Tonight’s Monday Night RAW was slated to be a big night for fans of Christian. Following Backlash, which saw his long-time friend and former tag team partner Edge lose to Randy Orton in the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever,” the man known as “Captain Charisma” confronted Orton. Following a heated encounter, it was confirmed that Christian would be making his in-ring return.
Christian interrupted an in-ring promo by Orton to start the show. “Captain Charisma” declared that Edge would be back. Orton accused Christian of being jealous of Edge. From there, Orton goaded Christian into having “one more match,” despite him being medically unable to compete. Thus, Orton laid down a challenge to Christian: an unsanctioned match. In other words, WWE would not be held liable for any catastrophe. Orton gave Christian until the end of the night to respond. Ultimately, Christian accepted an hour and a half into the show.
Before the match could begin, Ric Flair, who previously spoke to Christian regarding the match, made his way to the ring. Flair attempted to talk Christian out of the match, but to no avail. As soon as the bell rang, Flair hit Christian with a low blow to the shock of those in attendance. Orton followed up with a punt and a slow cover for the pinfall victory. Orton scolded his unconscious opponent, who was tended to by parademics.
To say that this return took fans by surprise would be an understatement. Though Christian has made appearances for WWE as of late – from Peep Show segments to “The Edge and Christian Show” on the WWE Network – he hadn’t wrestled a match in over six years. His last official match was on the March 24th, 2016 episode of RAW; he competed in a fatal four-way match to determine a number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Though Christian won the match, he suffered a concussion, which kept him out of action indefinitely.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"@RandyOrton has defeated @Christian4Peeps in this #Unsanctioned Match on #WWERaw. pic.twitter.com/wxgtUW27yh
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 16, 2020
Historically, Christian has been highly regarded as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in history. He is a nine-time WWE World Tag Team Champion, winning seven of those titles alongside Edge. They, along with The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz, have been credited for reinventing tag team wrestling during the late nineties and early aughts. Such accolades as the 2000 Tag Team of the Year by the Wrestling Observer are a collective testament to his tag team accomplishments.
This isn’t to say that Christian saw a lack of singles success. In WWE alone, he became a four-time Intercontinental Champion, two-time ECW Champion, and two-time World Heavyweight Champion. WWE wasn’t the only promotion he saw singles success in, though. When he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2005, he was pushed as one of their main event stars. It was here he became a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, which would lead to further singles success in WWE when he re-signed in 2009.
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