WWE: The Miz vs. Alex Riley and the 10 Biggest Current Rivalries in Wrestling

Of all the things we like about wrestling, there's nothing we enjoy more than a good rivalry.

When two superstars tangle up in a fierce feud, we're compelled to watch, focus and listen. We get so sucked into the action that we actually think what we're witnessing is real.

Sometimes rivalries are, in fact, based on real-life animosity between two wrestlers, but more often than not, they aren't.

They're just two wrestlers doing what they do best: entertaining the fans.

And the more they entertain us, the bigger the rivalry gets.

Here's a look at the 10 biggest current rivalries in the WWE.

10. Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne

I'm honestly not completely sure that we can call Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne a feud, because it gets so little air time.

But the two superstars have faced each other on Raw two of the past three weeks, swapping wins in the process. 

Bourne's obviously playing the underdog role here—winning by roll-up last week and attempting to "beat the odds" night in and night out—while Swagger seems to be working as the heel who's pissed off because he's not wrestling at the top of the card.

I don't think this feud will really wind up doing anything for either wrestler, but hey, at least they're appearing on Raw, which is more than Curt Hawkins can say.

Maybe a match that goes more than three minutes will give us a reason to care about Bourne vs. Swagger, though I wouldn't hold my breath.

9. Kelly Kelly vs. the Bella Twins

The WWE Divas division is what it is. And by that, I mean it's—as William Regal might say—absolute rubbish.

Outside of some Bra and Panties matches or ECW Strip Poker, there's not much that's going to change that right now either.

But, since I didn't want to totally exclude the Divas from this list, I decided to go with Kelly Kelly vs. the Bellas.

Sure, Brie, Nikki and K2 aren't particularly interesting to watch—aside from their obvious hotness—but at least they're trying out there.

That's a lot more than I can say for whoever books this division. 

8. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Hmm, I feel like I've seen Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler feud once before. Maybe it's because they have.

The two upper mid-carders wrestled each other for what seemed like 683 straight weeks while feuding over the Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown in 2010.

And now, here we are again.

Ziggler and Kingston faced off last week in a very solid TV bout, and I'd expect them to have a similar rivalry for the United States Championship that includes a match at next week's Capitol Punishment pay-per-view.

There won't be much mic work from these two—aside from maybe Vickie Guerrero—but the ring work should be good enough to keep us semi-interested in this feud, as long as we don't see Ziggler vs. Kingston every week like last time.

7. Wade Barrett vs. Ezekiel Jackson

Let me ask you a question: Why exactly did WWE officials decide to turn Ezekiel Jackson face?

Was it because they wanted to see him execute some more terrible body slams? Or was it because the guy has the charisma of a tomato?

Either way, I'm surprised the WWE is still sticking with any kind of feud between Wade Barrett—along with The Corre—and Jackson.

I get that stables break up and one guy usually turns face, but the WWE has to give us more than this for the feud to mean something.

That likely won't happen.

Yet, Jackson and Barrett will continue to get air time on Smackdown, and this feud will probably go on until 2021.

6. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kane and the Big Show

The rivalry between Alberto Del Rio and the former WWE Tag Team Champions, Kane and The Big Show, hasn't really gotten off the ground yet.

All we've seen between these three so far has come in backstage segments, like Big Show being run over by one of Del Rio's cars, or promos, like Del Rio's "You know I'm a nice guy" one that he cut last week.

But, the more that I think about it, the more that I realize this could be a pretty nice rivalry in the long run...at least for Del Rio.

I'd expect Del Rio to feud with Kane while Big Show nurses his injury, and then move on to a feud with The Big Show.

He'll likely win both of those feuds—which will come against two top veterans in Kane and Big Show—and take that momentum into his expected feud with John Cena at SummerSlam.  

5. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

OK, as of this writing, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio aren't technically feuding.

But the two stars are squaring off at current and future Raw live events and have faced off on the past two Raws, and this is a rumored match for the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view in 12 days. 

After all, WWE officials remember how good their feud was on Smackdown in 2010, and I don't think there's any way that both Punk and Mysterio are left off of that PPV show.

With most of Raw's other top stars embroiled in fierce rivalries, the only route to go here is Punk vs. Mysterio, even if it just for the short term.

I know I usually complain about rehashed feuds, but not when it's Punk and Mysterio we're talking about.

4. Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan

Cody Rhodes' evolution since his Legacy days is mind-blowing.

He's gone from Randy Orton's lackey to the narcissistic "Dashing" one to the Un-Dashing maniac we see on Smackdown these days.

Rhodes is undoubtedly one of the hotter acts in the business, and he and Daniel Bryan have already showed they can put on a very good match together. Their bout on Smackdown two weeks ago was as good as you'll see for a TV match that only went about nine minutes.

Bryan got the win there via submission, but Rhodes interrupted Bryan's match this week and put a beatdown on him afterward.

The Smackdown creative team is setting this up nicely, with both Bryan and Rhodes getting the upper hand at different times.

If they can somehow use this rivalry to give Bryan some much-needed mic time, then this rivalry could go from good to great.

3. R-Truth vs. John Cena

I wonder if there are any Little Jimmies reading this article right now?

In all seriousness, I never thought I'd be putting R-Truth on any "biggest rivalries" list. But alas, his tremendous heel turn has left me no choice.

Truth's new antagonistic character is the perfect complement to Mr. Goody Two-Shoes himself, John Cena.

The crowd obviously loves Cena, and Truth has whined and complained enough to make the crowd truly hate him.

Truth has already gotten over big time as a heel in a matter of weeks, which is something that some guys can't do in their entire careers.

In March, I would have said there's no way that a Cena vs. Truth feud would be a good sell, but when you have the face of the WWE going up against the WWE's hottest act, it definitely is.  

2. The Miz vs. Alex Riley

Alex Riley never really seemed to serve a purpose when working as The Miz's personal assistant. He was just kind of there, a jobber who was in the way more often than he was helping his boss.

Then, only a couple of weeks ago, the Raw creative team officially pulled the plug on the duo.

Riley attacked Michael Cole and The Miz, the crowd popped huge for it, and just like that, the WWE created another huge babyface on the Raw brand.

I'll admit that I didn't think I'd see Riley turn face—at least not this early in his career—but his turn was executed to perfection. 

Now, the result is a red-hot feud on Raw between Riley and his mentor, former WWE Champion The Miz.

Good job, WWE. You've got me very interested in what's going to happen next, and that doesn't happen very often anymore.

1. Christian vs. Randy Orton

When Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton just five days—two in actual time—after winning it, I, like many others, wasn't too thrilled about it.

Then, I re-watched the match where Orton won the belt, and I thought to myself, "Why am I complaining? That match was phenomenal."

Then, once again, Orton and Christian tore the house down at Over the Limit with what might be the best match of 2011 so far.

So, you know what? I can't say I'm too mad about Christian's short title reign now, because it's resulted in two stellar matches.

Of course, now things are really heating up with Christian's heel turn on this past Friday's Smackdown. Seeing Captain Charisma on the dark side should make his rivalry with Orton even better than it's been so far.

And, if that happens, then you can bank on this: "2011 Feud of the Year: Randy Orton vs. Christian."