WWE Survivor Series 2011 Results: The Miz and Top 9 Challengers for WWE Title

WWE fans can sleep peacefully tonight—CM Punk is WWE Champion again.

Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio via Anaconda Vise to win the WWE title, getting some sweet payback on the same man who took the belt from him way back in August.

Now that Punk is holding the WWE's most coveted title, however, there will be no shortage of suitors lining up to take it away from him just like Del Rio did.

Who will do it? We'll find out the answer to that question way down the road (hopefully).

But here is a look at the top current contenders for Punk's WWE Championship.

Note: I'll rank them from nine to one, with No. 9 being the least likely to be Punk's next challenger and No. 1 being the most likely.

9. Mason Ryan

Mason Ryan is nowhere near ready to be wrestling for secondary titles, much less World titles.

But that hasn't stopped the WWE from putting a World championship on wrestlers such as The Great Khali in the past, and I'm sure it won't stop them from doing it again in the future.

But Ryan's probably not going to be a serious WWE Championship contender anytime soon.

He's got a ton of work to do on his in-ring skills, and he doesn't really fit well in his current baby face role. 

Especially after a rather lackluster performance at Survivor Series, call Ryan a longshot at best.

8. Triple H

Triple H is currently out of action with a storyline injury, and he's undoubtedly headed for a feud with Kevin Nash upon his return.

But by the time that rivalry concludes, you never really know where Triple H will be in regards to Punk.

They've got a good bit of recent history together, going from bitter enemies to best buddies and tag team partners in a span of just a few months, and I've always felt like there's a bit of unfinished business between those two.

Triple H is more of a "special attraction" wrestler at the moment, however, so I can't see him competing for the WWE Championship anytime in the near future unless the situation is absolutely perfect for him to be doing so.

7. Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger isn't really getting any type of push at the moment and probably won't be for a while, but he still has at least somewhat of a chance at rising up the ranks.

The last time Swagger was competing for World championships, he was doing virtually nothing beforehand and then came completely out of the blue to be one of the top stars on SmackDown.

He could certainly do it again.

Swagger has the look and athleticism to be a main-eventer, but it's all about how the WWE decides to book him going forward. The good news, though, is that Swagger lasted reasonably long in the 5-on-5 match at last night's Survivor Series, longer than any other Raw star in fact.

Maybe this is a sign that the WWE brass have a little more faith in him than we might think.

6. Dolph Ziggler

There's only one thing standing in between Dolph Ziggler and a WWE Championship feud with CM Punk, and that's the United States Championship.

Ziggler successfully defended his US title against John Morrison at Survivor Series, and though that wasn't surprising at all, the WWE still has to find a way to get the strap off of Ziggler before he can be elevated to the main event.

The solution is simple: Have him drop it to Zack Ryder.

Ziggler can quickly recover, get some solid TV victories over a few upper mid-carders and then work his way toward a WWE title feud with Punk.

I think there are a lot of wrestling fans who really want to see a Punk/Ziggler feud, but a number of things need to happen before we can get there.

And that may take a while.

5. John Cena

We saw a mini-feud between John Cena and CM Punk at the start of 2011 and a full-fledged one over the summer that led to arguably the two best matches of the year.

And the second part of that sentence is precisely why I think we could see Punk/Cena again.

Face vs. face feuds generally only work when the two wrestlers involved are huge stars—like Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker—and Punk vs. Cena would certainly fit that bill.

Though we've already seen those two face off several times this year, I enjoyed it and actually wouldn't mind seeing it again. 

Plus, we all know that Cena's not going to stray away from the WWE Championship for too long, especially after his big victory over The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series last night.

4. Brodus Clay

Brodus Clay's return to the ring keeps get pushed back for some reason, and I can't help but think that it's because the creative team is waiting for the right time and the right angle.

Rumor has it that Clay "will be involved in the top storylines on Raw" when he comes back, and a WWE Championship feud with Punk is a real possibility.

Clay once served as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard so I could see a situation where he returns to help ADR and actually winds up passing over him on his way to a rivalry with Punk.

Though he hasn't been around too long, Clay is a rare big man, one who stands 6'8" but possesses the same athleticism and agility as guys who are much smaller than him.

He's going to make some noise when he re-debuts, and Punk might be hearing it.

3. The Miz

After getting pinned by The Rock in last night's big tag team match, The Miz isn't looking all that great right now.

But there are only a select number of heel options for CM Punk to feud with on Monday Night Raw, and The Miz might be the best option.

He and Punk are arguably the top two mic workers in all of the WWE, and at least from a promo perspective, that feud could potentially be a great one.

They've wrestled a few times on Raw recently, too, and though they never really turned it up all the way, I liked what I saw.

Until Chris Jericho re-signs with the WWE, The Miz vs. CM Punk is probably the closest resemblance to a Y2J/Punk feud we're going to see. 

2. R-Truth

R-Truth is coming off a loss at Survivor Series...but he didn't take the pin.

So, I could see a situation where he and The Miz start teasing dissension before both men gun for CM Punk and the WWE Championship.

The concept of this feud, however, would be that Truth gets to challenge Punk for the WWE title because he didn't get pinned and has been the one who's "carried the team."

Truth's been really good in his heel role, and he's never had a feud with Punk. So, at the very least, this would provide a fresh rivalry that we've never seen before.

I'm not begging for a Punk/Truth feud, but I'd be fine with seeing one.

1. Alberto Del Rio

Well, duh.

CM Punk beat Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship on Sunday, so it's only logical that this feud continues for at least another month or so as ADR tries to win his title back.

I think we can pencil these men in for a bout at next month's WWE TLC pay-per-view that will, in all likelihood, be the blowoff match to this feud.

Expect to see Punk vs. Del Rio in a Ladder match at the show, with Punk winning and officially moving on from Del Rio.

For good.