Is Christian Hall of Fame Worthy?

[bigtrav01]

I just re-watched Christian winning the World Heavyweight Title at Extreme Rules, and as I watched him climb up that ladder and grab the belt I didn't get the same feeling I got the first time. The first time was happiness, after all these years of working Christian finally did it, he was finally world champion, this time though, I thought, is this really what should have happened, Christian winning then getting that short reign, is this as good as I thought it was, can this possible make him a Hall of Famer?

Sure Christian has won the tag titles and mid card titles plenty of times, but in todays WWE all that matters is winning one of the two world titles that WWE has. While plenty of guys have gotten in the HoF without winning the World Title, but times were different then, you didn't have to be a world champion to become legendary, but it seems like you have to in todays WWE.

So I guess it comes down to one question, if Christian were to retire today, with all of the accomplishments that he has, would he be a Hall of Famer, or just a great wrestler that didn't stay in the world title picture enough to be recognized for his talent?

 

[Constipated Badger Bottom]

While i'm not a massive Christian fan comapred to others on this forum, I wasn't really that upset when he lost the Heavyweight title although I do agree with others that it wouldn't of done hm any harm to have him hold the title till Over The Limit but was happy to see him win that Title

But don't forget what he did for Tag Team wrestling aswell, he along with Edge & The Hardy's introduced us to tag team Ladder matches in 99, then the Dudley's were added to the equastion which brought Triple Threat Tag Team Ladder matches at Wrestlemania 16 which stole the show and then just a few months later TLC matches were introduced which saw those 6 men steal the show again a Year later

And I think on purely on those contributions alone that Christian along with those 5 other men are Hall Of Fame worthy but if you add in is single's titles I think Christian is a shoe-in for the Hall Of Fame

 

[WWWYKI777]

The WWE hall of fame has Drew Carrey in it........ Drew.... freaking...... Carrey.......

Therefore by WWEs actual standards , not only does Christian deserve to be in the hall of fame but so does every other wrestler who has ever even worked 1 match for them.

Even if not for the fact that the WWE HOF has no integrity , I'd still say yes he should be inducted when he retires.

 

[Banetyson]

Well, I dunno. Drew Carrey did accomplish a LOT in the Royal Rumble. Christain has only been world champion once. Oh yeah he helped define that whole TLC thing. Was an ECW champion. NAH, I don't think he'll ever get in.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Well, I dunno. Drew Carrey did accomplish a LOT in the Royal Rumble. Christain has only been world champion once. Oh yeah he helped define that whole TLC thing. Was an ECW champion. NAH, I don't think he'll ever get in.

He's only ever held the world title once? So what? And yes, while the ECW title in WWE was not a big deal, Christian was still the premier wrestler on that brand until it was dropped. But lets not just look at those 2 belts.

You say he helped define the whole TLC thing? You mean the series of tag team matches that were the best tag team matches the WWE had seen in many years, and STILL stands out as one of the greatest periods in tag team wrestling that the company has ever seen? Yeah, not a big deal really....

Lets look at his title record in WWE....

World Heavyweight Champion- 1x
ECW Champion- 1x
Intercontinental Champion- 3x
Tag Team Champion- 9x (Edge 7x, Lance Storm 1x, Chris Jericho 1x)
European Champion- 1x
Light Heavyweight Champion- 1x
Hardcore Champion- 1x

He is also the 18th Grand Slam Champion, and the 23rd Triple Crown Champion.

His list of accomplishments in WWE is pretty enormous, with almost certainly more to come before he hangs up his boots. He was part of one of the all time greatest tag-teams in E&C, was part of the first ever tag team ladder match, basically helped to create TLC matches and has been seriously over as a face and a heel throughout his career. Christian has always been extremely popular, and the fans were dying to see him hold the world title, even just once. He is one of the few wrestlers in the company who has been there since the middle of the Attitude era, and has been very capable of playing a serious character, as well as the goofy 5 second pose era E&C.

If you look at some of the others wrestlers in the HOF, their accomplishments pale in comparison to Christians. He is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of the company, and while never been a permenant main eventer, I certainly think he has achieved more than enough to be seriously considered for entry into the HOF in the future.

Who knows? We may even see a couple more title reigns in his future. I certainly hope so, Captain Charisma is always a guy I love to see on my TV, and I would be very happy to see him inducted into the Hall Of Fame in years to come, hopefully by Edge.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

World Heavyweight Champion- 1x
ECW Champion- 1x
Intercontinental Champion- 3x
Tag Team Champion- 9x (Edge 7x, Lance Storm 1x, Chris Jericho 1x)
European Champion- 1x
Light Heavyweight Champion- 1x
Hardcore Champion- 1x

He is also the 18th Grand Slam Champion, and the 23rd Triple Crown Champion.

This answers the question quite well.

He's also one of the best workers they have, now, and maybe of all-time. Bret Hart compared Christian's work ethic to that of Owen's, and if anybody knows anything about Owen Hart they will know he was a tremendous worker. Christian is like the Owen Hart of today, terrific wrestler, loved by the fans, but WWE don't share the opinion. Although, they're seeming to have noticed his talents now.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

If you are talking about the WWE Hall of Fame then surely he will get in there one day. Naitch has already listed his achievements so I won't go back there. Apart from that he has participated in numerous great feuds over the years both as a part of E&C and as a singles wrestler. His feuds with Jericho, Orton, Del Rio and a mini feud with Cena stand out in particular. He also did some very good work as ECW Champion and made a lot of people seem better than they actually are. As for the just one championship arguement, there are plenty of guys in the WWE HOF with zero championships. There are plenty who are just in there for being a part of the roster for a number of years. WWE honors even the jobbers who have stood with them and Christian is no jobber. He has been an integral part of the mid and the upper midcards over the years and now he is an integral part of the main event. He might even win a few more championship belts in the future. He certainly would not headline a class or anything but he will surely get there.

The WZ Hall of Fame we are in the process of constructing here is a slightly different story. Here we are placing the importance of achievement over anything else. We are in theory trying to build a perfect HOF here and one in which there will be a limit on the number of members. Will Christian make it here? Probably not. This is not a slight on Christian as a performer but the fact that there are guys who are far more deserving than him to go into the HOF. Even if he does make it to the WZ HOF one day it will not be before a long time. We are after all trying to create a Hall of Fame here, not a Hall of the Very Good. We have to seperate between the guys who are just very good and the best and Christian is very good but not the best.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

Christian has accomplished alot in wrestling and he is deffinately deserving of a HOF induction, his tagteam accomplishments make him worthy by them selves but he has also made an impact on wrestling when him, edge, and the hardys revolutionized tagteam wrestling, and not to take anything away from Christian, but if the likes of Koko B. ware is in the HOF than just about anyone can be.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Oh I didnt even consider the fact that we could be talking about the WZ HOF as well as the real WWE HOF.

WWE hall of fame - YES. He is more than worthy, as I explained in my earlier post.

WZ hall of fame- NO. If we are having a limit on the number of entrants, and being very particular, then there are many others who are more worthy

This is no way a criticism of Christian, he has done far more in this business than 95% of other wrestlers have, but there are others who have done even more and if there is to be only a small number going into the WZ HOF, then Christian will miss out, as will so many other excellent talents.

 

[GrandSword]

Not yet. I think a Hall of Famer is someone that if he is out with an injury or leaves the promotion, that company has a huge hole to fill. When he left WWE it didn't even register, and now that he's back it really doesn't matter if he's there or not...

He hasn't reached that level yet. However he could if he keeps figting for the title. His Main Event career in WWE is only just starting. We'll just have to wait and see

 

[Whatsinaname696]

Christian is like Owen, a great worker, but will never (probably) rise to anything more, Owen doesn't deserve to be in (I loved Owen but Dieing doesn't get you in) and neither does Christian at this point, the only way I could see him gettin in would be as E & C, in other words he needs Edge's help, same way he won the world title

 

[Showtime]

Oh I didnt even consider the fact that we could be talking about the WZ HOF as well as the real WWE HOF.

WWE hall of fame - YES. He is more than worthy, as I explained in my earlier post.

WZ hall of fame- NO. If we are having a limit on the number of entrants, and being very particular, then there are many others who are more worthy

This is no way a criticism of Christian, he has done far more in this business than 95% of other wrestlers have, but there are others who have done even more and if there is to be only a small number going into the WZ HOF, then Christian will miss out, as will so many other excellent talents.

I don't understand yes for WWE HOF and no for WZ. If anything Vince might get pissy that Christian went to TNA and was there champion for a number of years. I can't remember all of Christian's title reigns in TNA but I know he has held the NWA-TNA Championship at least twice there, as well as fought against legends like Sting and Kurt Angle. I think he may be the only man to hold the NWA, ECW, and a WWE World Title, as well as more middle card titles than anyone outside of maybe Jericho and Edge. So yes I would say he should def get into WWE and WZ HOF after he hangs them up

 

[Jay Sherman]

Um if there is a tag team in this world that deserves to be in from there tagging era alone it would be E&C. Out of the Dudley s, Hardy Boys, and E&C, they were the most successful of the 3 in the WWE in my opinion. In singles...as a huge Christian mark, yes. The man is a Grand slam champ, and I know he will get one more title reign free from the "He needed Edge" debate. In time he will gather a few nice feuds to add to his credentials, and hopefully his next title run will be a more prominent one. Overall though in WWE HOF, he is a sure fire. WZ HOF....if Gotch is not in yet, then I dont see Christians chance.

 

[FSWWE]

He's only ever held the world title once? So what? And yes, while the ECW title in WWE was not a big deal, Christian was still the premier wrestler on that brand until it was dropped. But lets not just look at those 2 belts.

You say he helped define the whole TLC thing? You mean the series of tag team matches that were the best tag team matches the WWE had seen in many years, and STILL stands out as one of the greatest periods in tag team wrestling that the company has ever seen? Yeah, not a big deal really....

Lets look at his title record in WWE....

World Heavyweight Champion- 1x
ECW Champion- 1x
Intercontinental Champion- 3x
Tag Team Champion- 9x (Edge 7x, Lance Storm 1x, Chris Jericho 1x)
European Champion- 1x
Light Heavyweight Champion- 1x
Hardcore Champion- 1x

He is also the 18th Grand Slam Champion, and the 23rd Triple Crown Champion.

His list of accomplishments in WWE is pretty enormous, with almost certainly more to come before he hangs up his boots. He was part of one of the all time greatest tag-teams in E&C, was part of the first ever tag team ladder match, basically helped to create TLC matches and has been seriously over as a face and a heel throughout his career. Christian has always been extremely popular, and the fans were dying to see him hold the world title, even just once. He is one of the few wrestlers in the company who has been there since the middle of the Attitude era, and has been very capable of playing a serious character, as well as the goofy 5 second pose era E&C.

If you look at some of the others wrestlers in the HOF, their accomplishments pale in comparison to Christians. He is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of the company, and while never been a permenant main eventer, I certainly think he has achieved more than enough to be seriously considered for entry into the HOF in the future.

Who knows? We may even see a couple more title reigns in his future. I certainly hope so, Captain Charisma is always a guy I love to see on my TV, and I would be very happy to see him inducted into the Hall Of Fame in years to come, hopefully by Edge.

I think that Naitch nailed in here, and there is absolutely no way that Christian doesn't deserve a Hall of Fame spot.
He managed to stay relevant, when Edge started to get success, he is now a former World Champion, and a believable main eventer.
He deserves to be inducted only for being part of E&C, just only for that he is in!!

Naitch said everything else, so Christian for Hall of Fame!!

 

[The Future Rises]

He deserves it, and Koko B.Ware got in when he has done absolutely nothing memorable in this business, plus Christian is a great guy for the WWE, just look at him, he didn't complain one bit after losing the World Heavyweight Title in such a short amount of time, and the only reason Owen isn't going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is because of his wife Martha who filed some sort of lawsuit against the WWE.

And Christian has already done a lot of memorable things in the WWE, including being apart of one of the greatest if not greatest WWE tag team in history with Edge, together they held the tag titles 7 times and they revolutionized the TLC match, plus I know it kinda never gets mentioned but when you look back, he has held every title there was in the WWE except for the WWE title but I guess a world title run was good enough.

So Christin is Hall of Fame worthy, I mean can you imagine having Jim Carrey in it, but not a guy who has been so loyal to the company ever since making his big return and working so hard for the WWE ever since he left the rival company?

Just look at Bret Hart, he left on such bad terms yet they still managed to induct him, so if Christian keeps up the hard work and dedication, he should get inducted to the HoF one day.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Get your pitchforks folks because I am going to say "No."

Everyone listed his accomplishments and such, but does that even matter now? Do they talk about his bazillion tag title wins or how he was a spoiled brat or that he made out with Trish Stratus when she was at her most "bang-able"?

I think him leaving for TNA those couple of years really hurt him. Any popularity he was building for himself had to start from scratch when he came back. And to be honest, I still don't think the fans have taken to him like you would assume reading internet feedback. They tried giving him a huge rub via Edge, but that fell flat.

Someone else brought up Koko. Totally different because Koko was a gate keeper, which is guarantees that there's always a spot on the show for him. I don't think Christian has that kind of importance to the show. They had him as the ECW centerpiece, but does that really matter when the guys he carried haven't had booming careers since they worked with Christian? I am not blaming the bookers, I am talking about the guys themselves. Look how uninteresting Zeke and Swaggie are to watch wrestle.

Is Christian talent? Heck yes. However, there are plenty of talented guys with a bunch of belt wins. After watching Christian since 2000, I can honestly say there's nothing about his singles work that is HOF worthy.

 

[TM Punk]

Drew carrey's in the hof. So why would anyone think christian isn't worthy.

He's won basically every title besides the WWE title, including the NWA title that WWE won't recognize. But... yeah. He'll be in the hof. He won't be the main event inductee, but I could see him and edge and jericho all going in on the same night.

 

[MisterRob]

Of course Christian is worthy of the Hall of Fame. His accomplishments in the WWE alone make him so, but he's also an NWA and TNA World champion. His accomplishments, though, in the tag team with Edge make him worthy all by themselves. He helped to revolutionize tag team wrestling and he business, while racking up a large number of title reigns with Edge and becoming one of the best tag teams in the history of the business. Now he's also a two time WWE World champion. Based on all of those accomplishments, and his pure wrestling ability in the ring and on the mic, if that doesn't make him worthy of either the WWE Hall of Fame or certainly the WZ Hall of Fame, the those Hall of Fame's don't have much credibility (not that they will anyway).

 

[iwinulose]

Christian has done alot, he has worked his ass off for the wwf/e for a log time. he has won a few titles and has made some rather amazing feats, he helped revolutionise the ladder match and has always been a fan favourite. unfortunately, his career is not HOF worthy just yet, he needs to do more, make some more feats before his time is up, and if wwe keeps pushing Christian, then i think he may be able to get to the point where his career is HOF worthy, he could do it, he has the talent and the skill, he just needs that big push to get himself there.

 

[JohnEvolution]

When the time is right he will deserve to be in the HoF as one of the greatest Tag Team wrestlers of all time.

 

[Extreme619]

From Christian Experience he is for sure hall of fame worthy but from what has happend now i dont think he is that worthy.. sadly

 

[THE AWESOME MIZFIT]

Without a doubt. He has done so much in the WWE. To this day the guy still puts great quality matches. He is a 2 time World Champion, 7 time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2 time World Tag Team Champion, 2 time ECW Champion, 3 time Intercontinental Champion, Hardcore Champion, Light Heavyweight Champion, European Champion and not to mention help revolutionize the Ladder Match. He was in the TLC match on more then one occasion and also one a few. He is without a doubt Hall of Fame worthy.

 

[Big Papa Santo]

I love Christian, i believe that he has put in a lot of work into this company and has helped revolutionize concept's like the ladder match and the tag team division BUT i don't think that he is Hall of Fame worthy at least not at this point in his career, i mean he's only held one major title (Not including the ECW title) and was a mid-carder for most of his career until his return, so no i don't think that he is worthy, but only time will tell.

 

[LSN80]

Here? As in on the Wrestlezone site? Not even close. Just look at the other names that have already been inducted. Hogan, Thesz, Andre, Flair, and HBK, amongst others. Can you picture Christian, a great talent in his own right, standing next to those men in terms of legacy or accomplishments? I certainly cannot, and I'm a huge Christian fan. Look no further then at the men who have already been rejected here in our HOF. Sanmartino, Funk, and Hart. The Rock. Does Christian's name and overall value even hold a candle to these men? Absolutely not. It will be a long time before Christian's name is even in the mix here, with many a wrestler going in before him. He's going to be on the outside looking in for a very long time, if not forever.

If we're referring to the WWE HOF, then absolutely, Christian deserves a spot in the future. But what one may deserve and what they get are different things altogether. The man has won every imaginable championship within the WWE, and let's not undervalue the fact that he carried a brand in ECW for a year almost solely on his own. Even if it was a "distant" third to the other two, how many wrestlers are put in that position? Further, how many, when put in that position, shine in doing so? It's a short list, as only John Cena and Randy Orton come to mind currently as to having done so with any success within the past few years. That's an accomplishment that cannot be emphasized enough.

However, the problem lies here when it comes to Christian and the WWE HOF. Christian will forever be first and foremost known as a tag-team specialist alongside Edge. Where Edge was able to break free from that moniker and become a twelve time champion and truly one of the biggest stars of our generation, Christian has not. Any induction would likely come as a tag team alongside Edge, and does one honestly believe Edge is going in as a tag team? Sure, he was a pioneer in the division, but when all is said and done, he's best known as a single's competitor. Christian, also an innovator within the tag team division, has really never been able to get past that as his crowning achievements. Look at his runs with the World Title- He didn't have a single successful defense in either. Sure, he put on great matches while losing/chasing the title, but he never really defined himself with regards to being a champion.- Edge did, and that's why I believe he'll go in as an individual. I'm just not sold on Christian going in as a single's competitor. This is through no fault of his own, but he's truly in a damned either way when you really look at things. He may get there someday, and as one of my favorite performers, I hope he does. I just don't have much confidence that he will.

 

[DanTheMan3:16]

When I saw Christian climb that ladder and grab the world heavyweight championship, I jumped about 8 feet in the air, and Ill admit I was crying, Because I thought that he would never have did it.

Sure you could argue he was only won because of edge. But i dont think so, I think eventually they would have Christian win the belt.

However when he lost 2 days later, I was so pissed and I was so angry. How could they have a man who has worked so hard in his career and work his ass off for 12 years in wrestling and then just 2 days later have him drop the belt. That was as damaging as if they would have had Chris Benoit lose the title on the raw to hhh the next day after he won it at wm20.

When Christian won it the 2nd via Dq, I was so happy and the fact he was champion for a month was great, it would have been nice if they had him beat Randy Orton, but whatever.

2011 Was a huge year for Christian, he won the world heavyweight championship 2 times, and was in the mainevent world title match 5 ppvs straight, including summerslam.
So this year alone makes Christian a huge contender for Hall of Fame.

But you must believe, you have to believe.