Top 10 underrated performers in WWE: Number 9

As we continue our journey to find the top 10 underrated performers in the history of the WWE, we come to number 9 on the list. He is someone who is currently performing on the active roster, and has been in the business for nearly two decades. He is the only person to have held the NWA, ECW and the World Heavyweight championship, but was never given his due in the WWE.

Being one of the greatest heels of the past decade, he is one of the few favourites of the Internet Wrestling Community and the “smart marks”. He is one of the best workers in the business, and has sacrificed his life to entertain the wrestling fans. He is none other than “Captain Charisma”, Christian.

Christian is considered to be one of the greatest Canadian wrestlers in the history of the business. Christian, along with his best friend Edge was into professional wrestling from a very young age. With Edge and Christian having the same dream and desire, they set out on a journey to make it to the biggest organisation in the world, the WWE.

Edge and Christian were both successful in realising their dream, and formed a tag team during the Attitude Era, and have been heralded as one of the greatest tag teams of all time. They were known as the innovators of TLC matches, and cemented their place in the history books.

After WWE dissolved the team, Christian started his singles career, and immediately became one of the best heels in the company. His feuds with the likes of Chris Jericho received praise from the wrestling fans and critics alike, and by 2005, Christian became the biggest heel in the company.

One would have imagined that Christian would be placed in the main event scene being the number one heel in the organisation, but the management and Vince McMahon had other plans. It was often said that Vince didn’t think Christian was championship material due to his small stature, and hence, although the entire WWE fan base started cheering for Christian, he was placed in mediocre feuds. Christian had enough, and he decided to quit the WWE.

Christian then made his way to TNA, and immediately became the number one face of the company. He won the prestigious NWA title, and put TNA on the map. But he was a big fish in a small pond, and Christian made his way back to the WWE, and was sent to ECW where he became the ECW world champion.

After ECW was shut down, he joined the Smackdown roster, and was paired up with Edge, with rumours flying around about a possible feud between the two down the line for the World Heavyweight championship. With Edge unfortunately retiring from professional wrestling, fans thought it would be Christian’s time to shine in the WWE.

Christian won his first World championship in WWE when he defeated Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match for the vacant World Heavyweight championship. After more than a decade, Christian’s hard work paid off, and the fans were elated. But with Christian losing the title a couple of days later to Orton, the entire wrestling fraternity lashed out at the WWE. Christian won the title back, but dropped it immediately once again to Orton, and put him over at the end of their feud. Christian was once again lost in the shuffle, and the fans expressed their disgust about how the entire thing played out.

There are very few performers who earned the respect of their peers and the fans, and Christian is one of them. With Reso being a veteran, one feels there isn’t much time left in the career of Christian in WWE and professional wrestling. Christian is a top notch performer and has been a great heel in the WWE, but with Vince McMahon not even interested in pushing Christian as the world champion, there is nothing left for him to prove in the company.

People like Batista have expressed their opinion about Christian being one of the very best in the business, and is underutilised in the WWE. Christian has been one of the best students of the game, and even though he was never given a proper opportunity, he made the most of what he had and became one of the biggest fan favourites. This earns him the number 9 spot in our list of the most underrated superstars in the history of WWE.

Read other articles in the series here: Top 10 underrated performers in WWE.