WWE SummerSlam 2011: Randy Orton vs. Christian Will Steal the Show This Sunday

This Sunday's SummerSlam pay-per-view extravaganza will feature one of the most hotly anticipated main events in the history of the sport when CM Punk and John Cena battle to determine who is the undisputed WWE Champion.

It has been the most hyped match of the card and the real selling point for the 2011 incarnation of the SummerSlam event. And it should be. No superstar has been as hot a commodity as Punk, and Cena has proved on countless occasions that he can perform at a high level in the most pressure-packed situations. The match between the two Raw stars at Money in the Bank was the unquestioned match of the year and will go down as one of the most memorable matches in WWE history.

But this Sunday will also see the culmination of another rivalry, a rivalry that has spanned the entire summer and has been responsible for several matches that were among the best of any card they populated. That rivalry is between Smackdown's Randy Orton and Christian over the World Heavyweight Championship, and this Sunday at SummerSlam, their No-Holds-Barred Match (which many believe will blow off the feud) will steal the show.

Orton and Christian's matches—since the fateful May 6, 2011, Smackdown contest that saw Orton capture the world championship and send the Internet wrestling world into a fit in the process—have been excellent examples of strong storytelling, sound in-ring psychology and profound in-ring work. There has been no better-written program between two stars and no program that has remained hot enough to last as long as the one between Orton and Christian.

When you add the No-Holds-Barred stipulation to the latest chapter of their rivalry, there is little reason to doubt that "match of the show" is possible and "match of the year" is also achievable.

The most glaring competition to Orton and Christian in terms of stealing the show at SummerSlam is the WWE Championship match from the Raw side of WWE. However, with the inclusion of Triple H as special guest referee, overbooking is all-but guaranteed, something that will hurt its chances at achieving the same level of quality it enjoyed at Money in the Bank.

The unlikelihood that Punk-Cena II lives up to the legacy of the original is not the only positive facing the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. The decided lack of pressure on the Smackdown main event will also allow it to easily surpass expectations. The fact is, Smackdown is looked at as being the red-headed stepchild of World Wrestling Entertainment. It is not treated the same as Raw, nor is it taken as seriously by the WWE fanbase as the Monday night flagship program.

Whether it deserves it or not, Smackdown is often ignored, and that alone will allow the Orton-Christian showdown at SummerSlam to sneak up on fans and will ultimately allow them to enjoy the ride they are taken on by the highly talented performers.

Orton and Christian deserve the spotlight that the heavily hyped SummerSlam event will bring them. Two of the most consistently great in-ring performers of 2011, they have been a part of the some of the best matches the company has had to offer since their first encounter in May.

Punk versus Cena will headline the show, but it will be the match for the World Heavyweight Championship that will not only steal the show but also open the eyes of millions of WWE fans who have disrespected or forgotten Smackdown entirely.