WWE's creative team has discussed having Randy Orton win the 2011 Royal Rumble, thus earning a World Championship opportunity at WrestleMania XXVII. This would mean that he would drop the WWE Championship prior to the event. He was originally scheduled to lose the belt to Wade Barrett at Bragging Rights, but the idea was nixed just days before the show. Of course, plans are always changing in WWE so absolutely nothing is confirmed as of this writing.
There is a lot of concern within WWE right now due to the lack of talent depth on both the RAW and SmackDown! rosters. Between all the superstars getting injured (Undertaker, Triple H, CM Punk), leaving the company (Shawn Michaels, Batista) and the company not elevating new stars until recently, the feeling is that the roster is the weakest it has been in years and the company needs to get its young talent over fast.
Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter