Overreacting to Christian's Title Loss (And Why That's OK)

[SullivanSmith]

Forgive me, this may be a little rambling and I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but I wanted to share some thoughts on this and get your feedback. As evident by the title of the thread, this is less about the title loss itself and more about our response, as a fan community, to it.

Whether or not you think he deserved the title, I think the majority of us here can agree that Christian is a talented guy. A lot of us though, myself included, were ecstatic when he won the title and furious when he lost it just days later. We were posting here in the forums, throwing up angry posts on Twitter and Facebook and basically just foaming at the mouth. We were LIVID! Spitting venom and Vince and WWE Creative and threatening boycotts against Smackdown and maybe even WWE itself.

In the aftermath, we may still be upset but we've calmed down a bit and and maybe even realized that, OK, we're still pissed that one of our favorite wrestlers (or "sports entertainers", whatever) got screwed over (in our opinion) but in the big scheme of things, it's not THAT important.

What I've come to see, for myself anyway, is that being really upset by this is actually a GOOD thing. It means I'm connected to the product. It means I'm invested in a performer emotionally. It means I actually give a crap about the World Heavyweight Title. And it also means that, after reading tweets from Jericho and others who are better at keeping a level head about stuff like this, I may actually tune into Smackdown and see if WWE actually does something with this and puts Christian in a decent program around the title (even if he never wins it back).

What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that it's perfectly fine to react in the way most of us did. In the end, we all calm down a bit but when it comes down to it... look, a lot of us can be jaded about the current state of wrestling and maybe we want to give up on it sometimes, but it's moments like that when we get really passionate about it that remind us of why we love it so much.

Your thoughts?

 

[JJohns]

It's good to be passionate about the product. But the problem that I had with most (but not all) of the IWC morons is that they don't realize what little impact that they have to the WWE's bottom line. Like one of WZ's columnists said, WWE is building around the people that make them the most money and who they feel will be the centerpiece of the brand.

As much as I like Christian as a performer (at one point, he was the only reason I watched TNA), he isn't perceived as a draw. Case in point being when he was NWA World Heavyweight Champion in TNA, his title reigns didn't bring in revenue until Angle starting challenging for it. Another one is the ratings when he had that long ECW Title Reign near the end of the brand's life. He didn't increase the ratings there either.

As the OP stated, in the grand scheme of things, Christian holding the title isn't important. The important thing is if you want to see him do big things, you have to show WWE that he can make them money, so go and buy all of his merchandise. Convince your five year old next door neighbor that Captain Charisma is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then, and only then, will he seriously be considered for a top spot on SmackDown.

 

[CitiBoy7]

It's good to be passionate about the product. But the problem that I had with most (but not all) of the IWC morons is that they don't realize what little impact that they have to the WWE's bottom line. Like one of WZ's columnists said, WWE is building around the people that make them the most money and who they feel will be the centerpiece of the brand.

As much as I like Christian as a performer (at one point, he was the only reason I watched TNA), he isn't perceived as a draw. Case in point being when he was NWA World Heavyweight Champion in TNA, his title reigns didn't bring in revenue until Angle starting challenging for it. Another one is the ratings when he had that long ECW Title Reign near the end of the brand's life. He didn't increase the ratings there either.

As the OP stated, in the grand scheme of things, Christian holding the title isn't important. The important thing is if you want to see him do big things, you have to show WWE that he can make them money, so go and buy all of his merchandise. Convince your five year old next door neighbor that Captain Charisma is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then, and only then, will he seriously be considered for a top spot on SmackDown.

so your telling me nobody sells but Cena and Orton? Why don't you realize that the wrestling world has change which are the fans and most wwe fans today are a bunch of casual fans that only care about 4 top stars which if those guys aren't winning the casuals will lose interest.

 

[berlinbrawler]

It still sucks. It's always special when someone who isn't really main event material but is respected by the fans and his co-workers gets a small run on top. Cutting his run short just... well... sucks. Would it really have hurt the WWE to let him hold the belt until the next PPV? Well, whatever. It's not really such a big deal. Just disappointing, that's all.

So, it's ok to be disappointed because it shows that one is connected to the product. I guess there is some truth to that. The WWE can't always please everybody. In fact it is important that they don't, or the product gets stale. Still, this is one instance where I would have preferred the WWE to act less unpredictably.

I'm curious to see why they were in such a hurry to get the belt to Orton. If there is some bigger picture plan that requires him to have the belt right now, then fine, whatever. But if the reason is that they just couldn't wait to have him feud with Mark Henry then I'm afraid I'll let out a fart worthy of a Big Show- or an Eddie Murphy movie. If you think that's disgusting, I agree.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

My first posting on the Christian title change, so forgive me if I repeat what someone else has already stated in a separate thread.

I may be wrong but Orton has not proven himself as a draw either, he has never carried either brand - he has always had a draw to work off. Now, since the draft, there is NO proven full time headliner on SmackDown so someone is going to have to fill this position.

Putting my neck on the line, I believe an extended series between Randy and Christian is about to occur with one of the two probably turning on the fans. Most likely here is Christian, following the Edge 'I'm sick of doing everything for my fans' precedent, possibly with a short attack on the Rated R Superstar to get it over. Having said that, Orton's face run has been regarded by many as a bit of a damp squib, so a turn by the Viper (possibly gloating over Christian's inability to hold the belt after finally winning it) could be on the cards. Being an eternal optimist, this may be an attempt for two guys never trusted to carry one of the big shows to (coin a phrase) put up or shut up. After all, who else is on SmackDown now to believably carry it?

 

[metalbass]

The problem for me wasn't that Orton was the next in line for the SD! championship, it's just that he won in a whole 2 days after Christian won. It would be good to see Christian have at least a month, a PPV, and a little more build so when he did lose he would be seen as a main eventer a lot more easily. Now that he lost so quickly I can see him being demoted to mid-card status.

I hope I'm wrong though and Christian will be a big part.

 

[AngryCenaFan]

Thanks to those of you making good points, losing on the first show after winning helps NOBODY.

Not Orton, Not Christian, not Smackdown.

Remember Ortons last PPV win? it was on so no name PPV with little build up, the reaction was not nearly as good or impactful as it shoulda been(major PPV and longterm build)

 

[Mustang Sally]

Thanks to those of you making good points, losing on the first show after winning helps NOBODY.

Possibly, but it's how you regard "helping" that determines whether WWE's actions are effective or not.

The Smackdown title was held by a face who retired. Apparently, WWE wanted a major face in the role......yet didn't want to go to the time and trouble of having a tournament to determine a new champion. Instead, they decided on having a transitional titleholder.....and picked Christian.

How did Jason Reso feel about this plan? I could para-phrase Dear Abby and say: "It's better to have been a 5-day champion than never to have been a champion at all."

Don't think they didn't inform Christian of this turn of events before it happened. Don't think they caused him to believe he was going to be champ for a long time only to double-cross him. (What do you think this is.....Montreal?)

I believe the mini-title run is the start of a push for Christian.....a heel push. I think the company wants to see if he can draw "main event" heat as a bad guy. If he can, he'll be performing at the top of the card for a long time; even if he never again reigns as champion. If this is so, I'll bet the long-range push is more important to Christian than holding the title.

As to the subject of this thread, I'd ask the IWC to look at the big picture, rather than just being upset about Christian losing the title so quickly. As was said already, it's good to feel passionate about pro wrestling, but let's not really believe that our hero (Christian) is crying in his real-life pillow about how badly his employer treated him. I mean......really.

 

[jontabs]

It was quite a moment to see Christian win the World Title and Extreme Rules, and like most here, I was disappointed when i found out Orton won the belt two days later.

However, when i actually saw the Smackdown episode, it finally made a lot of sense.

#1 The show opened with a vignette specifically about Christian's win and the "countdown to his title reign"

#2 After Orton won the title, the show didn't end there. The show actually ended with Christian in the ring and walking to the back distraught.

I've come to terms with Christian's title loss as it's obviously an angle. Now where it goes we'll have to see. Having Christian as a heel won't be that bad, after all, that's how he got over in 2005. It may suck right now, but here's hoping that it works out for Christian in the end

 

[DecayNYFX]

This is easily one of the most polarizing events to take place within sports entertainment since the Montreal Screwjob. And to say the Peeps have been over reacting would be an understatement. They way they immediately started damning Orton, saying he used his pull to make it happen, without stopping to consider that it's just part of angle is truly mind-blowing.

I tried making some comments about it on Bleacher Report, trying to say don't be so quick to blame Orton & his political power, and how this whole thing could actually be great for Christian's career. They don't want to hear it. I've had at least half a dozen comments deleted from articles on that site, just because I'm not shaking my fist at the injustice of it all. If that's not rabid-smark denial, I don't know what is. I didn't write anything profane or offensive, I made what I thought were sensible, relevant, insightful remarks, but just because my stance doesn't jive with that of a few others, I get censored. That, right there, shows just how far some people are taking this.

Yes, I'm a Christian fan. Yes, I'm an even bigger Orton fan. Yes, I wish he had held the title for a bit longer. But I'm not going to damn their actions just yet. I don't think they would've done something like that without a good reason, and I'm terribly curious to see how it plays out. This just might be one of the smartest things they've done in a while. It's stirred up interest & controversy, it's got people wanting to know what's going to happen next week, and that's the WWE that we all say we long for. The one that surprises us & makes us want to tune in every Monday & Friday night. Just because you perceive an injustice against your favorite superstar doesn't mean they're saying F-You to the fans, and it doesn't mean their top guy is trying to bury him. This is how you create drama, and without that, WWE wouldn't be what it is.

This is a great thing for both Orton AND Christian. Orton can finally get out of John Cena's shadow & prove that he can carry a whole show, and perhaps even elevate it. Personally, I'm already looking forward to Smackdown more than I am for Raw, and I don't remember the last time that I could say that. And it's mainly because of Sin Cara and this.

Christian is now going to be working a program with Friday night's top guy, meaning he's going to be in the main event for quite some time to come. Isn't that better than having him go the Rey Mysterio route of having a longer, but weak reign, and then get shuffled back to the mid-card? Not to mention, Smackdown is lacking in top heels right now. His reaction Friday night, not even acknowledging the crowd, the same crowd that voted for him to defend against Orton, could very well be foreshadowing a heel turn right there. Think about it, it would be all too easy for him to blame the fans for his loss, for his Cinderella moment crashing down, it practically writes itself. The writers aren't going to have to work very hard on the build to the inevitable rematch at Over the Limit. And Christian has the ability to trump the only other contenders for Friday night's top heel - - Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Cody Rhodes, none of them have anything on Captain Charisma. To all the disgruntled Peeps, I say, would you have rathered a longer, but weak run with the title, or would you prefer him to remain in a top spot? If you really care that much about the guy, the answer is obvious. And as long as he's in the main event scene, you can bet you'll see him with championship gold again sooner or later. So relax, again, this could very well be the best thing to ever happen to him.

It's great to see how passionate the fans are about this storyline, but please, stop taking it to extremes. Having your thoughts removed from a public forum because someone doesn't share your point of view is ridiculous. It's insulting & it's rude. Someone takes their time to construct a well-thought out & intelligent comment, and it becomes time wasted just because the writer isn't packing torches & pitchforks for a trip to Orton's house. That's obsessive & scary. Be angry, shake your fist to the Heavens, curse McMahon, Orton, the fans who were in attendance, whatever, but to take it to such a personal level, isn't only over-reacting, (& I'm not saying this to be funny or a smartass or anything) it's a sign that there's something seriously wrong, if you get THAT upset over someone saying, "Don't blame Orton, it's only part of a bigger story".

 

[RkoMachine]

i may be the only one but when i read that Orton won the title at the tuesday taping i was excited. Not only because Orton is my favorite wrestler i was also excited for Christian

I've been wanting Christian to turn heel since his return because he doesn't do it for me as a face and this is a perfect opportunity to turn him heel and also have him in a main event feud with Orton which is a fresh feud with potential to produce great matches like the one we witnessed on SD

So i do not agree with alot of the IWC who are blaming Vince and Orton and completely overreacting to something that isnt even that big of a deal. Christian can now say he is a former world champ! and i know that to him means the world even if he only held on to the title for 2 days

 

[jacdnwarrior]

When I saw that Christian win the title at Extreme Rules, I was glad for him. He had worked for WWE a long time, left to go to TNA where after a short period time, he became a world champion. He came back to WWE, he's been doing a lot of crap for the most part, and then he finally gets the title at Extreme Rules which I thought was well deserved and the WWE was at least trying something new instead of relying on the same old performers to be in the main event.

I think my reaction, my anger over Christian's losing the title on SD, is more fuel to my continued frustration of the way things are booked at SD, Raw and WWE in general. They could have taken a chance with Christian. He is good on the mike, in the ring, and is as good if not better than a number of performers who've held the title in the last few years. How the hell do they know he can't make money if they never give him a shot to see whether he can or not ? What's even more infuriating is the idea he won't get another shot as far as Vince is concerned.

My other problem is I'm not convinced Orton is a big draw. I'd like to see the proof of that. Is he the one who makes money or is he some one who works with those who make money ?

 

[dr.greenthumb]

i would like to see christian win the title back just as quickly and then in turn lose it again to orton and then win it back.

have them keep winning the title back from each other to make them seem like wrestling equals and then start a program to find a definitve winner.

similar to the best of seven that booker t and benoit had with the old tv title.

 

[berlinbrawler]

i may be the only one but when i read that Orton won the title at the tuesday taping i was excited. Not only because Orton is my favorite wrestler i was also excited for Christian

I've been wanting Christian to turn heel since his return because he doesn't do it for me as a face and this is a perfect opportunity to turn him heel and also have him in a main event feud with Orton which is a fresh feud with potential to produce great matches like the one we witnessed on SD

The likely Christian heel turn is indeed the one positive thing that might come from this. I agree that as a face he never quite had that special something that made me a big fan of him around 2005.
If this results in a feud with Orton against bitter heel Christian I would welcome that. But I'm afraid that I have that nagging feeling that, heel or not, Christian will soon disappear back into the midcard swamp and won't even get a PPV rematch. I really, really hope I'm wrong with this.

 

[DecayNYFX]

The likely Christian heel turn is indeed the one positive thing that might come from this. I agree that as a face he never quite had that special something that made me a big fan of him around 2005.
If this results in a feud with Orton against bitter heel Christian I would welcome that. But I'm afraid that I have that nagging feeling that, heel or not, Christian will soon disappear back into the midcard swamp and won't even get a PPV rematch. I really, really hope I'm wrong with this.

Vince would be stupid not to capitalize on all the interest & controversy this angle has generated - - he's GOT to give Christian a rematch at Over the Limit, and it wouldn't surprise me if this feud runs through the next PPV as well, with some sort of gimmick match... IDK guys, what do you think of Christian/Orton in a ladder match? And then maybe one that Orton specializes in?

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

so your telling me nobody sells but Cena and Orton? Why don't you realize that the wrestling world has change which are the fans and most wwe fans today are a bunch of casual fans that only care about 4 top stars which if those guys aren't winning the casuals will lose interest.

No I don't think he's saying that; it's just that nobody sells as well as Orton and Cena. But I believe that you're being realistic about the audiences for WWE nowadays.

As for me I'll admit I was a little annoyed but ultimately, it was just a title reign. We're not going to remember Ric Flair for having a metric fuckton of title reigns. We're going to remember him for being awesome at his character and blading like a mother. The same applies to Christian. It doesn't matter if he has loads of mainstream success - while it'd be nice for him to have that, just look at the things our fanbase says about him. We're going to remember him for those things, not for "getting liek totally fucked over by McMahon and holding the title for under a week". A healthy dose of positivity, anyone?

 

[GW_Hart86]

I think Christian losing the world Title on his first defence was a complete injustice to his character and long service. He deserved to hold the Title to the next PPV at the very least. He is one of the most dedicated, hard working, quality wrestlers around and has been for the best part of the last 10 years and it was a total shame to see him lose in that fashion. The WWE should hang their heads in shame with this one I'm afraid.

On saying that though, perhaps the WWE still has plans for Christian on the world title stage, we just don't know. Maybe we will see him at Over the Limit in a re-match with Orton (which I think is most likely) or maybe Jericho will return and a triple threat angle will be brought in, which would be great I think. Either way, I really think the WWE needs to allow Christian to retain the belt at some stage, they owe him that at the very least...give him a decent run!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As a longtime fan of Christian, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that he lost the title so quickly. At the same time though, as others have already suggested, there's the potential for something to come about here. When you consider all the hype the WWE put into building up Christian with the vignettes and the promos in which he states how much the WHC means to him, it just doesn't feel like what happened this past Friday on SD! is the end for Christian in the WHC picture.

As has also been said, the situation with Orton, Christian & the WHC is something that has definitely gotten people's attention. People are on the edge of their seats, hardly able to wait until the next episode of SD! to see the follow up to this past Friday. Just like when The Miz won the WWE Championship late last year, the current WHC situation has got people talking, debating and just generally interested in seeing where this goes. Orton & Christian had a superb match this past Friday and having the Orton/Christian picture just suddenly end with that single match feels like such a waste and the WWE has to know that.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Ive been watching WWE Programing for the better part of 15 years and I'm not sure if Ive missed out on this Christian that gets such high praises from so many people. Hes decent in the ring, but boring, hes ok on the mic but very forced.

Sure he was fine in ECW, but no one cared about that ECW he was the Champion of. Sure he won the NWA-TNA world title, but this is TNA where hasbeens go to collect paychecks.

Hes too old to start building the Smackdown brand around, and hes not good enough to be the main event player on Smackdown.

I will say that I do not like the way the shifted the title so quickly from Christian to Orton, but the minute Orton was moved to Smackdown and Del Rio was moved to Raw it was obvious this was going to happen.

Get over it.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Ive been watching WWE Programing for the better part of 15 years and I'm not sure if Ive missed out on this Christian that gets such high praises from so many people. Hes decent in the ring, but boring, hes ok on the mic but very forced.

He's better than Sheamus, Orton and Batista on the mike, better than Sheamus and Batista in the ring and as good as Orton in the ring. The difference is he hasn't been allowed the ability to work with many of the upper echelon talent to show what he can do. I definitely disagree with you on that.

Sure he was fine in ECW, but no one cared about that ECW he was the Champion of. Sure he won the NWA-TNA world title, but this is TNA where hasbeens go to collect paychecks.

Where hasbeens collect a paycheque ? Are you kidding me ? TNA has some of the best talent around. If WWE wasn't so stupid to let go of Kurt Angle, Anderson, Pope among others the main event wouldn't be the crap it is right now. Vince would sign Sting, Styles, Angle among other talent from TNA in a heartbeat if he could. There is some seriously underrated talent in TNA, so don't kid yourself.

Hes too old to start building the Smackdown brand around, and hes not good enough to be the main event player on Smackdown.

What's this age nonsense ? The fact is the main event scene is so depleted they need to use the best people they have at their disposal. Every one has already seen Orton as champ, they haven't seen Christian. He isn't 40,50, 60 or older. He's seasoned, but let's not overexaggerate his age like he's old man winter here.

I will say that I do not like the way the shifted the title so quickly from Christian to Orton, but the minute Orton was moved to Smackdown and Del Rio was moved to Raw it was obvious this was going to happen.

Get over it.

Fans have every right to react to the product. It's hasn't been a week since Christian lost the title. If fans aren't happy, don't they have a right to say something about it ? WWE's creativity and storylines have been garbage for quite some time now. When fans are bored with the product, WWE 's business goes down, meaning less money for WWE, more releases and so on. SO while you may think we should get over it, Vince might want to pay attention to what people are saying and give Christian a little more than a 2 day title reign. BTW, why did SD receive the worst tv draw it's ever had in 2011 with Orton winning the title if he's such a big money maker ?