WWE Smackdown: What Will Christian's Next Big Impact Be?

Since February of this year, Christian has been riding a wave of excitement. His return at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was different than most returns because fans could feel some purpose behind his moments.

Christian had Smackdown main events in his future, and his days in company with weekly Superstars mainstays were over. Finally, Christian had been forgiven for going to TNA and paying his dues in ECW. Christian's rise to the world title he never got in WWE was on.

What made it even better was that Christian was doing it alongside his good friend and one-time storyline brother, Edge. Edge was World Heavyweight Champion at the time, and Alberto Del Rio was chasing him for it. Del Rio injured Christian on his journey to winning the 40-man Royal Rumble in January. Christian returned looking for blood against Del Rio and tried to prevent Edge from suffering the same fate.

After defending at WrestleMania, Edge technically did as he was forced into retirement. Del Rio seemed to be the clear choice as the next world champion but needed an opponent to replace Edge at Extreme Rules. Christian was the obvious replacement, and his defining moment in WWE was achieved. A man who helped define a TLC match and won the first two in history, Christian climbed a ladder and won the World Heavyweight Championship.

From that moment on, it all began going downhill for him. Just 24 hours after that night, WWE held a draft night, which saw Del Rio go to RAW and superstars like Mark Henry, Sheamus and Randy Orton come to Smackdown.

The following day, an episode of Smackdown was taped which saw Christian have a title match against Orton. Orton would win the title from Christian, ending his world title run after five days officially, due to Smackdown airing on Friday nights.

Christian would ask for rematches for Orton's title. After a Match of the Year candidate at Over the Limit and a controversial end to Capitol Punishment's match, Christian won the World Heavyweight Championship back at Money in the Bank.

At that point, Christian's attitude had completely changed, and he was whittled down to a whiny superstar complaining about calls being made against him in favor of Orton. It was because of this attitude that the stipulation at Money in the Bank was so ridiculous. If Randy Orton got disqualified in the match, Christian would win the title.

During the match, Christian angered Orton and got hit below the belt for it, making Christian the first-ever world title winner via a hit to the groin. Christian was a two-time world champion, but one win meant a lot more than the other. Four weeks later, Christian would lose to Orton yet again at SummerSlam in a No Holds Barred match.

This was the time when Christian's "one more match" campaign kicked in. Christian would get his match against Orton inside a steel cage on Super Smackdown, only to lose. He would also challenge Mark Henry once he became champion at Night of Champions. Christian was unsuccessful yet again.

Christian was now a two-time former world champion without any direction. His feud with Sheamus seemed to lead to The Celtic Warrior getting a chance at the world title, while Christian would float around with no direction.

So what does Smackdown do with Christian now? Well, I haven't read any spoilers about anything, but it probably does have something to do with this alliance with David Otunga at the helm. The walkout on RAW Monday night also helps this being a part of Christian's next move. I can't imagine how much of a "SuperShow" RAW will be beginning next week, but Christian still has Friday nights to call home.

Christian could lead an alliance on Smackdown in the same fashion that Otunga and Vickie Guerrero lead on RAW. Christian can find superstars to side with him on issues with COO Triple H. The problem is that this doesn't actually give him a real feud. He can't work well with the big Mark Henry, especially because they are both heels. Once Henry loses it, perhaps to Sheamus, Christian can go after the title and a top face. Sheamus becomes a perfect fit for future feuds with Christian.

The two can put on fantastic matches, especially on pay-per-view with a title up for grabs. Christian is one of the men spearheading this movement, while Sheamus hasn't. In fact, Sheamus was one of the superstars who never came to the ring to participate in the walk-out. In some circles, Sheamus comes across as a scab. Also factor in his similar style to that of Triple H's and that The Game sees a bit of himself in Sheamus, and you can build a heck of a story from that.

Sheamus and Christian could be a nice WrestleMania match and can settle in under the radar if the title is not involved. It is hard to say what all of this walk-out talk and lawsuit rumors will lead to, but Christian will be involved in it for sure.

Christian is in dire need of something new and edgy, no pun intended, and can deliver if this storyline plays out correctly for him. Let's just hope that this isn't the last we have seen of Christian toward the main event.