It's safe to assume that Christian wouldn't have been anywhere near the main event scene in 2011 had Edge not been forced into retirement. Quickly, Christian was thrust into a Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. Beating his Mexican counterpart at the Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View, Christian realised a lifelong dream. That moment when Edge stared up at his childhood buddy, tears in his eyes, will never be forgotten. Sadly, WWE crushed the niceness of the moment by booking Randy Orton to defeat Christian the following week on Smackdown. The situation was distinctly strange, there was no need for WWE to have Christian drop the World Title so quickly. Christian's title win had felt like an emotional moment. Fans realised that the man was not viewed as a top headliner in the company long before Extreme Rules, so the win felt huge for them too. As a result of beating Christian on Smackdown, Orton was on the receiving end of boos from the crowd. There were a lot of unhappy people in attendance, and it became clear that Christian was a transitional champion.