on RAW this week.

Alberto Del Rio was drafted to RAW, and Christian stayed on SmackDown. If Del Rio wins, both the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship will be on RAW, leaving SmackDown without a major championship.

This doesn't necessarily confirm that Christian has to win at Extreme Rules. I'm sure the Creative is confident in handling that situation. Perhaps it could lead to The Miz eventually being sent to SmackDown with the WWE Championship. The point is there are many ways to handle both world championships being RAW.

It is rumored that the main-event of SummerSlam will be John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio. So with that in mind, there is no way Del Rio is coming back to SmackDown.

I want Christian to win but I think it's smarter for Del Rio to win. Under the circumstances, I think that if there were ever a time for Christian to win the big one, this would be that time. Therefore I am picking Christian to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules.