WWE Capitol Punishment: Christian Loses to Randy Orton

Randy Orton defeated Christian at WWE Capitol Punishment on Sunday night, thus retaining the world heavyweight championship.

Again.

But the win did not come without some controversy. Orton got the pin, but Christian’s foot was under the bottom rope.

Historically, this has always caused the referee to stop his count. But, of course, this was not seen by the ref, so Randy Orton remains the world champion. I suppose that little move would make a lot of sense, if not for the fact that the leg under the rope is not always called.

This happens all the time, whether the guys in the match mean for it to or not, and the ref counts three anyway. But, nevertheless, this was the finish, and Christian is surely left to cry “foul.”

As if Christian’s character did not have of a “the whole world’s against me” mentality, this could very well be the thing that sends him over the edge.

Pun intended.

I am reminded of the many times that Christian’s best friend, the recently retired Edge, would get that wide eyed crazy look in his eyes. It would always happen at the moment when he realized that he was at the end of his rope and was mentally searching for a way to get revenge or take out his aggression.

At this point, while many fans may still be upset that once again Christian has come up short, I, for one, believe that it’s time for everyone to move past it.

Does Christian deserve to be world champion? In my opinion, yes. Does that matter right now? Not at all.

For me, the real story here is in the continuing drama of the chase. Week in and week out, Christian comes so close to regaining the belt that he had always dreamed of—the one prize that he had worked his whole career for.

And every week, he is on the losing end.

In everyday life, when a man reaches the point of seeing his hopes and dreams ripped away from him, he may reach the point where he will do something desperate. He can see no way out and will have to decide for himself how far he is willing to go and what he is willing to do to get what he wants.

In professional wrestling, that man is Christian. And right now, his character is in a very dark place.

This defeat can only add to the many layers of frustration and disappointment that currently choke the man known as Captain Charisma. Turning his back on the “peeps” he often played to and acknowledged with a smile was only the beginning.

Christian’s psychological turmoil is at an all-time high, and the real question is, what will he do next?

If handled properly and given enough time to grow, the complexity of Christian’s character can place him in a very unique and desirable position on Friday Night Smackdown: that of the top heel.

Continually being defeated by Randy Orton every time he wrestles him and convinced that his former fans turned their backs on him, Christian now plots and schemes for a way to get even.

One way for him to do this is to go to his bag of tricks and reform the Christian Coalition.

Who would he recruit is open for debate? Perhaps Cody Rhodes, who has a well known history with Randy Orton and whose personality seems like a good fit. Perhaps Mark Henry, or even through some crazy twist, Sheamus.

Again, the point is not who would be a part of Christian’s new entourage, only that he is the focal point. A couple of like-minded individuals working to help Christian win can keep him in the spotlight and in championship contention. They can even help him to eventually win back the world title.

It’s all speculation, of course. But Christian has the depth of character to remain a focus of attention on the program, and with the proper storyline, can continue to be relevant.

Christian has never been in a better position in WWE than he is right now. He is in the spotlight, he has heat with the crowd, and he is standing on his own. Whether or not WWE creative will continue to allow him this opportunity to shine, however, is anybody’s guess.