Could Christian return as a face?

Since returning to the WWE in 2009, Christian has spent most of his time as a baby face. It wasn't until June of 2011 that Christian turned heel during his attempts to regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton. Less than one year later, it seems far too soon to be suggesting yet another turn for Captain Charisma. However, you must consider one major factor:

Edge.

As most of us already know, Edge is part of the 2012 class that will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before Wrestlemania XXVIII. When the Rated R Superstar was announced as an inductee in January, I think many people came to the same conclusion. It would only be fitting if the man to do his induction speech was his former partner and lifelong best friend, Christian. It would be a great moment and doing it any other way is sure to cause unrest among the fan base. There's one little problem, though.

Not only is Christian still a heel, but WWE specifically went out of their way last summer to break up Edge and Christian's story line relationship. You may recall the following happening before Christian's WHC defense versus Randy Orton at SummerSlam.

Edge and Christian would cross paths weeks later during a SmackDown that took place in the two's hometown of Toronto, Canada. The story was essentially the same. Christian attempted to use Edge so that he could get "one more match" for the world title. Edge once again called him a bitch, although it was cutoff that time to stay PG on television. E&C haven't been seen together on television since.

If Christian is to be the one who does Edge's induction speech, some on-air work may have to be done to his character. That alone could spell for a return and face turn for Captain Charisma in the near future. Whether or not it happens will likely depend on his Wrestlemania plans. If, like I predict, the World Heavyweight Championship match at 'Mania ends up being a non-singles match featuring three or more competitors, Christian will be a possible entry into that match. Those who make surprise returns (which Christian is capable of after the Elimination Chamber) typically are used for major programs. If this were to happen, I think it's unlikely Christian turns face.

On the other hand, if Christian returns and is not used in a major role, I think it ups the chance he does turn. Christian could become a contender in the rumored Money in the Bank match that will take place at Wrestlemania this year. He could turn face, do Edge's speech, and the be one of the few faces in that match at Wrestlemania. When I say few faces, I do mean few. We already know Cena will face the Rock at Mania. CM Punk will likely be in the WWE Championship match. Sheamus will be in the world title match. Orton could be in either the world title match or the ladder match, although I'm currently leaning toward the former due to a WHC match possibly not being attractive enough with just Sheamus and one heel. That leaves mid-card faces such as Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston to fill out a potential six or eight man ladder match with heels such as the Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, and Mark Henry. That's not good. Having someone such as Christian turn face beforehand would help make this proposed idea become more realistic.

We may also have to consider how heel heavy the WWE has become. SmackDown seems to be doing fine in terms of balance. There are top faces such as Randy Orton, Sheamus, and the Big Show. They're currently complimented by Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, and Cody Rhodes. As mentioned in my Elimination Chamber piece, RAW is missing that kind of balance. There's CM Punk and John Cena without a true third baby face due to Zack Ryder being kayfabe injured. Even if that wasn't the case, he'd be a weak third man since he's not yet main event caliber. Heels on RAW include Kane, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Alberto Del Rio (although injured), and, seemingly, Chris Jericho.

Why do I bring up RAW's current imbalance? If 2012 is anything like 2011, Wrestlemania will be shortly followed by the WWE Draft. Last year's draft took place just weeks after 'Mania, right before Christian first won the world championship at Extreme Rules. Christian could be a prime candidate to switch to the red brand come draft time if he has turned face beforehand. This is just another Pandora's Box of possibilities.

As you can see, there's no easy way to predict this. Sorting through the logic of the potential scenarios is enough to make your head explode. WWE will need to decide whether or not to commit to having Christian do Edge's induction speech (which they should do by any means necessary). They must also decide if Christian can do the speech as is, or whether or not his onscreen persona should be adjusted for this specific role. It wouldn't surprise me to see him do the speech but nothing be done to his character, and thus this entire post would be much ado about nothing. But I think we could all agree that doing nothing would be very lazy writing on their part due to Edge and Christian's supposed damaged friendship in the most recent on-air stories.

If a face turn is in the works, I don't think I can complain. Christian's road to a third world championship seems difficult whether he be a heel or baby face. The mark in me wouldn't mind seeing the Christian that slaps his chest and puts on a big smile for the audience either. It seems crazy to think so, but we may be only months, if not weeks away from seeing Captain Charisma searching for his Peeps once again.

Peace,

Daniel