WWE SummerSlam 2011: 10 Things You Need to Know About Christian vs. Randy Orton

Sunday's SummerSlam event is sure to change the landscape of the WWE in one of the biggest events of the year. On the Smackdown brand, Christian defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton. These two have built up a pretty big rivalry in the past few months and it may all come to an end on Sunday.

Christian and Orton have put on some of the best matches the WWE has seen this year. From their first encounter on an episode of Smackdown in early May to their incredible match at Over the Limit, it has been hard to have these two try and outdo themselves with each match. A No Holds Barred match is scheduled for SummerSlam, but there is a lot of information to remember for this match at SummerSlam. Here are 10 things necessary to keep in mind when watching this match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

This Is Their 5th World Title Match

Randy Orton-Christian have slowly become a candidate for feud of the year. Lost in the shuffle of the John Cena-CM Punk feud, Orton and Christian will have their fifth world title match this Sunday. Their first one, on an episode of Smackdown in early May, is considered one of the best matches on Smackdown in quite some time. The two would face again at Over the Limit in a match that was a strong Match of the Year candidate before Punk-Cena at Money in the Bank.

Money in the Bank would be the place where Christian would win back the World Heavyweight Championship by getting kicked in the groin and having Orton DQ himself away from his world title. This made up for the controversial finish of Capitol Punishment, when Christian had his foot under the ropes and had the pinfall occur anyway.

It Is No Holds Barred

The face of it being a No Holds Barred match should mean that it is an advantage for Orton, right? Maybe not. Despite Orton being as ruthless as they come, and arguably being more destructive now than ever, Christian is still a great extremist. He has won his fair share of TLC matches and was also an ECW Champion. While Orton has handcuffed opponents and tried to put them through Spanish announce tables that simply won't break, Christian has done one-man Con-chair-to's and once retained the ECW title by slamming a car door onto someone's body.

This has the potential to be a very brutal match and, while Orton doesn't typically get beaten up much in these types of matches, this is exactly the kind of stipulation that allows Christian to take it to Orton and not have to worry about disqualification. Sunday could actually be the time that Christian pins Orton, ending this program. Will it be clean? Obviously not. Nothing ever is clean in a No Holds Barred match.

Christian's First World Title Match at SummerSlam

Obviously not including the ECW Championship, this is the first time that Christian has been in a world title match at SummerSlam. With his lack of such a match at a WrestleMania, this is the biggest venue Christian has ever been in the main event of. No pressure or anything.

Orton Comes Back to Where It Began for Him

This is not the first SummerSlam world title match for Orton. In 2004, Orton went into Toronto and won his first world championship at SummerSlam. Orton still holds the record for being the youngest world champion in WWE history as he seemingly shocked the entire world that night. It was that win that not only put Orton among those with world title reigns, but it helped turn him face after Evolution turned on him.

Christian Needs That SummerSlam Moment

Despite being a seasoned veteran in two different stints with WWE, Christian has not had that one defining moment at a SummerSlam. Sure, him and Edge won the TLC match at 2000's SummerSlam, but that wasn't an individual effort. In fact, Sunday will mark just the fifth SummerSlam match for Christian. Despite winning all but his first, a loss to The Acolytes in 1999's Tag Team Turmoil, only one of the four was a singles match. That singles match was in 2009 as Christian defeated William Regal in an ECW Championship match that lasted only nine seconds.

After the match, Regal beat up on Christian with the help of Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson. Needless to say, Christian could use a triumphant moment at a major event to establish his singles career.

SummerSlam Is an Average Event for Apex Predator

For as successful as Orton has been in his career, it must frustrate him that he is only 4-3 in his career at SummerSlam. Orton has had great successes, such as his title win in 2004, as well as defeating The Undertaker in 2005 and John Cena in 2009. Last year, Orton defeated Sheamus with the WWE Championship on the line, but won via disqualification.

As for his losses, Orton lost in 2007 to Cena, lost in 2006 to Hulk Hogan and lost in 2003 at his first SummerSlam in the Elimination Chamber match. Which Orton will show up this Sunday? Will it be the guy who won those four matches or the guy who lost those three? You can argue that he is the same guy in both instances, to which I argue that he has voices in his head.

World Heavyweight Title Rarely Changes Hands at SummerSlam

The World Heavyweight Championship has existed for nine years this September and the championship has only changed hands twice at SummerSlam. Randy Orton's victory over Chris Benoit in 2004 was the first one, while CM Punk's victory in a TLC match over Jeff Hardy in 2009 was the other one. On the years in which title changes don't occur, reigning champions have been the likes of Triple H, Batista, King Booker and The Great Khali, among others. Christian could add his name to that list on Sunday.

Los Angeles Has Been the Location Twice Before

Just like the championship changing hands just twice in SummerSlam history, the World Heavyweight Championship has been won by the challenger just twice in Los Angeles. Ever. One of those instances was CM Punk's win at SummerSlam two years ago, while the other was Batista defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 21. Orton will look to become just the third person to ever walk out of the Staples Center as the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Sheamus/Mark Henry Winner Is Waiting

I would like to imagine that the No Holds Barred stipulation will eliminate the necessity for a sixth world title match between Orton and Christian. This would mean that Christian would have to retain the title in order to move away from these two dominating the main event on Smackdown all of the time. The winner of Sheamus and Mark Henry basically turns into a glorified No. 1 contender's match to find the next challenger to the title.

Sheamus is now a face, while Henry has been as big of a monster heel as he has ever been. Either one could work against both Christian and Orton, but Christian and Sheamus might be the matchup that we see at Night of Champions. Personally, I think the four of them in the same match would keep all four busy, help combine two feuds and give chances to all that deserve it without leaving anyone out.

Christian Needs One Legitimate Title Defense

The entire point to these arguments is that Christian needs a title defense under his belt as a world champion. After just five days as World Heavyweight Champion (actually, just two, based on the taping schedule), Christian was no longer a world champion. In his very first title defense, Orton got the best of him and it took Christian months to get the championship back. While we have all dealt with Christian being a paper champion on his first go-around, this reign is all about making Christian a guy that deserves to stay on top.

With a loss on Sunday, Christian falls into a Psycho Sid-like legacy. Sid was given the world championship in 1996, which led to historic lows in pay-per-view buys. It was one of the reasons that the belt was put back onto Shawn Michaels in early 1997. Sid was able to beat Bret Hart back for the title weeks later just so that he could face The Undertaker at WrestleMania and become yet another victim. Sid's two title reigns make for one of the worst ever money draws to become a world champion. After his first reign, WWE looked to have similar faith in Christian. Does lightning strike twice or will Christian actually have a respectable reign?