WWE: Why Randy Orton Will Once Again Be on Top of SmackDown

Randy Orton is currently stuck in a feud with former protege Cody Rhodes, while Mark Henry continues his program with the Big Show.

That isn't to say Orton's program with Rhodes hasn't been captivating. Quite the contrary, as I'm a big fan of seeing these two former friends go up against each other.

However, Orton is one of, if not the top baby face on Smackdown and one of the companies biggest draws overall. It's a matter of time until the strap is back around his oiled waist. The reasons behind this are plentiful, but there are three main things that stand out.

The first is that Orton is such a marketable superstar. He occupies the market space that John Cena doesn't, because fans who aren't girls and kids can get behind him as a superstar. 

The WWE needs Orton to at least be in the title picture because he brings in pay-per-view buys from the adult male fans.

His market dominance isn't quite as big as Cena's, because there are more superstars out there who can also captivate the same audience; however, Orton is the biggest draw the WWE has right now when it comes to the 20-35-year-old male audience that makes up the WWE's hardcore audience.

Another reason Orton will soon be holding the championship belt above his head is because he's a much more versatile champion than current one, Mark Henry, could ever hope to be.

Henry simply doesn't have the athleticism that is required to put on a good program with everyone on the roster. 

The World's Strongest Man is generally set up to be a monster who comes in and dominates everyone. Currently, he's played a bit of the coward card against Big Show, but he doesn't really have many other characters that he can play well.

This means that it's difficult for Henry to put on an interesting feud with very many people, before it becomes stale.

Orton, on the hand, has the ability to feud with almost anyone on the roster and have the fans love it.

He's mastered the art of playing the tweener role; having fans eat of his hands, while he buries his opponents with his vicious punt finisher.

He has the strength to convincingly take down someone like Henry, while maintaining the athleticism needed to put on a program with someone like Daniel Bryan or Sin Cara.

The final reason Orton needs to have the championship belt back is that he can use it to put over younger talent. Yes, Henry could drop the strap to a guy like Sheamus or Wade Barrett, and that could elevate the young star to new heights.

However, they wouldn't soar as high as they would in beating Orton. Henry is in his first title run—I'm not counting his ECW title reign. Orton is a nine-time champion.

Henry is on his way out at 40 years old. Orton is only 31 and will continue to improve his Hall of Fame career for the next five to 10 years.

Simply said, Orton is the more accomplished Superstar and a victory over him would carry much more weight in the wrestling community.

Orton probably won't have a legitimate chance to pick up the belt until the Royal Rumble. Giving him the strap at that point sets him up to either put over a young talent at WrestleMania, or put him in a program against an established star to try and get more pay-per-view buys.

Imagine seeing Orton go up against a guy like Daniel Bryan and putting him over in a way that almost no one else in the company could.

Whichever way the company chooses to go, there's no way they can keep Orton out of the championship picture for long. He's simply too good and too marketable to not be back in the picture very soon.

Look for him to enter the discussion following Survivor Series and then beat Henry out at the Royal Rumble, before moving on to a huge feud that blows off at WrestleMania.