WWE SummerSlam 2011: Why Randy Orton Can Crush Christian to Reclaim the Title

Randy Orton and Christian have given us quite the treat over the last several months.

In what can only be described as a rare occasion in the WWE, the two Smackdown superstars have been embroiled in an intense feud that's gone on since early May.

Everything about it--the storylines, the promos, the wrestling, etc.--has been stellar, and there could still be even more greatness to come from Orton and Christian.

At SummerSlam, they will battle for the World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth consecutive pay-per-view and the fifth time overall.

Christian will enter the bout as the titleholder, but will Orton walk away with the strap?

Here are eight reasons why it wouldn't be surprising to see Orton leave SummerSlam as the World Heavyweight Champion.

8. Orton Is the Face of Smackdown, Not Christian

No surprise here.

When the WWE brass made the decision to move Randy Orton to Friday Nights, it was so that he would become Smackdown's John Cena.

Or, in layman's terms, the face of the blue brand...

Naturally, it seems like WWE officials would want Smackdown's No. 1 superstar to also be the holder of the show's most prestigious title, the World Heavyweight Championship.

As evidenced by Cena and Orton's ridiculous amount of title reigns so far, the top stars in the company are going to be the primary holders of its top titles.

So, when you think about it, did Orton move to Smackdown to hold the title for just two months and then move on to a forgettable non-title feud?

Nah, I seriously doubt it. 

7. To Extend This Feud Even Further

The feud between Randy Orton and Christian began in early May when Orton defeated Captain Charisma for the World Heavyweight Championship just five days in TV time--and two in actual time--after Christian had initially won it.

There have been numerous times since then when it looked like the feud might conclude, and either Orton or Christian would move on to a new feud for the title.

Obviously, that hasn't happened yet, and at this point, I'm honestly not sure when this feud will officially wrap up.

But, if WWE officials are looking to extend this feud to Night of Champions in September--or even to Hell in a Cell in October--then an easy way to do that is by having Orton win at SummerSlam.

Why? Because the WWE has some weird fixation with giving previous champs an automatic rematch, and Christian, should he lose, could use his at next month's pay-per-view. 

6. Or to End It Once and for All

On the other end of the spectrum, the WWE could decide to use a Randy Orton victory at SummerSlam to finally put this feud to rest.

Here's how it works: Orton defeats Christian on Sunday, Christian uses his automatic rematch on the following Smackdown, Christian loses that match, and Orton moves on to his next challenger.

It's easy booking really. 

You don't need to make storylines complicated to make them work. You just need to make sure they're logical. 

KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. 

5. A Lack of Face Challengers for Christian

If Christian beats Randy Orton at SummerSlam, then who the hell is he going to feud with?

Sin Cara? No shot. Kane? He's got Mark Henry to deal with. Daniel Bryan? Not unless he lies and cashes in the Money in the Bank briefcase early. 

Therefore, the only other main event face on Smackdown not named Randy Orton is Sheamus. But I'm still a little skeptical about putting Christian in a feud with the Celtic Warrior right now.

Sheamus hasn't been a face all that long--what's it been, a couple weeks?--and even though he's drawing good reactions so far, I think it would be wise to get the fans behind him a little more before he's challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship.

So, if not Sheamus, then the only other logical options for Christian to feud with would be The Undertaker--assuming he returns soon--or someone like John Morrison, whose had some interaction with Christian recently and could theoretically find a way to be moved to Smackdown to challenge Christian.

4. History Says a New Champ Will Be Crowned

Take a guess as to how many World Heavyweight Championship reigns we've seen since Dec. 19, 2010.

Two? Three? Maybe four? Try six.

Since Edge won the title at WWE TLC 2010, he, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton and Christian have held the belt a total of six different times.

The longest reign is Orton's current one, which has lasted barely two months, while Ziggler's forgettable title run lasted all of 15 minutes.

All in all, that means that the World Heavyweight title generally changes hands every four to six weeks.

That's ridiculous.

It also means that Orton has far surpassed the typical title run, and thus, should presumably be dropping it sooner rather than later.

3. Christian Is Getting the Rey Mysterio Treatment

Rey Mysterio has held three World titles during his WWE career.

He reigned as World Heavyweight Champ for roughly three and a half months in 2006, and he held the strap again for less than a month last summer. Of course, he also held the WWE title for a whopping two hours when he won it last month.

As if the short title reigns weren't enough, though, there was also the fact that, while in Mysterio's possession, the World Heavyweight Championship was referred to only as the "World Championship."

Unles you're Matt Stiker, in which case it's called the "Worlds Championship."

Anyway, you know who else has had two short title reigns in which the WHC was called the "World Championship?"

Yeah, Christian.

Despite the fact that he's billed at 227 pounds, he's somehow "not big enough" to be called the World Heavyweight Champion.

That's a shame, because it certainly appears that Christian is being treated just like Mysterio was--as someone who doesn't deserve to be World Heavyweight Champion, and thus, won't be for too long.

2. Christian's First World Heavyweight Championship Reign

We will never be able to forget Christian's first World Heavyweight Championship reign.

For months--maybe even years--prior to Christian's big win, wrestling fans all around the country rushed to message boards and sites like Bleacher Report to declare that it was a travesty that Christian had never held a World title in the WWE.

So, when Christian beat Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules and finally achieved his dream, his peeps couldn't help but be excited about seeing how Christian would perform as champion.

That didn't last long.

Less than a week after winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Christian lost the strap to Randy Orton.

He's won it back since then, but his second reign hasn't even lasted a month yet.

Therefore, here's my question: Why are we thinking that Christian won't experience some deja vu and lose the belt after yet another extremely short title reign?

1. It Would Do Wonders for Christian's Character

When Christian's first World Heavyweight Championship reign lasted just five days, just about everybody freaked out.

I did too at first, but then, I decided to take a "wait and see" approach. I'm glad I did.

Christian's joke of a title reign wound up leading to a Christian heel turn, and thus, gave him a much more interesting character and a firm spot in Smackdown's main event for the next several months.

And, now, I can't help but imagine what it would do for Christian's character if something similar happened again.

For example: Christian loses his title at SummerSlam, is denied his "guaranteed" rematch and goes absolutely bonkers when he's forced to go "to the back of the line."

In all likelihood, Christian's heel character would reach an all-time high, and he would undoubtedly take over as the No. 1 heel in the WWE...if he isn't already.