WWE Hell in a Cell 2011: 3 Possible Feuds If Randy Orton Loses on Sunday

After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Mark Henry at Night of Champions, Randy Orton will receive one opportunity to regain the title at Hell in a Cell.

I expect Orton to loses, however, so it begs the question of what Orton will do after Sunday. SmackDown is pretty short on main event heels, so he really doesn't have too many options at this point. He could always feud with a RAW superstar since all RAWs are now super shows, but there aren't many choices there either.

The WWE will certainly have its work cut out if Orton is to remain relevant without being in pursuit of the title. Here are three feuds that Orton could possibly engage in following Hell in a Cell.

Christian

Orton engaged in a long feud with Christian over the World Heavyweight Championship that ended in a very one-sided manner. Over a host of matches on SmackDown and pay-per-views, Christian won only once, and that was by disqualification.

Most fans are probably sick of this particular feud, although it certainly had its moments. Christian is gold on the microphone, so he was able to play well of Orton's intense demeanor. Also, the two of them put on a few excellent matches, particularly at SummerSlam and Capitol Punishment.

Granted we've already seen it before, at least Orton would be in good hands with Christian. The matches would continue to be entertaining and Christian would get the most out of Orton from a storyline perspective. Still, the WWE probably wouldn't go back to the well already.

Wade Barrett

How the mighty have fallen. Wade Barrett was the leader of Nexus at this time last year and was heavily involved in all of the WWE's most important storylines. Now, he usually appears in thrown together six-man tag team matches and sometimes wrestles on Superstars.

Barrett is extremely talented on the mic and has some impressive qualities in the ring as well. He is undoubtedly one of the WWE's finest talents, but there simply isn't anything for him to do right now. Enter Randy Orton.

Even if Barrett loses the feud, he could use the rub provided by feuding with one of the company's biggest stars. Barrett would surely school Orton in terms of promos, so putting him in a feud with Orton would help extenuate his best qualities. It would take some work to link them together, but I think the feud would be quite interesting.

Cody Rhodes

While it already seems to be in the making, a proper feud between Orton and Cody Rhodes would be great since there would be so many subplots. Rhodes was a member of Orton's Legacy stable, so they have plenty of history together and could draw from that moving forward.

Also, Orton and Rhodes have had a number of matches as of late, and following one of them Orton accidentally busted Rhodes open with the ring bell. Rhodes could accuse Orton of trying to further disfigure him and threaten to do the same to him.

The one thing possibly holding this feud back is that Rhodes currently holds the Intercontinental Championship. Even so, I think it would be great to have a star like Orton contend for the Intercontinental Championship. The title used to mean a lot in the 1980s and 1990s, but it has lost a lot of its luster.

If Orton makes the title a priority, then it will seem important again, and that is something that has been missing from the mid card for quite some time.