AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage isn't the most likable character in pro wrestling today. Meanwhile, a WWE veteran has revealed his biggest pet peeve with The Patriarch.
The name in question is Vince Russo. He worked with the current AEW star in WWE during the Attitude Era and in TNA in the mid-2000s.
On the latest edition of The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo revealed that he didn't always see eye-to-eye with Cage on certain things. It was mainly because the current AEW star was a perfectionist.
“It absolutely did [hold him back] because when you’re working with Vince Russo, bro, listen — when I was working with Christian [Cage] and he had to be a perfectionist about everything, that did not make me want to bury him, want to lessen his role. The fact of the matter was, ‘Christian, bro, we’ve got to record four shows tonight, I don’t have an hour for you to pace around in the back and go over this promo. We’ve got to do this promo,’" he said. [2:59 - 3:24]
Russo added that Cage's abovementioned character trait never impacted his push in TNA or his booking of the star. He also explained why the TNT Champion seemingly could not meet the sky-high expectations WWE officials had for him.
"That wouldn’t have an effect on me as far as how far he’s going to get pushed, but you pull that in the WWE, bro, you’re dealing with a whole different set of characters. You’re dealing with Bruce [Prichard], and Bruce has a great influence on Vince [McMahon]. It’s a totally different ball game.” [3:26 - 3:49]
You can watch the full episode of The Wrestling Outlaws right here:
Christian Cage picked up a big win last week on AEW Dynamite
This perfectionist trait might not have done Christian Cage any favors in WWE or TNA. However, in AEW, it seems to be working fine, as he has been the TNT Champion for a long time.
Cage made his third and most challenging defense of his crown on the December 6, 2023, edition of Dynamite against Adam Copeland in Montreal. It was the first time since 2010 that the former WWE Tag Team Champions faced each other one-on-one.
After a hard-hitting contest, Christian Cage picked up the win, thanks to some help from Nick Wayne's mother, who took out Copeland with the title belt. Shayna Wayne seemingly assaulted the Hall of Famer to avenge the latter's attack on her son.
Do you think Christian Cage is a worthy TNT Champion? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit The Wrestling Outlaws and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.