The Last Undervalued, Underrated, and Unappreciated performer from the Attitude Era

[AegonTargaryen]

Edge and Christian. 1997. Cooler than the hardy brothers. Resoundingly cooler and better than D-von the dumb dudley and Buh Buh Buh Bully Ray Dudley.
While edge succeeded in carving his own niche by 2005 as a singles star and winning a World title 9 times between 2006-2009, and 3 more times in 2010, Christian has remained a decent worker, a mid-carder whose success was only further clogged by his departure to TNA in 2005. However, Christian became the world heavyweight champion in the WWE, only to be subservient to a boring Randy Orton as the face of Smackdown. (Contrast this to Edge being chosen over Batista as champion for a long time with multiple reigns on Smackdown). This is not a thread about a comparison of worth between Edge and Christian. This is simply about celebrating Christian as the last decent worker, amusing guy on mic, and a great person outside the ring(I've not really heard bad things about Christian. Contrast that with the F'd up exhibitions by Hardy brothers)
Severely underrated and undervalued by almost everyone, including The IWC is Christian. Christian is the next most amusing to listen to guy after Chris Jericho, Edge, etc. Decent worker. No Physique but can carry a match better than most of the roster. (He was never a Rob Van Dam, Guerrero, Benoit, Angle, or Dolph Ziggler, I admit). But he could work the crowd. I never found his WHC runs intolerable or incredulous. He was a very believable WHC with his lean physique(much more believable than Miz and Rey Mysterio anyway) .
Today, Christian has spent 3 years in obscurity and insignificance right after his feud with Randy Orton ended. Some day , Christian might be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. But he won't be remembered as the guy who gave us ozens and fozens of hilarious moments in 2000 with Edge and Kurt Angle , and throughout his career in the WWE and elsewhere. He won't be remembered as a guy with a lot of untapped potential that was suppressed in an era of John Cena and Randy Orton's endless and oft-tormenting Dominion, followed by an Era of Brand Unison and Part-timers. This is an era where a much shorter, less funnier, skinnier quasi-vegan defeated John Cena at Summerslam, and is currently a darling of millions(or thousands?) based on chanting Yes and No. (I really never found him half as amusing as a Heel. As a face chanting Yes, he's worse). This is an era where a great worker like Christian will not be in the main event of Raw, as long as he doesn't have a catchphrase or chant that becomes a T-shirt, or a Lucha Libre Mask. Christian will simply be inducted for the length of his tenure, the diversity of his work. He might simply be a Junior to Chris Jericho in his accomplishments as a man of similar size. (That's meant to be a compliment. Jericho is a genius of a different dimension).

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

I think that Christian was to Edge what Matt Hardy was to Jeff, I don't think he'll achieve more success than he already did.

Also, if you're going to troll hate on Daniel Bryan on every thread you make, I'm going to report you.

Remove that part about Daniel Bryan troll.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I've always like Christian. For whatever reason, it seems like he was in Vince McMahon's doghouse. I think the only reason they finally gave him the world title was because Edge pushed hard for it. Injuries have significantly limited Christian's recent career. If he hadn't had so many injuries, he might have had another world title run. They've put him in the Chamber, so I think they still do view him as a main eventer.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I guess your parents were still restricting your internet access when Christian won and quickly lost the title to Orton. This place blew up. Fans were furious with WWE and Vince. They threw out every level of first rate bullshit about Vince ever imagined up.

Christian is appreciated by both the fans and WWE. How else does a guy stay on the roster for this long? How does he get a main event spot in a PPV despite being gone for a long period? He has had little catchphrases and saying, he had his own TV show. He was given the keys to ECW. I'd say Vince has overrated or at least has a ton of trust in Christian despite his shortcomings.

You seem to thing comparing Edge to Christian is the proper way to measure him. I'd say that's not accurate since Edge is most overrated or overdecorated superstar in history.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I think that Christian was to Edge what Matt Hardy was to Jeff, I don't think he'll achieve more success than he already did.

Also, if you're going to troll hate on Daniel Bryan on every thread you make, I'm going to report you.

Remove that part about Daniel Bryan troll.

I didn't mean to offend or hurt your sentiments. I like Daniel Bryan. He's a great worker/wrestler/performer. I just don't understand/accept someone becoming a star because the audience love the Yes-chants. Chris Jericho never became a star overnight and had a T-shirt because of his catchphrase "Would you please SHUT THE HELL UP" and the audience loved chanting that. He evolved. Throughout his career, he evolved more than anybody evolved themselves in terms of charisma, wrestling ability, promo work. (Except for HBK, perhaps). Do you want Daniel Bryan to mean no more than a Yes-Chant and a beard? Fine then.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

When Chris Jericho confronted C.M. Punk before his champion vs champion match against Daniel Bryan in 2012 and said that he's a part of a dying breed of performers who gave their all to the business, never cared for what they were thought of backstage, what roles they were given by the powers that be and were supposed to be, and a breed that simply gave the best performance each and every time they entered the ring, the statement was inclusive of Christian as one of those performers. That itself speaks of a Hall of Fame-level worthiness.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I guess your parents were still restricting your internet access when Christian won and quickly lost the title to Orton. This place blew up. Fans were furious with WWE and Vince. They threw out every level of first rate bullshit about Vince ever imagined up.

Christian is appreciated by both the fans and WWE. How else does a guy stay on the roster for this long? How does he get a main event spot in a PPV despite being gone for a long period? He has had little catchphrases and saying, he had his own TV show. He was given the keys to ECW. I'd say Vince has overrated or at least has a ton of trust in Christian despite his shortcomings.

You seem to thing comparing Edge to Christian is the proper way to measure him. I'd say that's not accurate since Edge is most overrated or overdecorated superstar in history.

I am in no way comparing Christian with Edge or measuring him with Edge's Yardstick. Just that, Edge succeeded in evolving into a Rated-R superstar character which was realistic(his real-life exploits with Lita) and win the big ones. I will also admit that he was never quite the man and most of his matches as world champion were never as Epic or classic to me(Vs Batista) as Chris Jericho's.I may or may not be biased in that opinion of mine. But at the end of the day, history is history, and Edge was largely a focal-point and inserted in main events for 4 consistent years until his departure in 2011. Christian's lasted 4 months. Christian doesn't deserve that obscurity and insignificance regardless of Edge's accomplishments or how overrated and overvalued he may be to you as a performer.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think the only reason they finally gave him the world title was because Edge pushed hard for it.

Was that the reason? I've always wondered.

No matter how good Vince McMahon's nose for business may be, I can't help thinking he resented the hell out of those performers who abandoned him for WCW.....and TNA. Sure, employees have a right to live their lives the way they want and having TNA is a good thing because it gives people with this particular set of skills an alternative to WWE......but it doesn't mean McMahon has to be crazy about the people who chose to take the other path, right?

Christian wasn't future endeavored; he elected to leave WWE for reasons of his own. I don't know what those reasons were, any more than I know why he decided to come back. But when he did return to Vince-land, I reasoned that he was at the mercy of whatever Vince wanted to do with him......and had about as much chance of being a main eventer or holding a major championship as Duane Gill.

So, okay.....upon his return from TNA, Vince kept Christian paying his dues for a long while, as if he were a rookie.....but then gave him those championship runs. Yes, they were short and undistinguished, but that he got the chance at all made me very impressed with Vince McMahon's powers of using performers to their greatest advantage even when he held a grudge against them for leaving.

I like Christian, I really do, but see nothing special about him. He's unimpressively built in an era where physique counts, he generates some heat, but not a whole lot......and he works a match well, but so do a lot of other people.

Now, he's back, at least for awhile. At this stage of his career, I believe that any success he enjoys is gravy, but he'll always be held down to some extent by: (1) his defection to TNA and (2) the incredible amount of time he's spent on the sideline because of injury. (Yes, it's not the wrestler's fault he's injured but from a management point of view, the employee is being paid his full salary while producing nothing for the company).

Undervalued, underrated and unappreciated? I think Christian has done remarkably well for himself, given all that's happened before.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Was that the reason? I've always wondered.

No matter how good Vince McMahon's nose for business may be, I can't help thinking he resented the hell out of those performers who abandoned him for WCW.....and TNA. Sure, employees have a right to live their lives the way they want and having TNA is a good thing because it gives people with this particular set of skills an alternative to WWE......but it doesn't mean McMahon has to be crazy about the people who chose to take the other path, right?

Christian wasn't future endeavored; he elected to leave WWE for reasons of his own. I don't know what those reasons were, any more than I know why he decided to come back. But when he did return to Vince-land, I reasoned that he was at the mercy of whatever Vince wanted to do with him......and had about as much chance of being a main eventer or holding a major championship as Duane Gill.

So, okay.....upon his return from TNA, Vince kept Christian paying his dues for a long while, as if he were a rookie.....but then gave him those championship runs. Yes, they were short and undistinguished, but that he got the chance at all made me very impressed with Vince McMahon's powers of using performers to their greatest advantage even when he held a grudge against them for leaving.

I like Christian, I really do, but see nothing special about him. He's unimpressively built in an era where physique counts, he generates some heat, but not a whole lot......and he works a match well, but so do a lot of other people.

Now, he's back, at least for awhile. At this stage of his career, I believe that any success he enjoys is gravy, but he'll always be held down to some extent by: (1) his defection to TNA and (2) the incredible amount of time he's spent on the sideline because of injury. (Yes, it's not the wrestler's fault he's injured but from a management point of view, the employee is being paid his full salary while producing nothing for the company).

Undervalued, underrated and unappreciated? I think Christian has done remarkably well for himself, given all that's happened before.

Great points here. I do think Vince holds a grudge because Christian went to TNA. However, as Edge got more and more over and became one of the top stars in all of WWE, I think Vince knew that he couldn't do anything to piss off Edge at that point. Granted, when Christian came back, Edge's career was over but still... I think if it wasn't for Vince's respect for Edge, Christian never would have gotten the WHC runs.

 

[Pedigree1]

Does Vince hold a grudge against former employees who jumped ship to TNA? Quite possibly yes he does. Christian to me was always the marty jannety of the tag team with Edge. Christian is a hard worker,great performer and a good talker on the mic. I think when he returned,Vince did make him pay his dues as if he were a rookie all over again.

As far as him getting his title runs christian can thank edge for this one. If any sympathy title run exists that would be it. Not to say christian didn't deserve his runs,he is a hard worker! But these last four years have really killed christian's career due to injury! I have been always screaming for christian to beef up a little bit,Daniel Bryan can outlift Christian in the weightroom! Come On Christian,do it for your peeps

 

[TDFG]

I always rated Christian as a good IC/US Champion, I've just never came round to him being World Champion material.

Don't get me wrong, he's paid his dues & was involved in the great TLC matches, but as a World Champ, no thanks.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

christian is a great wrestler and his tag team work with EDGE was most memorable..He has also decent skills on mic and he is really great as a heel..

Now i 100% agree with what you said about Daneil Bryan who is not even half as skilled as christian is and is over only bcoz of a Catchphrase that the crowd really like to Chant..How did Bryan rose to popularity..The answer is he had a catchphrase which the crowd really like to chant like hell..If it was not for the catchphrase Daniel Bryan would have been the new zack ryder..

 

[AegonTargaryen]

christian is a great wrestler and his tag team work with EDGE was most memorable..He has also decent skills on mic and he is really great as a heel..

Now i 100% agree with what you said about Daneil Bryan who is not even half as skilled as christian is and is over only bcoz of a Catchphrase that the crowd really like to Chant..How did Bryan rose to popularity..The answer is he had a catchphrase which the crowd really like to chant like hell..If it was not for the catchphrase Daniel Bryan would have been the new zack ryder..

Exactly. And somehow, I try to like him, despite his biggest flaw being (and I can't blame him for genetics) he's neither a totally small cruiserweight, nor does he seem intimidating or credible in the slightest as a heavyweight(despite his stature), much unlike Kurt Angle or Chris Benoit. Kurt Angle was believable in every damn thing- Promos, Wrestling(what a machine),Passion, Emotion. Especially from 2002. (Noteworthy is his feud against a heel austin from July 2001-October 2001). Daniel Bryan just hasn't been credible or interesting from the day since he won the WHC from Big Show and begun jumping around saying YES. Before that, my only impression of him was that of being a mid -card guy who can wrestle and defend the US title against the likes of Miz.

 

[sladetwc]

I think Christian has just done everything that anyone ever asked him to do. He came in with the Brood, and was a great comedic heel with Edge (especially during their run-ins with Mick Foley as commissioner; youtube the bits where Christian's trying to lose just enough weight to be a light heavyweight--comedic gold). When he turned against Chris Jericho and sided with Trish Stratus, that was some of his best work as well. Does he have trouble staying healthy? Yeah. But all he ever does is everything Vince ever asked.

As for the Daniel Bryan hatred... when did he become the new John Cena (the person the IWC loves to hate)? I thought we all wanted him to succeed, and the Authority was keeping him down?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Is it possible that Vince holds a grudge against Christian? Sure, it's entirely possible. In the cases of guys like Hogan, Savage, Hall & Nash, I think that it's entirely possible that he felt betrayed by guys he'd helped make rich, especially if you believe all the stuff that's been said about him over the years.

As is the case with the vast majority of issues, there's probably a good deal of truth in some of the claims and there's probably a good deal of exaggeration or outright bullshit. Sometimes, you have to take these claims & horror stories about Vince with a grain of salt because professional wrestlers are quite possibly the biggest bullshitters out there, with the exception of career politicians. I've no doubt that some have had lousy experiences with Vince and some are bitter former employees looking to vent. It's hard to know what's what, though a lot of fans, particularly internet fans, are willing to believe any negative tale told about Vince for whatever reason.

As far as Christian goes, I don't know if Vince would feel that same way about Christian given that TNA is not on, nor has it ever been on, the level of WCW. It's not as if Christian was making a ton of money, comparatively speaking, nor did Christian being such a central figure in TNA for several years take it to new heights.

When you consider that Christian has won every title men are eligible to win in WWE over the past 15 years or so, with the exception of the WWE & US titles, I don't really see him as underappreciated. Is he someone that could be underrated? I think that's more likely, at least in my opinion.

When compared with Edge, I always thought Christian was the better overall wrestler. Christian could hold his own with Edge on the mic, he was the more athletic of the two and, all in all, I simply found him more entertaining to watch. Edge had the better look, in my opinion, and I'm not saying I didn't enjoy him in the right, which I did, but not as much as Christian. Ten to twelve years ago, I think that Christian could have been solidified as a main event guy, or at least an upper mid-card mainstay.

At the same time...c'mon...let's be completely honest, how many of these threads have been made over the years and how many more will be made? Everybody can't be a main eventer, there's just not room for one thing. Wrestling companies make choices to elevate some employees over others just like other businesses do. Sometimes they make the right choices, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, when there's more than one talented employee being considered for elevation by management, they go with whomever they think will be the best choice in the long run. Again, sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not. It's FAR easier to pick & choose who goes over when you don't have a bottom line that your decisions can affect.

 

[The Warlord]

As for the Daniel Bryan hatred... when did he become the new John Cena (the person the IWC loves to hate)? I thought we all wanted him to succeed, and the Authority was keeping him down?

You question and try and figure out the IWC? Thats your mistake right there. The majority of the IWC doesnt even know what they want. Wrestling was so much better when it didnt exist....but it keeps sucking me back in like a never ending nightmare.

One of these days I'll quit reading the websites and just sit back and enjoy wrestling again.

Oh yeah...no, Christian never was or will be a main eventer. Its just the way it is.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I hate to do this but I have to compare Christian to Owen Hart.
Before any haters respond. Yes, I now that Christian is not Edge's brother. They were best friends who grew up in Orangeville, Ontario. (Being from Ontario I am aware that it does not just exist of Toronto and Ottawa.)

Anyways, Christian and Owen arrived based on who they knew. Christian from Edge and Owen from Bret. They both achieved at a high level on the mid card scene. Owen got a nice push after Bret left. Christian received the World title upon Edges retirement. I do not believe Owen would have made it past mid card had he not passed away untimely. I'm just saying that these are two wrestlers who are associated with legends who were better off as mid carders. As Jackhammer stated above me, not everyone is meant for the main event.

 

[lowandmighty]

I see what you're saying about Daniel Bryan, he is extremely unfunny and his acting looks and sounds extremely forced. During his first couple of years in WWE I hated him and really couldn't see the appeal.

However when he started to team with Kane they had a kind of chemistry that actually was funny and the forced acting fit in with it.
Since then he's been getting huge reactions from the crowd and it makes for good viewing, nobody likes a dull crowd and Daniel Bryan has found that simple thing to get them to react.

So as someone who once hated Daniel Bryan, I'm now completely sold on him.

As far as Christian goes, I don't think he's undervalued and under appreciated and certainly not the last in that vein from he attitude era. I think he's valued and appreciated about as much as he deserves.

 

[Marshyishere]

I think Christian has achieved to the heights that he was expected. Unfortunately he does not have the same look as Edge or intensity. No matter how hard he tries, I still see him as a nice friendly good guy, that couldn't really hurt a fly.

The reason I think he actually managed to make it so far is due to his great mic abilities and his hard work on and off stage.

When you look at Elimination Chamber, I just cannot see him as a real threat. WWE needs to work on that, if he is ever to be at the top of his game again.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Is it possible that Vince holds a grudge against Christian? Sure, it's entirely possible. In the cases of guys like Hogan, Savage, Hall & Nash, I think that it's entirely possible that he felt betrayed by guys he'd helped make rich, especially if you believe all the stuff that's been said about him over the years.

As is the case with the vast majority of issues, there's probably a good deal of truth in some of the claims and there's probably a good deal of exaggeration or outright bullshit. Sometimes, you have to take these claims & horror stories about Vince with a grain of salt because professional wrestlers are quite possibly the biggest bullshitters out there, with the exception of career politicians. I've no doubt that some have had lousy experiences with Vince and some are bitter former employees looking to vent. It's hard to know what's what, though a lot of fans, particularly internet fans, are willing to believe any negative tale told about Vince for whatever reason.

As far as Christian goes, I don't know if Vince would feel that same way about Christian given that TNA is not on, nor has it ever been on, the level of WCW. It's not as if Christian was making a ton of money, comparatively speaking, nor did Christian being such a central figure in TNA for several years take it to new heights.

When you consider that Christian has won every title men are eligible to win in WWE over the past 15 years or so, with the exception of the WWE & US titles, I don't really see him as underappreciated. Is he someone that could be underrated? I think that's more likely, at least in my opinion.

When compared with Edge, I always thought Christian was the better overall wrestler. Christian could hold his own with Edge on the mic, he was the more athletic of the two and, all in all, I simply found him more entertaining to watch. Edge had the better look, in my opinion, and I'm not saying I didn't enjoy him in the right, which I did, but not as much as Christian. Ten to twelve years ago, I think that Christian could have been solidified as a main event guy, or at least an upper mid-card mainstay.

At the same time...c'mon...let's be completely honest, how many of these threads have been made over the years and how many more will be made? Everybody can't be a main eventer, there's just not room for one thing. Wrestling companies make choices to elevate some employees over others just like other businesses do. Sometimes they make the right choices, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, when there's more than one talented employee being considered for elevation by management, they go with whomever they think will be the best choice in the long run. Again, sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not. It's FAR easier to pick & choose who goes over when you don't have a bottom line that your decisions can affect.

This thread was never meant to be a campaign or crusade for Christian to be elevated as a main-eventer. I don't have that power, neither does anyone else here. But, I had made it clear, no matter how rare and obscure christian's role has been on WWE programming in the last 3 years, he'll still go down as one of "the dying breeds" of performers as Jericho said. That's all.

 

[Sundar]

The problem with Christian is that despite the fact that he has been a good worker over the years he has never looked convincing physically. There have been (and still are) other guys of his size and even smaller such as Daniel Bryan who look more convincing because their movesets seem to look more effective for guys of that size than Christian's moveset does. The Unprettier/Killswitch looks cool but most people agree that it doesn't suit his physique and the spear is definitely a no no. His legs also seem to look too thin and long compared to other guys of his size, as strange as that may sound. I don't think he should be wearing tights, he should have perhaps worn a different kind of clothing.

At the end of the day, all things said and done, he is still recognized as a 6 time world champion which is not bad at all. I agree though that he has been booked poorly in the WWE for years and they have made him job way too much to undeserving guys like Orton and that pisses me off.