What now for Christian?

[the_vipers_enigma]

OK now that Christian lost the IC title to The Miz and then the rematch at SD what will happen to him?
I for one think that he is going to get one more shot at it at Summerslam and he will lose. And after that I hope he goes back in the world title picture again like last year.

 

[FrostTS]

It would make VERY little sense for Christian to return into the World Title picture, if he can't keep the I.C Title how would he make it to the World Title?

I'm not hating on your thread or Christian himself but it would make very little sense.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Christian is in the weird spot where he's the 3rd/4th level face on the brand he's on. This of course assuming Randy Orton comes back to television immediately. Christian is a guy I think WWE can count on to come up and play a major role if he's needed to, but I think he's going to be used to get younger talent like Antonio Cesaro and Damien Sandow over. I don't think they'll job him outright because he'll be regarded as a top face. However, he's going to be instrumental in getting some of Smackdown's next generation of heels over. Damien Sandow interrupting "The Peep Show" could be a fun segment.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It would make VERY little sense for Christian to return into the World Title picture, if he can't keep the I.C Title how would he make it to the World Title?

It's interesting to note the range of descriptions inspired by Christian on wrestling boards. In the past few years, we've read posts by people on this forum who think he's absolutely the greatest thing to ever come along; they seemingly can't figure why he hasn't been given a lengthy reign as world champion. These folks have told us that he was the driving force behind the Edge-Christian team.....that he was so much better than Edge as a performer it was silly to even compare the two.

Personally, I find him to be a useful mid-carder. He's terrific at working a match, but so are many other people. He can talk a pretty good game, but many others are more dynamic on the mic. He's got a pretty good presence about him and is capable of giving some good promos.

When he returned from TNA several years ago, it appeared that Vince McMahon wanted Christian to pay some dues before boosting him to the position in the company he previously held......and, sure enough, after a long period of playing second fiddle on ECW and Smackdown, he restored his good name and was surprisingly inserted as champion, finally losing to Randy Orton. Christian seemed a good match for Orton; he wasn't in Randy's league (as a presence), yet he acquitted himself well. After two short runs as champ, Christian returned to the mid-card until his ankle injury took him out for a surprisingly long time.

If the injury hadn't occurred, I don't know that anything would have developed differently, and I don't think any plans for him were altered because of his lengthy time away.

I think Christian is now right where he belongs: a middle-of-the-card guy with enough charisma to occasionally challenge for one of the minor title belts......with an occasional foray to the top of the roster when the champion needs someone to give a credible, though temporary, challenge.

Okay, so Christian just lost the IC title? Don't worry, he'll win it again somewhere down the line. Things are proceeding in the manner they should.

 

[Radical]

What I would LIKE for Christian now going forward is for him to jump up to the World Title picture again and challenge for the title by being involved in a multi-person feud for the title.

I would love to see him win the title again and get it for that 3rd time but sources are saying WWE wants longer title reigns so buckle up people you'll have to get used to Sheamus as champion for a while longer!

What more likely will happen with Christian because he one of the older Superstars on the roster is to be used to get over some newer heels, I'd like it to be Hunico w Camacho and Christian can snag a tag partner for some of the matches during this feud that Hunico & Camacho will win.

 

[Miz_Mark]

You can mark me down as one of those who has always felt Christian is superior to Edge- which is not a knock on Edge, I think he's an amazing talent.

But I think Christian is every bit as good on the mic and better and more versatile in the ring.

It seems the dictum holds true that after a tag team splits, both halves cannot achieve the same level of success. At least in the case of Edge and Christian, even the member with lesser success has done exceptionally well for himself.

I'm not sure where Christian will go from here, I'm not sure, but wherever he goes, I hope he stays relevent and continues to be involved in great matches and feuds. I would hope that before he hangs them up, het gets another WHC title run, one hopefully where he can successfully defend the the title a few times and have it for at least a few months.

 

[sdelfin]

First, I want to say that Christian is one of my favorites right now. It seems like WWE should have been able to get more out of Christian's return. He had momentum and WWE just killed it. To start, it's probably not the best booking to have Christian come back with no build and win the IC title his first day back with no chase for the title. And then WWE didn't keep Christian strong for very long as they jobbed him to Del Rio and for Money in the Bank qualifying matches. And I have no problem with Christian dropping the belt to the Miz, but again, I think both guys would have benefited from a bit of a build toward that title change. They did it that way specifically to have a title change on Raw 1000.

Christian is in a weird spot. He's very over and he's one of the best in-ring guys in the WWE. But he's also not a top face. Like others have said, he can be used to elevate newer guys like Sandow or Cesaro. History shows that Christian would not necessarily have to "lose" a feud for it to be beneficial to his opponent. For example, Rick Rude did not get the better of Jake Roberts in 1988 but went on to become Intercontinental Champion not long after. Christian could be used in a tag team role. I just think it makes sense to keep Christian as strong as possible so they can always use him as a credible title contender that can be used to keep their champions looking strong. Wade Barrett is due back soon. Perhaps he and Christian could work together.

 

[Firewall_Philip_Hanan]

To me, Christian has been lackluster in WWE since his ECW days. But in TNA, he had some incredible matches. He already had the TNA title, so why not give him the WWE or World Heavyweight Title? Just let him particpate in more extreme matches.

 

[K-Mac]

I'd like to see him and Jericho have a lengthy reign as Tag Champs, but with Jericho leaving again, it's impossible. I'd also like to see him get back into the WH Title hunt.

 

[justinsayne]

I imagine they have him feud with several heels that are on the verge of ME status, guys like Rhodes, Ziggy, Barrett (when he comes back), & help them get that little extra push needed toward those ME spots. When Jericho leaves, he'll essentially just take Jericho's spot.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think both Unread WJDwjdWJDwjd & justinsayne both gave to very likely roles for Christian in the near future. Christian is someone that can be counted on to give high quality matches and to help make his opponents look good. He's also someone that can frequently lose, yet keep his stock high. I can see Christian putting over guys like Cesaro or Sandow. I don't look for a feud with Cesaro to happen right now, personally I do expect him to take the US title from Santino soon. We all know that the WWE brass likes Santino, so with Cesaro only having wrestled a handful of matches in the past several months and cleanly went over the US champ in their first match suggests the WWE thinks highly of him. I do, however, see Christian and Sandow as a very real possibility. Sandow is someone that hasn't really been tested and Christian is someone that can do that. I could see him and Sandow having a series of strong matches with Sandow ultimately getting the better end of the feud before moving on to something else.

It's highly unlikely Christian will be in the main event picture again anytime soon. Randy Orton's suspension is officially up and I look for him to already be back in the WHC picture with Sheamus & Del Rio. As for the WWE Championship, that's going to be taken up by Punk and Cena, and probably even the Big Show being put into it at some point fairly soon, for the forseeable future.

Before all this, I do see Christian going after The Miz one more time in an attempt to regain the Intercontinental Championship, possibly at SummerSlam.

 

[MCMG]

Seeing as punk as turned heel the logical thing for Christian is to stay face and help level out the current imbalance of heel/face. That being said, he is still far down in the pecking order of faces behind the likes of Cena, Sheamus, Orton and i'm sure in the eyes of the WWE Mysterio. This means that he will be locked in the mid-card for a few months and I doubt he will do much.

 

[PEP3]

Christian has had a career any wrestler could be proud of when the time comes to move aside and let new talent climb the ladder. He's also the perfect performer to help make that happen.

With a resume to support his perceived main event status, Christian can easily move from upper-midcard standout into WHC contention, then back. He's also a versatile performer. Christian is entirely apable of being paired with nearly anyone to become viable contenders for the tag straps, if WWE hopes to give him more gold while elevating a newer wrestler into the championship scene (& further reignite the tag division, which is finally starting to show some life).

My vision for Christian lingers in the same area as most others here. He is going to assume the role of being an upper-midcard enhancement character, giving newer stars the kind of rub which only comes from defeating a former World Champion or "future Hall of Famer." Feuds with Damien Sandow, Cesaro and even Alberto Del Rio can do all three some good while keeping each occupied until their opportunity to shine comes.

Further, with WWE's newfound interest in multiple-party title matches, Christian has another option available. He can effortlessly and believably be slotted into any of those to not only fill space but provide crowd-pleasing promos in advance and high energy, entertaining spots during. And, of course, Christian is the perfect person to do the job in the event WWE wants to take the belt off the champ in one of these matches without having him cleanly pinned.

 

[Pegusus Fill_T]

First of all WWE dropped the ball bigtime with Christian after ER 2011. I understand that Cena is the biggest draw of the WWE but Christian's match shouldve finished ER 2011 since it was an emotional moment. This is coming from a huge Cena fan. After that it was a stupid decision for having him to drop the title to Randy. Just because your 2nd biggest star comes to the blue brand doesnt mean you immediately give him the title. And I'm a huge Randy fan. I was pissed (not with Randy obviously) but WWE & Vinnie Mac. The guy had enough fan support to be a good maineventer. Then another stupid decision to give him the IC championship only to drop it to Miz after only one feud with Rhodes (I'm a Miz fan too) He was made a whiny heel not the funny heel he was back during the 2004-2005 period. Christian has talent and is more than capable of being the cornerstone of SD with Randy & Sheamus.

Anyhow, I fear Christian will end up being the upper midcarder who is in the mainevent once in a while but mainly there to elevate new talent. Here's what I want for Christian
I want Christian to pull off a Benoit (NO not that way) I want him to win the title at a PPV and continue a dominant title reign for about 5-6 months. Seem unbeatable and in the end to drop the title to a younger guy (When I say younger guy, I mean a 20 odd year old - Not Sheamus and Not Ziggler. Maybe Rhodes) It will give Christian that one long reign he deserves and will push the young guy to new heights. Yes, it was the Foley v Orton feud that made Orton a legit competitor but beating Benoit was what made Randy great storyline-wise.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

There are a number of different ways they can go with Christian. I think the smartest thing is what has been mentioned: have him put over some of the new talent. I don't think Christian is opposed to that. He's a legitimate talent that will boost the credibility of the younger guys that will beat him.

Another direction to go, and I know it's hard to picture this without Edge, would be to find a tag team partner for him and give him a run in the tag team division. We all know he is a legendary tag team wrestler and so putting him with a young, up-and-comer and having them fight through the tag division would not only elevate Christian's partner but would also add some interest into the tag team division.

 

[duxdelrio]

It would make VERY little sense for Christian to return into the World Title picture, if he can't keep the I.C Title how would he make it to the World Title?

I'm not hating on your thread or Christian himself but it would make very little sense.

The natural progression in WWE has always been for the former Intercontinental champ to be placed in the World Title hunt. e.g. Warrior, Savage, Cody Rhodes etc. I wouldn't be surprised if Christian had a feud with Seamus.

 

[FrostTS]

The natural progression in WWE has always been for the former Intercontinental champ to be placed in the World Title hunt. e.g. Warrior, Savage, Cody Rhodes etc. I wouldn't be surprised if Christian had a feud with Seamus.

Well said, although, Christian had a very short run at the I.C title and I just don't see him being bumped up to the World Title, I may see him as a Main Eventer time-to-time just to fill in a gap or elevate a younger talent.

I know that Christian fans want him to hit the WHC before he hangs it up but lets be honest, Christian got the title at ER (I think) just because Edge was his best friend and it was respectful (kinda).

Edge Injury - Retirement - World Title Vacant - Best Friend Christian in title picture - Wins. Coincidence?

 

[XXJJ]

Midcard jobber. He will be a good feud for guys like Sandow, Cesaro and Ryback. They should all go over Christian.

 

[HBsam31]

I have always been a fan of Christian and I loved when he got the World tittle. I just never really thought he would be a main stay in the main event though. He was great in a tag team. One of the best teams all time. I can really get into him as the guy that would have a lengthy run with the IC or US title. I was hoping he would hang on to the IC belt for a while actually. I just don't see him as a permanent fixture in the WWE or World title pictures. I imagine from here he will help get some of the new talent over. A feud with Sandow I think would be good. If called upon, Christian could easily challenge for a top title if they wanted to help get the current champ over. I would like it if he had one more World title run, but I think from here on it will be helping get young guys over, and an occasional mid card title for Christian.