WWE SmackDown: Christian, Speculation and the World Championship

WARNING: THIS CONTENT CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

For those of you who hate spoilers—and believe me, I’m right there with you—stop reading now, because if you are a fan of Christian, trust me, you do not want to know.

Randy Orton is the new world champion on SmackDown. He pinned_cleanly, I might add—Christian, to become the new top dog on Friday nights.

As I said, I am usually not one for spoilers, but thanks to the teasing invitation of a fellow writer here on Bleacher Report, I just could not resist.

Something told me, before I even read the message, what I was about to see. I had just made the comment that I was happy that Christian finally got his due, that yes, he did deserve a real shot at the top.

Then I was asked the question. “Have you read any spoilers about SmackDown?”

I knew, right then, what she was going to say.

Still, while I expected it, I was surprised. What is going on with this situation?

Right now, all we can do is speculate and put our collective fist through the wall. Truth be told, without the use of my hands, I’m no good on this site, so I will stick to the former.

Pro wrestling is about business. Period. That is why it’s called the business. Randy Orton as world champion is good for business. Why? Because at the end of the day, he is a bigger draw than Christian. Plain and simple.

I take no joy in that admission. But facts are facts and there is not much sense in fighting it. But, the question here is: Why?

Why is Orton bigger than Christian? Because he is over—crazy over—with the fans. We can all agree on that, right?

But how is he over? Because WWE pushed him there. Does Orton have the talent, the look, the ability? Of course. Does the best talent rise to the top if given the opportunity? Absolutely.

But, Orton did not place himself in Evolution. He was also not the one who decided he was going to turn baby and leave the group. He did not decide to call himself the Viper and get over as a so-called modern-day Stone Cold.

All of those decisions were made by WWE. Orton had the potential, WWE saw it and gave him the chance to earn a spot. He did that. That’s how it works.

By the same token, Christian did not decide that he and Edge would win multiple tag-team championships and be considered one of the best WWE duos of all time. He also did not make the call when his best friend Edge began to get the push and he didn’t.

And when Christian came back to WWE, I am fairly sure that he did not demand the ECW title, which was nothing more than a lower-tier championship. Common sense suggests that he did not go on to determine that he would finally be given a world-title run only to have it end two days later.

All of these decisions, for better or worse, were also made by WWE.

So, we have two guys, one who has been pushed to the moon and one who can barely get his boots off the ground. Why?

Because that is business. That is pro wrestling. It happens everyday: A guy gets every opportunity to shine, while another one rarely gets thrown a bone.

Is it fair? No. Do fans continue to love Christian, appreciate his work and respect him for all he has done in the business? Yes, and I am one of those fans.

So why did this happen?

All of these raging questions—all of the hows and whys—can only be answered by WWE. But despite how much they would like to distance themselves from the nasty nine-letter word, they are still a wrestling promotion. And, wrestling promotions typically do not reveal backstage information of any of its workers.

So, again, back to the speculation. Is Christian injured? Did Orton make some sort of crazy demand? Was the pay-per-view just a way to mess with fans? Or is it none of the above?

The biggest reason behind this sudden change could be that perhaps one of these guys is going to turn heel again and then a monster feud for the title will ensue.

Are you buying that one? Yeah, not sure if I am either.

It does appear, at first glance, that Christian has been screwed here.

I have read a few opinions that state this happened because Captain Charisma left the company and Vince does not reward guys who leave and come back.

Of course, that does not really explain why guys like Jeff Hardy, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who all left, were welcomed back later and given quite a bit.

The ugly truth here, the one thing that none of us want to think about or even consider, is that WWE Creative actually have a plan. Not only do they have a plan, they are probably loving the buzz on the net right now surrounding this supposed “controversy."

WWE says it pays no attention to the net when it comes to sites like Bleacher Report, or what fans like us are saying.

I, for one, do not believe that.

That is not to say that they are making decisions or changing direction based upon what is or is not being fed to the net. But, I do believe that it does have an impact.

With that being said, perhaps it is time for the fans to let their voices be heard.

Crazy loud chants of "ECW, ECW, ECW" supposedly led Vince to strike up a deal with Paul Heyman several years ago.

“We want Matt!” Remember hearing that one? WWE heard it, and before you knew it, Matt Hardy was back on TV to confront the man who had slept with his girlfriend.

So how seriously upset are you that Christian held the world title only two days longer than you have? Maybe it’s time to make some noise.

An online petition perhaps? Flooding WWE with phone calls and emails? Protesting the main offices? How far would fans go to make a statement?

I have to believe WWE has a plan here. I have to. Anything less will just disappoint me. I keep repeating to myself that it is just business. Maybe if I keep repeating it, I will actually begin to believe it.