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Christian is one of the most decorated superstars in the history of the WWE. He started in tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era before breaking out on his own as 'Captain Charisma'.
He has achieved a lot, and has left us with some memorable moments along the way. He should no doubt be considered an entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame somewhere down the line. He is now, of course, performing on AEW and performing in the ring following his return from a lengthy hiatus due to injury.
That being said, let's take a look at five of Christian's most memorable moments in WWE.
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#5 Christian returns during the Men's Royal Rumble match in 2021
Christian suffered a serious concussion in 2014 which ultimately put an end to his in-ring career. It was determined not to be cleared by doctors and had to seek alternative opportunities. 'Captain Charisma' had suffered other concussions in the past, which meant this one was the final straw.
He made a home working as a panelist on WWE programming, and also in an original show on the WWE Network - The Edge & Christian Show. He also participated in WWE storylines that didn't require him to be physical.
Christian spoke with ESPN 97.5 in Houston, TX, in April 2020 about returning to the ring with WWE:
"I mean, it's one of those things right? It's a completely different injury. I'm pretty contempt with all that I have accomplished in WWE. I pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to do except main event WrestleMania and I mean, let's be honest, how many people actually get to do that? I'm 46 years old, and I had some concussion issues. I don't see it happening. I'm medically disqualified. I'm not sure how or what can get me cleared," Christian said.
Then, in January 2021, Christian shocked the WWE Universe by making his entrance into the Men's Royal Rumble match. He entered as entrant No.24 and lasted 18 minutes before being eliminated by Seth Rollins. The former Intercontinental Champion was back, defying the odds after his career was deemed to be over.
Even more shocking, it was revealed after the Royal Rumble event in 2021 that Christian's contract with WWE was up and he didn't re-sign. He went on to sign with All Elite Wrestling, where he now competes as Christian Cage.
#4 Christian's first singles WrestleMania victory
Christian and Chris Jericho undoubtedly had one of the best feuds of the year in 2004. It all started when they both had a bet (for one dollar, Canadian!) on who would be able to woo their respective love interests. Jericho was involved with Trish Stratus, and Christian was interested in Lita. Jericho's romance with Trish blossomed and he became serious about her.
At the WrestleMania 20 pay-per-view in Madison Square Garden, the pair faced each other in a match after they had a serious falling out. To the shock of the WWE Universe, Trish Stratus, who was romantically involved with Jericho, struck Y2J and assisted Captain Charisma in picking up the win. It became his first major singles victory on WWE's biggest stage.
Following the conclusion of the match, he and Trish were on the entrance ramp where they signified that they were now together. Jericho had been dumped by his fellow Canadians. The feud between Christian and Chris Jericho continued throughout 2004 and concluded at the Unforgiven pay-per-view later that year.
#3 Christian's debut in WWE
Christian made his WWE debut during the Attitude Era in 1998. He was initially paired with Edge and Gangrel to form The Brood. They became one of the most popular trios during that period.
Gangrel, who was the leader of the group, spoke with Chris Van Vliet about the first entrance with Christian and Edge:
"The first night, Sunday Night Heat, if you watch it back, you will see they clip away and come back. We did one dry rehearsal for the show for the first time ever. They said the elevator has a shimmy in it. It has a boom boom and it will go up. Give it a second. Well, the dry rehearsal didn’t have all this fog in a dark arena and all this other stuff. I got in there, the music went and I could see the fire going. I thought I felt the shimmy. I thought I felt the elevator do its thing. I went to turn and step off. Well, it wasn’t done. My foot got planted as I was turning in between the elevator and the stage so it shut. I stepped over and the flames were burning up around me. When they got it down, I hobbled to the ring and my foot was black and blue for months. They told me that’s a great vampire swag you have and I said, ‘no that’s just a hurt foot and a grizzled knee," Gangrel said. (h/t Wrestling News.co)
For Christian, it was his big break through onto the WWE roster. He made an instant impact and immediately grew on the WWE Universe. It also sparked a tag team between him and Edge, which went on to become one of the most successful tag teams in WWE known as Edge & Christian.
#2 Edge & Christian
One of the greatest tag teams we've seen perform in a WWE ring: Edge and Christian. Together, they changed the game when it came to tag team wrestling, particularly during the Attitude Era. They scrapped the rulebook and made their own rules, pushing every limit in the process.
They most notably became stars when facing The Dudley Boys and The Hardy Boyz in a number of Ladder matches and Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches. And of course, who could forget the five-second pose the duo used to do for the fans in attendance?
Edge spoke to Bleacher Report about the famous TLC matches he and Christian competed in:
"There is that part of me that feels we pushed it too far. At that time, we were young and we were hungry, and we were just champing at the bit to get noticed and to make our mark. And how do you do that when you have Steve Austin firing on every cylinder? When you have The Rock firing on every cylinder? When you have The Undertaker and Mankind and Kane and Triple H—what do you do to stand out, to get noticed, to start creating some kind of a groundswell? Well, we were willing to take risks. And we'd like to think that they were calculated and that they made sense. But I still think we've pushed it so far," Edge said. (h/t Cultaholic)
The matches and this period put Christian on the map. Eventually, the team would split and go their separate ways and become singles competitors.
#1 Christian winning his first World Championship in WWE
Christian's most memorable moment in WWE came in 2011 when he became World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. It was a moment that had been a long time coming.
At WrestleMania in 2011, Edge successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship. Sadly, following further medical examinations, Edge was forced to relinquish the championship and retire from the ring. Christian was aiding the 'Rated R Superstar' at the time, so he picked up the baton where Edge left off.
He won a 20-man battle royal on SmackDown to face Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder Match for the vacant championship. At the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Christian climbed the ladder to capture his first-ever world title in WWE. It was an occasion to savor.
For the remainder of the summer following the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Christian and Randy Orton traded the World Heavyweight Championship. They embarked on an incredible feud that saw a number of critically acclaimed matches.
The moment when Christian captured the World Heavyweight Championship will go down as his greatest moment in WWE. It truly recognized his work and dedication to the business. It was most deserved and truly cemented his place as a top tier talent in WWE.
