Dude if Cody went back, the fanbase would literally go berserk when he & Cody crossed paths. Cody: So what do you wanna talk about? Christian's voice: How about your father? Walks onto the stage: Oh wait. He's dead. Internet goes berserk 🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀
"Worked Everyone" He really does. If you're a young wrestler wondering how you to work heel, there's two guys to watch for the fundamentals. One is William Regal and the other is Christian Cage.
JBL was less of an innovator, but understood the idea that you can make your character an extension of yourself turned up to 11 and the crowd will buy into it. He had a lot of success with it. @@freshlypouredlean167
If you would have told me 10 years ago that two of my favourite wrestlers in 2023 would be Jeff Jarrett and Christian Cage I'd have laughed in your face but here we are, what a crazy time it is to be a wrestling fan
Right?! Christian has always been great and killing it again. God I use to hate Jarrett, now I look forward to seeing him on dynamite. Masterful troll job by the universe on us.😂
I didn't really watch TNA, so all i know about Jarrett was that he was a death sentence for a promotion. NOW he and team tna are one of my favorite segments to watch. I think AEW has a little for everybody, and i enjoy the little bit of carny shit we get
The TNA wrestlers are often great assets to any promotion. Samoan Joe, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Christian Cage, Eddie Kingston for AEW. Ken Anderson, The Pope, EC3 for NWA. Eli Drake, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode (For a while) in WWE. TNA knew how to push the good wrestlers. (Mostly heels though lol)
The creative freedom that AEW is giving can't worked well on some new talents that don't know how the drive the wheels. But for some veterans that for some time we're guided, it shows well how a complete professional wrestler can do when they don't cut their creative freedom.
MJF's promos rely too much on WWE references and catchphrases. He's still excellent, but as a heel, Christian Cage is the master. He knows how to work a crowd perfectly. His pauses, facial expressions and how he turns a simple interview with Tony Schavione into the best segment on the show put him on a level of his own. MJF's best promos are when he has another wrestler out there with him to go back and forth with. Christian produces gold even with a simple interview! He was held back so much in the WWE. When he has more freedom like in TNA or now in AEW he reminds everyone why he's one of the absolute best ever! He truly deserves a run as the AEW Champion to cement his legacy on the very top one more time!
I ran into Christian in Huntsville, AL at a Waffle House in 2003 he was sitting at a table with Lance Storm, and Shane Helms. In my head I was like, "Holy shit! Three of my favorite wrestlers are over there." I knew that no one would believe me so I *flipped* out my cell phone and called my best friend in Michigan (he was a even bigger Christian-head), I walked over to Christian and boys, introduced myself and asked Christian if he would talk to my friend on the phone who was a hug fan. Without skipping a beat he jump right into character and started cutting the biggest heel promo on me to my friend on the phone (I was wearing a F*ck Fear, Drink Beer, Stone Cold Shirt - which he used to fire up his promo even more). When it was all said and done, he handed me back my phone and said, "Was that okay?" I graciously thanked him for that, shook his hand and told him, "I'd catch him down the road" which got a nice little chuckle. So I can say, "Yeah I popped Christian Cage." 😂😋 Side note, I sure do miss the E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness - Maybe one day we will see Flip Sunset and Paul Smackage on AEW television one day?
He’s also one of the best ever at getting nuclear levels of cheap heat. It’s not just "this town sucks and the people here are stupid" his zingers definitely have some stank on ‘em. The "not losing to the Cleveland Browns embarrassing" line from this past Dynamite got a hell of a reaction
I understand the Dead Dad stuff is cool, but I think you really undersold just how well executed this TNT title dynamic has been. It's gold. It's so smart. And most importantly, its relatively fresh. This dynamic is 10x better than simply have Christian be the actual champion and having a heater like Luchasaurus. Each wrestler gets to play to their strengths, Christian gets to wrestle in select spots and still help rebuild the prestige of the title up. This current dynamic is a microcosm of everything that makes pro wrestling beautiful.
100% this. We all know Christian is an egotistical prick. As soon as Lucha wins the TNT title and Christian grabs it and celebrates like he just won, I was like: "Oh fuck yeah, here we go!" The Dead dad stuff is just icing on the cake and Christian legit being one of the best Heels in the business right now. Not only that, now Edge is there and we're going to get some crazy fun stuff in the future. Can't wait.
Well, another layer was peeled back during the 3-way for the TNT Championship on Collision 💥 before WrestleDream when, for the 1st time since actually winning the title, Luchasaurus picked up and held HIS title, just in awe and maybe in a trance like state of "OH this what it feels like huh???", before Christian came and demanded him to hand over the title... Then, after pinning Luchasaurus to win (or retain lol) the championship, he went back to treating him like his best friend 😂😂😂 The heel turn by Young Nick was perfectly excused and sets him up for a big step up aligning himself with "Father of the Year" Christian Cage. The promos between him and Adam are going to be interesting seeing as WWE made Christian come off like a whiny little prick who wasn't Edge's equal to whereas now the both of them are on the same level, more CC than Adam for me because Edge has been on a nostalgic run since returning in 2020 and Christian has been in a good groove with this character since turning on Jack Perry.
I love how AEW is booking Christian Cage right now. I think he is one of the best thing in AEW at the moment. How cool would it be for Christian Cage to use "My Last Breath" from Evanescence as his theme song, to make this run even more iconic?
As a huge mark for Edge and Christian since the 90s, I sincerely and deeply mean this: Christian was and is the Better overall talent. It's a shame they didn't push him to the very tippy top in WWE, but his TNA run was legendary. He was the reason I started watching TNA. Years later, he's one of the main reasons I'm still watching AEW.
I totally agree! No disrespect to Edge, but Christian has always been the smoother worker in the ring and the better craftsman on the mic. The only reason most casuals would straight away say Edge is better is because they saw him winning more! The boss pushed him more, but ability wise Christian is a more complete talent. He's been making AEW episodes worth watching just for his promos! He adds so much to that company. It would be a crime if he doesn't at least have one run as the AEW Champion!
@@alaooooy7 Edge is the bigger daredevil and that gets more praise than winning. It isn't the 20th century. People won't think wrestlers are better if they win. Mick Foley proved that to the fans. Edge just has a better highlight reel than Christian. Also, while I agree that Christian is better on the mic and psychology it's not like Edge is a slouch in those areas either. Both these guys are great at every aspect of the business.
@@redrick8900 It's not about being a daredevil. I've seen people arguing that Edge is way better because look how many world titles he won and look how many big feuds he was pushed in. Many fans think a wrestler is better because he won more. I've seen people claim that Batista and Big Show are better than Christian because they won the WWE title! You might not see it that way but many fans do. And if being a "daredevil" makes you better then Ric Flair is an average wrestler because he never was a daredevil! It makes no sense. Christian deserves more credit than what he gets.
@@alaooooy7 Winning and winning major tittles are different things. Winning the WWE tittle is certain evidence that careers went better. Ric Flair was never that good. He's all hype and stolen bits from wrestlers that didn't hit the bigtime. He's adequate on the mic and crap in the ring. Also, I didn't say Daredevils are better. I'm saying that that is the chief criteria of modern wrestling fans. That's why people keep talking up Ricochet and Balor when their matches are almost always boring.
@@redrick8900 So Jinder Mahal, who won the WWE title, is better than Christian, Piper, Henry, Benoit, Hall, Rude, Owen etc. Winning the WWE only means one thing, which is that Vince chose to be nice to you. It doesn't say anything about ability. Ability wise the men I mentioned are way more worthy than many that won it. Ultimate Warrior won it but Rude, Orndorff, Ramon, Piper and Perfect didn't! You saying Flair was crap must be a joke. But the point was that being a daredevil isn't a great argument to say Edge was better agility wise. Yet Christian had his fair share of daredevil moments in Money in the Banks matches, which Vince never let him win. He also had big daredevil moments in TLC and ladder matches, feuds like those with Shelton, Rhyno, Abbyss, RVD and a few cage dives in TNA Lockdown matches. So it's not like being a daredevil is something Edge had more than Christian!
Christians Heel run as Captain Charisma from 04-08 was with Tyson Tomko as his problem solver was underrated and showed how Christian was a worthy main eventer at least TNA gave him that platform to be a top guy
I really hope he’s got a lot left in him and it looks like he does when you compare him to the Hardy’s especially Matt who looks like he can barely walk😕
Being World Champion or not is something decided by the boss, although it was totally deserved. But in terms of actual quality of work, the promos Christian has been delivering regularly since turning heel put him on a league of his own in the mic! He's been incredible in the ring whenever he put his wrestling boots on as well! Would love to see the two have a major feud in AEW if Edge goes there, But I'd also love to see Christian become AEW Champion because he really deserves it based on how good he's been for the company. He was held back for years and he deserves all the credit in the world for his current work.@@TSEEMOD_618
@DanAD179 Not really. I didn't mean the programs he worked, just that he couldn't go all the way with his characters because of the restrictions of PG. That's all.
Let's not forget how he's elevating the TNT title after it's been so "meh" for the last year or so. It definitely lost it's prestige since Sammy and Cody went back and forth with it a couple times then Cody left. Christian is making it important again after AEW didn't really know what to do with Wardlow.
Oh yeah I was there live for the Nick Wayne segment we were so excited whe he came out and when he mention his dad the whole building all had the same reaction LOL we are all sick hahah
Christian Cage is on a level of his own on the mic and is still one of the absolute best in the ring! He delivers gold in every single segment he's in! He truly deserves to be pushed as the top main event heel in AEW and to have a run as the AEW Champion!
Christian Cage coming out of his retirement three years ago is one of the best things to have ever happened to wrestling! He's unbelievable in his current run and I hope he keeps going for many years to come! Hope he gets an even bigger push after this TNT title run. He deserves a run as the AEW Champion! One of the absolute GOATs!
Punk promised a lot and it was a disappointment. Nobody saw Christian as a big deal when he debut, but oh dear. For me week by week he is getting at top of his career. Kudos to aew for turning babyfaces into heels, Luchasauros, Jack Perry and Nick, they are risking putting them out of their comfort zone 🙌🏻
What I like about him is that he can get just as big of reactions as the top guys who do the big moves without doing the big moves. He doesn't need a 7-15 minute match to get himself over. He just needs a microphone and a wrestlers parents and everyone wants to see him get his butt handed to him. It's art.
You did justice to my favourite wrestler dude. Christian became my favourite wrestler in 2005 where he cut the best promos that year and had everything screaming main event. He showed it TNA, ECW and briefly WWE. In AEW he shows his full potential as a heel and cutting the best promos of his life. Also him wrestling rarely makes it feel like an event
Just proves more of Mcmahon Insanity. This is the guy Vince wanted to put in a mask because he didn't like his face. Christian made it work by making us hate that face.
i think you missed a key point about christian going after people with dead dads. theres a reason past simply "being a villain," hes seeking them believing them to be easy targets, not just as enemies but to break them down and become the father figure, its one thing to be surrounded by henchmen, its another to be surrounded by dedicated henchmen who look to you as a father figure.
Thank you for this video. Christian Cage deserves his flowers. He has no business being this good, and in that good of shape at his age. But here he is. Killing it.
I always preferred Christian over Edge. I remember watching an episode of WWECW and Christian vs Jack Swagger had the best match of the week. Yeah, that’s how bad the wrestling content was back then. Was never a fan of Randy Orton, but his rivalry with Christian made Orton watchable to me.
Gotta give aew massive credit for using legends as Talent and not a nostalgia gimmick. These people have wrestled forever and have learned a lot. They are valuable assets.
Simply to become a heel like Christian and it only takes a few steps 1. Have a turtleneck 2. Check out wrestlers 3. Check if their father is still alive 4. Hit on their mom 5. Have creative Book them against you if their father is dead 6. Mention the dead father multitude of times 7. Due to the multiple references to the dad fathers fans should boo 8. Congrats a heel is you. You now are a dastardly heel and got memed due to the character I honestly adore when he mentions dead fathers he's basically the Thanos of Dead fathers to where I'd honestly want them on screen to have Christian Cage and David Benoit and Christian Cage and Brodie Jr. Have 2 promos just to bring the memes to life
Christian is in my top 5 favourite wrestlers of all time and when it looked like he'd never get a proper retirement let alone another big run I was very sad so when he came back I was ecstatic! The stuff with Kenny especially was incredible and a dream come true with the All Out match legit being one of my favourite of all times! But it's been extra sweet to have him become one of the best most entertaining characters in wrestling proving to everyone what I've known for years Christian is incredible.
Christian was held back so much over the years specially by Vince. He's now doing some of the greatest heel work ever and truly deserves to be AEW Champion! I hope they don't hold him back with age as an excuse this time. Jericho is older and they gave him the AEW and ROH titles. Christian deserves at least one run where he'd add more value to the title before dropping it to a fresh babyface giving him a huge boost. It would be a crime if he doesn't get it. He deserves it more than anyone!
What I like about AEW the most is how there are guys who WWE saw nothing in that turn up in AEW and do some of their finest work. Brodie, Miro and Christian could've done what they did in WWE but because everything was booked for Vince alone, they didn't get a chance. However, they need to find more of their own guys because that's what really sets a territory on fire.
So the Acclaimed Hangman Orange Cassidy Jamie Hayter Kris Statlander Brit Baker MJF Darby Allin So you are saying they haven't found their own guys ???
I was always more of a Christian guy than an Edge guy. I still think his goofy operatic solo theme is one of the best WWE entrance themes. He's one of the highlights of any show he appears on, and only slightly behind his mocking wrestlers' dead fathers is his eagerness to mack on their widowed moms sitting at ringside.
His AEW heel promos are so so good, and he is still one of the best in ring performers in the world, and topping it off with him calling himself TNT champion and carrying the belt while the real champion is Christian's muscle. It cracks me up every single time. I'm a peep for life
Honestly, Christian is a unique breed in professional wrestling. He is capable of playing both a babyface and a heel at a top level. He has always been overlooked and I agree there. I'm glad his current run as TNT champ(106+ days) is a major success. The TNT title is at it's peak right now and he's done a great job elevating that title.
This youtuber is way ahead of its time if he thought Christian was underrated back then. That’s a concept we all realized when it was already too late. Christian is such a great worker, an in-ring psychologist (better than Edge but behind Orton and AJ Styles), a great talker despite not having enough portion of the platform to truly express himself, and a great pro-wrestler. I won’t mind if he has to cut a promo for 20 minutes.
This is one of the best thumbnails of a video I've seen for a wrestling doc/video essay. The photos you select always look cinematic (like it was taken by film cameras) and the text you use is pretty eye-catching too. It reminds me so much of the "Nitro" by Guy Evans book about the rise and fall of WCW. Great video as well - Christian has always been underrated!!
The greatest meme was Christian thanking jungle boy for sending him to hell. So he could tell his dad in person he raised a piece of crap. Christian is doing some great heel work right now. Its tough to argue a better heel on TV than him right now. There is so much right in his work. To the point if he doesnt mention some dead person or hitting on someones mom fans feel cheated. His heel work has gotten over and thats when you know your doing superstar work as one of the best in the business. The only thing missing is that Christian is the real undisputed heavyweight champion. That would be epic.
Christian Cage being the a-hole who insults various wrestler's late fathers has bare fruit so far while helping the AEW TNT Championship scene. He was such a scumbag in 2011 that I enjoyed Randy Orton beat his @$$ at that year's SummerSlam. And, his disrespect towards Nick Wayne is crazy that leaves many in an uproar.
I posted a video of Christian taking a photo with a little girl holding a toy AEW belt and then he snatches it from her and puts it over his shoulder and has her dad take another photo with him holding both belts. I posted it on my channel and people absolutely love it. Christian has found his groove for sure! The dad was in line next to me at Starrcast waiting to meet Britt Baker and he saw Christian's line was low and wanted to meet him so I told him I would save his spot. He didn't know I recorded the interaction for him also. I surprised him with it and he couldn't have been more thankful. The little girl's reaction was adorable!
One of the many, many flaws in WWE and Vince McMahon in particular was the way they looked at the breakup of The Rockers and the phenomenal solo success of the incomparable Shawn Michaels once he left Marty Janetty, and decided that they'd struck on a genius method to create a singles star- take a popular tag team, split them up, and you'll get one superstar to be pushed to the moon, and one jobber to be discarded, or at best one lower-mid card guy to be neglected. You saw it with Edge and Christian, with Jeff and Matt Hardy, and more recently with the likes of Otis and Tucker. Hell, there were rumours they were planning on doing it with the Street Profits, where I think the intention was to push Ford and discard Dawkins, and they may yet even try and do it with the Usos! Hell, even when they split up The Shield, they tried to make both Roman and Seth into stars while quietly sidelining Dean! Rather than treat it as an opportunity to make TWO big stars, they fixate on the idea that a tag team only has enough talent between them for one guy, and the "lesser" one isn't worth bothering with. And that's led to SO much wasted potential over the decades.
Also, there are some people who are tag wrestlers. That's what they're good at and they're not good solo acts. The New Age Outlaws are the obvious example of this, where Billy Gunn has been in numerous decent tag acts because he's an excellent tag wrestler. The Rock & Roll Express were an excellent drawing tag team. However, and this is something AEW promised to get back to and have drifted away from, tag wrestling was a territorial drawing card. A great tag division would carry a promotion and the top stars would be among the top stars in promotion. Instead, we've had nearly four decades of Vince shitting on it.
There is no doubt he’s on the best run of his career. When he said he’s never apologized for anything, and then looked at the camera to say, “Jungle Boy, I’m sorry your entire family isn’t dead,” so dead serious, was perfect.
I like that he's working with the young guys. He's teaching them how to promo. He has the Matt Hardy syndrome. Matt and Christian are better in the ring just people seem to like their partners more.
