WWE Vengeance 2011: Why Cody Rhodes Needs a Clean Win Over Randy Orton

In what is sure to be a highly-entertaining match, Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes will take on Randy Orton at Vengeance on Sunday.

The two wrestlers were once allies as part of Legacy, but they have developed a bitter feud over the past few weeks.

Orton and Rhodes have had several matches on RAW and SmackDown, and while there was bad blood, the rivalry didn't seem to be going anywhere at first. That all changed when Orton busted Rhodes open with the ring bell just following a match.

This enraged Rhodes, who began interfering in Orton's matches, including his World Heavyweight Championship match against Mark Henry on SmackDown last week. Rhodes proceeded to hit Cross Rhodes on Orton and placed a paper bag over his head.

Orton will be out for revenge against Rhodes on Sunday, and while most believe he will probably exact that revenge, I think it would be a big mistake to give Orton the win.

Orton has been built up as unstoppable over the past year until just recently, as he has lost a couple matches to Henry cleanly.

Because of that, now is the perfect time to give Rhodes the rub over Orton. The WWE creative team doesn't need to book Orton as unbeatable at this point because he has been proven to be human during his feud with Henry.

An Orton/Rhodes feud has tons of potential, and I think most wrestling fans would like to see it continue on for quite some time. But, in order to make Rhodes look like a legitimate threat to Orton, he needs to strike first blood by scoring a clean win over Orton at Vengeance.

If Rhodes officially starts the feud by eating an RKO and losing on pay-per-view, then his credibility will probably be lost as far as the viewing audience is concerned. A win over Orton would make him look like a true threat, however, and might make people doubt Orton to the point where he becomes an underdog of sorts.

A loss wouldn't necessarily make Orton weak, though, as there are plenty of ways to make him look good in defeat.

The best way would probably be for Rhodes to strike Orton with his mask. I understand this may not seem like a completely clean way to win, but he has used the mask on a number of occasions legally, so it would be a clean win while giving Orton a built-in excuse.

Even if Rhodes somehow surprises Orton with a school boy or small package, that would be perfectly adequate. It may not make Rhodes look overly strong, but it would further the perception that he might be in Orton's head.

However the writers decide to do the finish, it simply has to involve Rhodes winning.

Rhodes has main-event talent and could very well be a future world champion, so the last thing he needs is to be buried by Orton.

A clean win over Orton, though, would be absolutely huge for his development.