WWE: 10 Ways Christian Can Get Back in the World Title Picture

Christian rose out of mid-card hell earlier in the year and battled Randy Orton in an epic feud that lasted most of the summer.

And what a surprise—Christian is right back where he started.

Though Captain Charisma had two World Heavyweight Championship reigns, those reigns combined lasted less than a month, and you could argue that Christian is no better off now than he was in March.

Then again, you could also argue that Christian is still the No. 1 heel on the SmackDown brand, and thus, his heel turn and subsequent push paid off in the long run.

Either way, though, it’s almost a guarantee that Christian will be out of the World title picture for the foreseeable future.

Will he have to wait a while to get back to the top? Better yet, will he ever?

Well, I obviously can’t guarantee anything, but here are 10 ways that Christian can get back to the World Heavyweight Championship scene on SmackDown (in order from least likeliest to likeliest in my opinion).

10. Lead His Survivor Series Team to a Win

In a similar article about The Miz, I wrote:

"

The Survivor Series buy-rate has been really, really low over the past few years, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the five-on-five elimination matches generally have no impact on the bigger picture.

You win, you win. You lose, you lose. That’s it.

Well, how about this for a change? The stipulation of the 5-on-5 match: All the remaining members of the winning team are entered into a No. 1 Contender’s Match for the WWE Championship, and if only one wrestler remains, he automatically becomes the No. 1 contender.

"

So, why not do essentially the exact same thing with Christian?

You could have Team Christian vs. Team ________ (someone like Sheamus or Daniel Bryan), with Christian standing tall as the lone survivor for his team at the end of the match.

Just like that, Captain Charisma is right back in the World Heavyweight Championship picture.

9. Win the 2012 Royal Rumble

There has been a mix of both established veterans and up-and-comers who have won the 30-Man (or 40-Man) Royal Rumble match in recent years.

Plenty of guys had already held a World title before their Rumble wins—Edge (2010), Randy Orton (2009), John Cena (2008), Undertaker (2007) etc.—but others used the match to get their first taste of World title gold, such as Alberto Del Rio (2011), Batista (2006) and Rey Mysterio (2005).

Therefore, there’s a chance that it will be a main event newbie or a main event mainstay who wins the 2012 Royal Rumble. But four of the last five Rumble winners had previously been main eventers, and that trend could continue again next year.

Once you eliminate whoever’s holding the World Heavyweight and WWE Championship come Rumble time, then the list of potential winners is relatively thin.

Christian will be on the short list of threats to win the 2012 Royal Rumble, though I think it’s more likely that the creative team goes in a different direction.

8. Turn Face

Turn Face

Christian only turned heel a couple months ago, and his new, whiny, “I’m going to hide behind my lawyers” persona has worked wonders for him so far.

But could the WWE possibly “pull a Kane” and turn Christian face shortly after turning him heel? You have to think that that option is always on the table.

It really depends on what the WWE—and more specifically, SmackDown—needs at the particular time, and if what the blue brand needs is another top face, then Christian could be the guy they use for that slot.

He’s good enough to complete any type of turn, and as you can tell when he’s face, he’s someone who’s easy to cheer for.

7. Beat the Best That Smackdown Has To Offer

On last Friday’s SmackDown, Christian beat Daniel Bryan in a very competitive match that showed that he’s still one of the top competitors on the blue brand.

Perhaps every week Christian could wrestle and defeat some of the top mid-card faces that SmackDown has to offer, such as Bryan, Sin Cara and Justin Gabriel.

It’s important to have these matches be competitive so as not to bury the other guys, but it’s also important to have Christian come out on top so that he can lay claim to beating the best superstars SmackDown has to offer week in and week out.

If Christian keeps doing that, then he’s destined to be back in the World title scene sooner or later.

At least he should be.

6. Beat Daniel Bryan for His Money in the Bank Briefcase

Speaking of Daniel Bryan, he’s looking for a feud. And guess what? So is Christian.

Common sense says that you put these two guys, who are arguably SmackDown’s top two in-ring competitors, in a feud and let them put on a show for the fans.

A Bryan/Christian rivalry would obviously be great wrestling-wise, and it could also present Bryan with an opportunity to do some promo work with one of the top talkers in the business.

I’d watch this feud no matter what the basis of it was (for the most part), but if the creative team wants to make it even more interesting, then they could do so by having Christian—who’s so incensed by not being in the World Championship picture—go after Bryan’s Money in the Bank briefcase.

Maybe we’ll see this match happen on pay-per-view somewhere down the road, possibly even at Survivor Series.

5. Stay out of Mark Henry's Way

Mark Henry has been wreaking absolute havoc on SmackDown.

He sidelined Kane, he injured The Big Show and he’s now trying to do the same to Randy Orton. So, here’s a reminder to Christian: Stay the hell out of Henry’s way.

If the World’s Strongest Man continues to decimate everyone on SmackDown, then there are going to be relatively few options for the World Heavyweight Champion—whoever that may be—to feud with.

If Christian doesn’t cross paths with Henry, then he’s not going to get himself hurt. Thus, he’ll continue to be a major player in the World title scene.

4. Win Smackdown’s Elimination Chamber Match

At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February, SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match will likely either be for the World Heavyweight Championship or the No. 1 Contender’s spot, depending on who wins the Royal Rumble.

Whatever the case may be, though, there’s a fairly good chance that Christian will be one of the six competitors from the blue brand.

Will he win it? That’s six months from now, so I have no idea.

But the fact that winning the Elimination Chamber guarantees someone a World title shot makes it one of the easiest booking tactics the creative team can use.

Have Christian win it, and he’s headed to WrestleMania 28 to wrestle for the World Heavyweight Championship. 

3. Work His Way From the Bottom Up

If you watched last Friday’s SmackDown, then you probably noticed that special guest General Manager Bret Hart initially told Christian he’d have “go back to the bottom” if he wanted another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship.

That’s exactly what Christian should do.

I’m not talking about “the bottom” being the mid-card, either. The actual bottom is the lower card against guys like Yoshi Tatsu, Trent Barretta and Heath Slater.

If I were booking SmackDown, I’d have Christian relegated to matches against the blue brand’s lower-tier wrestlers, and perhaps, even put him on Superstars every once in a while.

It would be a unique angle for Christian, who could either refuse to wrestle those guys or beat the living crap out of them before moving onto the mid-card, doing the same and then finally making his way back to the World title scene.

2. Hope Like Hell That Randy Orton Loses the World Title

As long as Randy Orton is the World Heavyweight Champion, Christian won’t be challenging for it.

Why? Because as good as that feud was, I don’t think the creative team wants to go that route again so soon.

In all honestly, it would just be lazy booking to put Christian in another feud with Orton later this year or even in early 2012. Give someone else a shot at winning the World title from Orton.

And, if someone actually does it, then Christian has a much better chance at reclaiming the World Heavyweight Championship.

1. Sheamus Wins the World Heavyweight Championship

SmackDown has had two huge turns already this year: Sheamus turning face and Christian turning heel.

I’d argue, though, that it was Sheamus’ involvement in Christian’s feud with Randy Orton that helped turn the Celtic Warrior heel, as the way Christian screwed him over a couple of times helped him get some sympathy from the fans.

Ultimately, I thought the plan all along was for Christian to move on to a feud with Sheamus once his rivalry with Orton cooled down, and I still think that’s the plan.

Christian and Sheamus will collide at some point down the road, whether it’s for the World Heavyweight Championship or not.

But the only way I see it being for that coveted World title is if Sheamus somehow wins it first.