Jason Reso
Encyclopedia
William Jason Reso is a Canadian
professional wrestler
and actor
, better known by his ring name
s Christian and Christian Cage. He is currently signed to WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), appearing on its SmackDown brand
.
Reso was trained by former professional wrestlers Ron Hutchinson
, Dory Funk, Jr.
, and Tom Prichard
, and made his wrestling debut in June 1995. Reso wrestled in Canadian independent promotion
s early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Edge, his storyline
brother. In 1998, Reso signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company the following year. After signing with the WWF, Reso made his debut and captured his first title with the company, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
. He and Edge
went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
es. In 2001 the team parted ways and Reso signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA) in 2005.
Following his move to TNA, he won his first of six world championships, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
, in February 2006. He recaptured the title in January 2007 and established his Coalition
, which disbanded a year later. Reso left TNA in late-2008 and re-signed with WWE. In April 2009, Reso won his first world championship in WWE, the ECW Championship
, which he would win again in July of that year. He became the longest reigning ECW Champion in the WWE era and later went on the SmackDown brand capturing the World Heavyweight Championship
in May 2011, and again in July of that year.
Overall, Reso has won 21 championships in WWE and TNA, which include being a six time world champion (two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, two-time ECW World Champion, and two time World Heavyweight Champion), as well as a one time WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, one time WWF Hardcore Champion
, one time WWF European Champion
, three-time WWF/E Intercontinental Champion
, and a nine-time World Tag Team Champion. In addition to these accolades, Reso is the twenty-third Triple Crown Champion and the eleventh Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
, Canada
on November 30, 1973 to an American father and a Canadian mother. Reso played hockey
and was a wrestling fan as a child. After moving to Orangeville, Ontario
when he was a youth, Reso met Adam Copeland, who became his best friend and later tag team partner throughout his early career as "Edge" and "Sexton Hardcastle". The two attended high school together at Orangeville District Secondary School, from which Reso graduated. Before moving to Orangeville, Reso lived in Huntsville, Ontario
and East Luther-Grand Valley, Ontario
. He is close friends with fellow wrestler Terry Gerin, better known as "Rhino", "Rhyno", or "Rhino Richards". Reso currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Denise, whom he married in 2001.
. One of Reso's early ring names, "Christian Cage", was a combination of the names of the actors, Christian Slater
and Nicolas Cage
. Christian's wrestling career began in June 1995 in a match against Zakk Wyld, which resulted in a draw. In 1997, he was a part of THUG Life, a stable (or alliance) that included Joe E. Legend
, Zakk Wyld, Rhino Richards, and Sexton Hardcastle. As a tag team on the Canadian independent circuit
, Copeland and Reso were known as "High Impact" and later "The Suicide Blondes". The duo held titles in numerous professional wrestling promotion
s and competed in Canada, the United States, and Japan. Reso won East Coast Wrestling Association
's (ECWA) Heavyweight Championship
on July 18, 1998, which he held till October 15, 1999.
When Copeland received a tryout match with the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF), Reso went with him. Reso and Copeland faced off in an untelevised tryout match which Copeland was booked to win. After the tryout, Copeland signed a contract with the WWF. Once Copeland was promoted from his developmental status to touring with the WWF he put in a good word for Reso, getting him invited to the WWF affiliated Dory Funk, Jr.
’s "The Funking Conservatory" training camp in 1998. After completing the training at the conservatory, Reso signed a contract with the WWF to become a full-time performer.
to Christian. Reso made his television debut on September 27, 1998 at the Breakdown: In Your House
pay-per-view
(PPV) event distracting Edge during his match against Owen Hart
to reveal his allegiance to Gangrel
. He won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
in his debut match against Taka Michinoku on October 18, 1998 at the Judgment Day: In Your House
PPV event.
Christian, given the character of a vampire
, formed an alliance with Gangrel and Edge, who, in storyline, was finally persuaded to join what became known as The Brood. The Brood briefly feuded
with, then joined, The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness
, but upon learning that Christian was beaten into telling Ken Shamrock
the whereabouts of Stephanie McMahon, The Undertaker wanted to punish Christian by flogging (according to the storyline at the time). More loyal to the Brood than to the Ministry, Edge and Gangrel betrayed The Undertaker and rescued Christian.
(Jeff
and Matt Hardy
) to form The New Brood. As a result, they began feuding with The Hardy Boyz, and went onto compete in a ladder match
at the No Mercy
PPV event on October 17, 1999 for the managerial services
of Terri Runnels
and $100,000, which The Hardy Boyz won. At the WrestleMania 2000
PPV event on April 2, 2000, Christian and Edge defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship in a Triangle Ladder match, which ultimately led to the creation of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
(TLC).
Following their victory, Christian and Edge portrayed themselves as villains
, shifting their in-ring personas from borderline goth
to a comedic pair of "cool dudes", winning the Tag Team Championship six more times (for a total of seven). During this time, their trademark became the "five second pose", where they performed a pose in the ring for five seconds "for the benefit of those with flash photography" to mock, insult, or otherwise amuse the fans. At the SummerSlam
PPV event on August 27, 2000, the duo successfully defended the tag team title in the first-ever TLC match against The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz. At the Royal Rumble
PPV event on January 21, 2001, Christian and Edge lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to The Dudley Boyz. The following month on February 25, 2001 at the No Way Out
PPV event, they were unsuccessful in regaining the title, but recaptured the title on April 1, 2001 at the WrestleMania X-Seven
PPV event in the second-ever TLC match involving The Hardy Boyz. Christian and Edge were defeated by The Brothers of Destruction
(Kane
and The Undertaker) for the tag team championship on the April 19, 2001 episode of WWF SmackDown!.
After losing the tag team title, friction arose within the team after Edge won the 2001 King of the Ring tournament on June 24 at the King of the Ring PPV event. It was also during this time that Edge was becoming a fan favorite
during "The Invasion" storyline. Christian turned on Edge shortly afterward, resulting in the two feuding for Edge's WWF Intercontinental Championship
for several months, with the title changing hands twice.
Christian began a singles career by winning the WWF European Championship
from Bradshaw
in October 2001, though he would later lose the title to Diamond Dallas Page
in January 2002. After a series of defeats, Christian announced he was quitting the WWF, but Page persuaded Christian to reconsider, and adopted him as his protegé. Christian betrayed Page and faced off against him for the European championship at the WrestleMania X8
event on March 17, 2002, in which Page defeated him. During the same event, Christian defeated Mighty Molly
to win the WWF Hardcore Championship
, but lost the title to Maven
later that night.
Following WrestleMania X8, Christian formed an alliance with fellow Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm
and Test in June 2002, calling themselves The Un-Americans
. Together, Christian and Storm won the now named WWE Tag Team Championship, formerly the WWF Tag Team Championship (which was renamed due to the WWF being forced to rename itself "World Wrestling Entertainment"), on July 21, 2002 at the Vengeance
PPV event, but later lost it on the September 23, 2002 episode of WWE Raw
to the team of The Hurricane
and Kane. He later formed a tag team with Chris Jericho
, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship, the renamed WWE Tag Team Championship, on October 14, 2002. Christian and Jericho lost the title in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, Booker T
and Goldust, and William Regal
and Lance Storm, on December 15, 2002 at the Armageddon
PPV event.
In 2003, after receiving advice and endorsement from The Rock, Christian self-proclaimed himself as the new "People's Champion", and began calling his fans "The Peeps". He went on to win a nine man over-the-top-rope battle royal
at the Judgment Day
PPV event on May 18, 2003 for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship, the renamed "WWF Intercontinental Championship". The following night on Raw, he appeared on Chris Jericho's talk show, The Highlight Reel, sporting a new haircut and ring attire. Christian would later lose the Intercontinental Championship to Booker T on the July 7, 2003 episode of Raw. Christian, however, regained the title at a live event
on August 10, 2003 after Booker was legitimately injured.
Also in 2003, Christian and Jericho began romances with WWE Diva
s Trish Stratus
and Lita
, respectively. As part of the angle, it was revealed to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective female first, with a Canadian dollar at stake. Despite the bet, Jericho continued his relationship with Stratus, which ultimately resulted in Christian and Jericho turning on each other. At the WrestleMania XX
PPV event on March 14, 2004, Christian faced Jericho in a singles match with Stratus on Jericho's side. Stratus, however, accidentally struck Jericho, allowing Christian to defeat him. Stratus then joined forces with Christian, becoming his on-screen girlfriend in the process. During a steel cage match against Jericho on the May 10, 2004 episode of Raw, Christian suffered a severe back injury, causing him to miss almost four months of in-ring action. He returned on the August 30 episode of Raw, resuming his feud with Jericho ending in a ladder match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven
.
, dubbing himself "Captain Charisma" in October 2004. At Survivor Series 2004, Christian debuted "Just Close Your Eyes" by Waterproof Blonde
as his theme song. On December 6, 2004, he was forced to wrestle as Captain Charisma, complete with a superhero
costume, by Chris Jericho
, who was general manager for the night. Christian was often accompanied by Tyson Tomko
, whom he called his "problem solver", and usually won his matches with interference from Tomko. Christian was loosely paired with Edge again several times in late 2004 and early 2005. Despite being a villain, he acquired a fanbase, who he referred to as his "Peeps", "Peepulation" (a play on the word "population") or the "Christian Coalition".
In April 2005, Christian participated in the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match
at the WrestleMania 21
PPV event on April 3, 2005. Following this, Christian, who had an encounter with SmackDown! superstar John Cena
at the start of the year, began commenting on Cena, claiming he was a better rapper than Cena and denouncing him as "poseur". Christian was noticeably cheered during these segments and was thought to be finally becoming a main eventer. Soon after Cena, then-WWE Champion
, was drafted to the Raw brand, where he [Cena] successfully defended the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Christian and Jericho on June 26, 2005 at the Vengeance
PPV event.
On the June 30 episode of SmackDown!, Christian was drafted to the SmackDown! brand in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery
. He replaced The Big Show
in a six-man elimination match for the newly-created SmackDown! Championship, and lost to John "Bradshaw" Layfield
. Soon-after, he was given his own interview segment on SmackDown! called The Peep Show.
On October 31, 2005, Reso's contract with WWE expired. According to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer
, he was asked on the spot to sign a new contract but declined. His last match occurred during the tapings for the November 4 episode of SmackDown!. Despite his quitting, Christian appeared on the October 31 episode of Raw and at the Taboo Tuesday
PPV event on November 1, 2005, fulfilling his obligations to the company, as he was one of five SmackDown! wrestlers eligible to be voted Snitsky and Chris Masters
' opponents by the fans.
From early 2007 onwards, Reso began calling himself "The Instant Classic", although he continued to be referred to as "Captain Charisma" in off-screen appearances and sometimes wore his "Captain Charisma" entrance jumpsuits to the ring at live events.
Reso made his debut in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA) promotion
on November 13, 2005 at TNA's Genesis PPV event under his old ring name "Christian Cage". Reso then made his way the ring, where he grabbed a microphone and announced his intentions, as his Cage character, to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
held by Jeff Jarrett
, after taking a few shots at his former employer. Coach Scott D'Amore
and Bobby Roode of the villainous Team Canada
alliance then made their way to the ring. D'Amore then offered Cage a position in Team Canada (since Reso is Canadian) and even giving him a Team Canada T-shirt and telling Cage to take his time on making a decision. Later in the night after the main event, a Six Man Tag Team match pitting the team of Jarrett and America's Most Wanted
(Chris Harris
and James Storm
) (AMW) against Rhino
and Team 3D
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon), Cage ran down to the ring while Team Canada (D'Amore, Roode, Eric Young
, and A-1
), AMW, and Jarrett were assaulting Rhino and Team 3D. After Cage entered the ring, he removed the jacket he was wearing to reveal the Team Canada T-shirt he was given earlier by D'Amore. D'Amore immediately rejoiced that Cage was seemingly a member of Team Canada until Cage turned on D'Amore and performed his Unprettier maneuver by forcing D'Amore's face into the mat; Cage's act also solidified his character as a hero, rather than a villain. Cage, Rhino, and Team 3D together as a unit attacked AMW and Team Canada and threw them out of the ring; they then forced the remaining Jarrett through a wooden table after Cage removed his Team Canada shirt to reveal a hidden TNA T-shirt.
Cage made his first appearance on TNA's primary television program TNA Impact!
during the November 19, 2005 episode by engaging in a verbal sparring bout with Monty Brown
. This led to a match against Brown to become number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on December 11, 2005 at TNA's Turning Point PPV event, which Cage won. Before his match at Turning Point, Cage had his in-ring debut on the December 8, 2005 episode of Impact!, defeating Bobby Roode. At TNA's Final Resolution PPV event on January 15, 2006, Cage participated in his first TNA PPV main event by teaming with Sting to defeat the team of Monty Brown and Jeff Jarrett. Cage went on to defeat then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jarrett for the title on February 12, 2006 at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event.
Cage had his first title defense against Brown on March 12, 2006 at TNA's Destination X PPV event; there Cage defeated Brown to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On the March 25 and April 2 respective Impact! episodes, Abyss
, his manager Father James Mitchell, and Alex Shelley
showed two pre-taped video packages that had been complied in the weeks before the episodes. The first, on March 25, depicted Mitchell stalking Cage's wife Denise, confronting her, and even threatening that "they were coming". The second aired on April 2, with Abyss, accompanied by Mitchell and Shelley, who was taping the segment with a camcorder like the previous video package, attacking Cage at his home in Tampa, Florida
and nearly drowning Cage in his own pool. This storyline led to Cage facing Abyss at TNA's Lockdown
PPV event on April 23, 2006 in a Six Sides of Steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, with Cage prevailing. After the match, Cage attempted to attack Mitchell and gain revenge for all his recent evil deeds against Cage and his family. Abyss, however, stopped him, took a steel chain
, wrapped it around Cage's neck, and attempted to hang him with it until he passed out. Abyss and Mitchell then stole the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt and left the arena. The storyline between Abyss and Mitchell and Cage continued until TNA's Sacrifice PPV event on May 14, 2006, where Cage defeated Abyss and regained the NWA Title belt under Full Metal Mayhem rules.
On June 18, 2006 at TNA's Slammiversary PPV event, Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign came to an end as he was defeated by Jeff Jarrett in a King of the Mountain match
, which also involved Abyss, Ron Killings
, and Sting. The match was later declared unofficial due to Larry Zbyszko
and referee
Earl Hebner
intervening at the end of the match by helping Jarrett win. The title was declared vacant until TNA's main authority figure at the time, Management Director Jim Cornette
, awarded the title belt back to Jarrett on the June 29, 2006 episode of Impact! on the condition that he defend it against the winner of a four-way match at TNA's Victory Road PPV event on July 16, 2006 involving Cage, Samoa Joe
, Scott Steiner
, and Sting. Jarrett agreed to the condition, and at the event Sting became the new number one contender.
Jeremy Borash
announcing Sting's decision in a backstage segment on the August 3, 2006 episode of Impact!. On August 13, 2006, Cage was in Sting's corner at Hard Justice as he faced Jarrett, with Scott Steiner in his corner, for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the contest, Cage interfered to help Sting win numerous times, as did Steiner for Jarrett, until Cage turned on Sting by taking Jarrett's signature guitar and bashing it over his head—changing his character from a hero to a villain. He then allowed Jarrett to pin Sting and retain the title.
After the event, Cage began a feud with Rhino, whose real name is Terry Gerin
, one of Reso's real-life good friends. On the August 17, 2006 episode of Impact!, Rhino questioned Cage on his actions at Hard Justice; Cage replied saying he did it for the good of TNA. He went on to explain later in the episode, during a sit-down interview with TNA commentator Mike Tenay
, that he attacked Sting because he felt Sting did not show enough passion during the encounter to
"get the job done" and win the title. The next week on Impact!, Cage came down to the ring where he addressed his attack on Sting further, until he was interrupted by Rhino. After a small debate, Rhino attacked Cage, starting a brawl between the two which came to an end after Cage laid Rhino's head on a steel chair, picked up another chair, and bashed it over the outside of Rhino's head performing a one man con–chair–to in the process. This led to a match against Rhino at TNA's No Surrender PPV event on September 24, 2006, which Cage won. A rematch was held at TNA's Bound for Glory PPV event on October 22, 2006, which Cage also won under 8 Mile
Street Fight rules. They had their final bout on the November 16, 2006 episode of Impact!, where Cage defeated Rhino in a Barbed Wire Six Sides of Steel cage match.
Christian's old WWE enforcer Tyson Tomko (now going simply by Tomko) made his TNA debut on the November 23, 2006 episode of Impact! helping Cage in a match against Sting. Cage, with Tomko at his side, set his sights on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, now held by Abyss. At TNA's Turning Point PPV event on December 10, 2006, Cage fought Abyss and Sting in a three way match for the NWA Title. Cage failed to win the match, as Abyss won to retain the championship after pinning Sting.
Cage fought for the NWA Championship once again at TNA's Final Resolution PPV event on January 14, 2007 against Abyss and Sting, this time in a Three Way Elimination match. Cage prevailed this time around by pinning Sting after Abyss was already eliminated to win the championship. After Final Resolution, Cage prepared for his title defense against the new number one contender Kurt Angle
, who had defeated Samoa Joe in a 30 minute Iron Man match
at Final Resolution to gain the opportunity. Heading into their encounter at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event on February 11, 2007, Cage announced on the January 17, 2007 episode of Impact! that he had hired a special consultant to assist him in training for his bout with Angle. This consultant was revealed on the February 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, who turned out to be Scott Steiner
after he attacked Angle following a match pitting the team of Angle and Joe against Cage and A.J. Styles
. Cage went on to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Angle at Against All Odds with Joe as the unofficial special outside enforcer.
On the March 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, Cage proclaimed that he, Tomko, and Steiner were an "inseparable family", which he called Christian's Coalition
. After a short feud with Samoa Joe, culminating in a victory for Cage at TNA's Destination X PPV event on March 11, 2007 for the NWA Title, Cage was announced as a captain of a five-man team for the Lethal Lockdown match at TNA's Lockdown
PPV event on April 15, 2007 against Team Angle, led by Kurt Angle, during the March 15, 2007 episode of Impact!. Team Cage, consisting of Cage, Tomko, Steiner, A.J. Styles, and Abyss, went on to lose to Team Angle, consisting of Angle, Joe, Rhino, Sting, and Jeff Jarrett at Lockdown. An added stipulation to the match was the competitor to get the pinfall in the bout, would become number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and have their title shot on May 13, 2007 at TNA's Sacrifice PPV event. Sting was the individual who gained the pinfall victory for Team Angle, and became the new number one contender.
Abyss was later kicked out of the group after he attacked Cage on the April 19, 2007 episode of Impact!. Steiner was the next to leave the group, after he was attacked by Tomko following their tag team title match at the Sacrifice PPV event. Cage was set to defend the NWA Championship against Sting at Sacrifice, however, on the May 3, 2007 episode of Impact! Angle was added to the match, making it a three way match. The day of the PPV, the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA), the owners of the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World Tag Team Championships, stripped Cage of the title and Team 3D of the tag team titles. NWA Executive Director Robert K. Trobich stated the reason was that Cage refused to defend the NWA Title at NWA live events. At the PPV event, Cage, still holding the physical NWA Championship belt, defended what was billed as the "World Heavyweight Championship" against Angle and Sting. Angle was the victor of said contest by making Sting submit, who had "technically" just pinned Cage at the very same moment, and was announced as the new "World Heavyweight Champion". The Impact! following the event, Angle came to the ring with a new championship belt in-toe, and announced he was the new "TNA World Heavyweight Champion", a championship
that TNA had just introduced the day of the airing on the May 17, 2007 edition of TNA Today
. Afterwards, Cage and Sting came to the ring and the three began to argue over who was the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Due to the controversial finish to their match at Sacrifice, the title was declared vacant by Cornette. A tournament was held for the title which culminated in a King of the Mountain match at TNA's Slammiversary
PPV event on June 17, 2007. Cage won entry into the match on the June 14, 2007 episode of Impact!, by defeating Abyss
. Cage, however, failed to defeat the four other men (Styles, Joe, Angle, and Chris Harris
) and win the title, as Angle hung the title belt to become the new and undisputed TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
After defeating Harris at TNA's Victory Road PPV event on July 17, 2007 and Tomko, Styles
, and he losing to the team of Andrew Martin, Sting, and Abyss at TNA's Hard Justice PPV event on August 12, 2007 in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match to become number one contender to the TNA Title, Cage restarted his feud with Samoa Joe. The two met at TNA's No Surrender PPV event on September 9, 2007, where Cage defeated Joe by disqualification when Joe refused to release his Coquina Clutch submission hold he had applied. The two had a rematch on October 14, 2007 at TNA's Bound for Glory
PPV event with Matt Morgan as the special outside enforcer. There, Joe defeated Cage to end his 23 month long undefeated streak by not officially being pinned nor made to submit. Cage and Joe fought one more time on the October 18, 2007 episode of Impact!, with a spot in The 2007 Fight for the Right Tournament
to become number one contender to the TNA Championship. Cage defeated Joe to gain entry. Cage made it all the way to the final round of the tournament, where he fought Kaz
on the November 8, 2007 episode of Impact!. Cage defeated Kaz, but due to interference from Styles and Tomko on Cage's behalf, the match was declared a no contest, with the finals being determined on November 11, 2007 at TNA's Genesis PPV event in a ladder match
. Cage, however, failed to win the tournament final the second time around at Genesis.
Cage teamed with Joe and Kevin Nash
, known as The Unlikely Alliance, at TNA's Destination X
PPV event on March 9, 2008 to defeat The Angle Alliance (Angle, Styles, and Tomko) in a six man tag team match. Cage, along with Tomko, were announced as opposing team captains for a Lethal Lockdown match at TNA's Lockdown
PPV event, to be held on April 13, 2008, on the March 13 episode of Impact!. Team Cage (Cage, Rhino, Nash, Morgan, and Sting) went on to defeat Team Tomko (Tomko, Styles, Brother Devon, Brother Ray, and James Storm) at the event. Afterwards, Cage and Rhino began competition as a regular tag team, with the pair being involved in The Deuce's Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship
. They, however, failed to win the tournament and the championship on May 11, 2008 at TNA's Sacrifice
PPV event. Cage and Rhino were involved as single competitors in a King of the Mountain match for the TNA Championship at TNA's Slammiversary
PPV event on June 8, 2008, but failed to win the match. Cage and Rhino went on to team with Styles, who had made amends with Cage and Rhino, in a losing effort against Angle, Brother Devon, and Brother Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match at TNA's Victory Road
PPV event on July 13, 2008. On August 10, 2008 at TNA's Hard Justice
PPV event, Cage and Rhino defeated Team 3D in a New Jersey Street Fight. Cage was involved in a Three Ways to Glory match for the TNA Title against the champion, Joe, and Angle at TNA's No Surrender
PPV event on September 13, 2008, but failed to become the new champion. Cage then went on to participate in a 3-Way War against Styles and Booker T
at TNA's Bound for Glory IV
PPV event on October 12, 2008, which Booker T won. Cage was defeated in his final TNA match on November 9, 2008 by Booker T for the newly established Legends Championship at TNA's Turning Point
PPV event with the added stipulation that if Cage lost, he would have to join the newly formed Main Event Mafia
alliance. On the November 13, 2008 episode of Impact!, Cage had his final appearance in TNA before his contract expired. During the telecast, Cage was to be inducted into The Main Event Mafia, but was attacked and "injured" by Angle, Booker T, Nash, and Scott Steiner.
for the One Pro Wrestling
(1PW) promotion. His first appearance was on March 4, 2006 at their All or Nothing: Night 1 event, where he defeated Rhino. His second appearance was at 1PW's Know Your Enemy: Night 1 event on May 26, 2006, defeating Steve Corino
. At Know Your Enermy: Night 2 event on May 27, 2006, Reso fought against the champion, Abyss, and Corino for the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship in a three way dance, but failed to win as Corino gained the fall and the title.
In May 2006, Reso made two appearances for the Ring of Honor
(ROH) promotion as "Christian Cage". His first appearance was on May 12, 2006 at ROH's How We Roll event in a tag match with Colt Cabana against Bryan Danielson
and Christopher Daniels
, which Cabana and he won. His second appearance was a loss to Christopher Daniels at ROH's Generation Now event on July 29, 2006.
(WWE). Reso did not appear for the promotion until the February 10, 2009 episode of ECW under his old ring name "Christian", as a face
confronting then-ECW Champion Jack Swagger. Later that night, Christian defeated Swagger in his first match back with the organization. Christian faced Swagger again on the February 24, 2009 episode of ECW, this time for the ECW championship; however, he failed to defeat Swagger this time around and win the ECW Title. Christian won a tri-branded 15-man battle royal
on the March 10, 2009 episode of ECW, gaining entry into the Money in the Bank ladder match
at the WrestleMania XXV
PPV event. Christian, however, did not win the match on April 5, 2009 at WrestleMania, as CM Punk
went on to retrieve the briefcase that hung above the ring.
Christian won an elimination chase tournament to become the number one contender to the ECW Championship, with finals between Christian and Finlay
taking place on the April 16, 2009 episode of Superstars
, there-by gaining a title match at WWE's Backlash
PPV event on April 26, 2009. At the event, Christian defeated Swagger to win the ECW Championship, his first world championship in WWE and his third overall. Christian and Swagger then began a feud over the title that lasted until Tommy Dreamer
defeated Christian and Swagger in a Triple Threat Hardcore match
to become the new ECW Champion at WWE's Extreme Rules PPV event on June 7, 2009.
Christian fought Dreamer for the ECW Championship on the June 15, 2009 episode of Raw but failed to regain the title. After unsuccessfully challenging for the ECW Championship at WWE's The Bash PPV event on June 28, 2009 in a Championship Scramble match, that also included Swagger, Finlay, and Mark Henry
, Christian regained the ECW Title on July 26, 2009 at WWE's Night of Champions
PPV event.
Christian went on to retain the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match
against Dreamer on the August 4, 2009 episode of ECW. Christian then began a rivalry with William Regal over the ECW Championship. Their first encounter took place at WWE's SummerSlam
PPV event on August 23, 2009, with Christian retaining. They fought again on September 13, 2009 at WWE's Breaking Point
PPV event, where Christian also retained the title. After a few months of defending the ECW Championship on ECW only, Christian successfully defended the title against Shelton Benjamin
in a ladder match on December 13, 2009 at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV event. Christian became the longest reigning WWE-era ECW Champion in late-December 2009. At the Royal Rumble PPV event on January 31, 2010, Christian successfully defended the ECW title against Ezekiel Jackson. On February 16, 2010, Christian dropped the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match to Jackson on the final episode of ECW.
at WrestleMania XXVI
, which he failed to win. Later, it was announced that he will be WWE Pro on the WWE NXT
brand, mentoring NXT Rookie, Heath Slater. Christian was drafted back to the SmackDown! brand due the WWE Draft
. On the May 7 episode of SmackDown, he was placed in a WWE Intercontinental Championship
tournament, defeating Cody Rhodes to get to the finals, where he lost to Kofi Kingston
. On the July 2 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Christian would compete in the SmackDown! Money in the Bank ladder match
at the Money in the Bank pay per-view event. At Money in the Bank, he was unsuccessful in capturing the briefcase.
In September 2010, Christian tore his pectoral muscle and was expected to be sidelined for approximately six months. However, following surgery WWE released a statement that revealed he was now expected to only be sidelined for four months. The injury was put into a storyline with Alberto Del Rio attacking Christian backstage, on the September 24, 2010 episode of SmackDown.
On February 20, 2011 Christian made his return from injury at the Elimination Chamber
pay per-view event, saving Edge from an attack by Del Rio. On the March 4 episode SmackDown, he saved Edge from another attack by Del Rio. On the March 7 episode of Raw, Christian made his in-ring return from injury against Del Rio's bodyguard, Brodus Clay
, picking up the victory. On the March 11 episode of SmackDown, Christian reunited with Edge and defeated Alberto Del Rio and Brodus Clay in a tag team match. The following week Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a steel cage match, but was afterwards attacked by both Del Rio and Clay. On the April 8 edition of SmackDown!, he was defeated by Alberto Del Rio in a number one contender's match for the World Heavyweight Championship
after a distraction from Brodus Clay. After Edge's sudden retirement from wrestling on the April 15 edition of SmackDown, Christian won a 20-man battle royal
to determine who will face Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules
. At the pay per-view, Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
On the May 6 edition of SmackDown, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton
. At the Over The Limit
pay-per-view event, he failed to regain the championship from Orton. On the June 3 episode of SmackDown, Christian was Special Referee for a World Heavyweight Championship defense by Orton against Sheamus. Orton went on to successfully defend the title, however, after the match Christian hit Orton with the title belt, thus becoming a villain
in the narrative. At Capitol Punishment
, Christian faced Orton for the championship once again, however he failed to capture the title. At Money in the Bank
, Christian won the World Heavyweight Championship, after Orton got himself disqualified for kick
ing Christian in the groin; as the stipulation was if Orton got himself disqualified he would lose the title. At SummerSlam
, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Orton in a No Holds Barred match. On the August 26 episode of SmackDown, special guest General Manager
Bret Hart
announced that Christian would face Orton in a steel cage match on the August 30 episode of SmackDown! for the championship, in which Christian went on to lose the encounter. On the September 9 episode of SmackDown!, Christian began a feud with Sheamus, which led to a match between the two at the Hell in a Cell
pay per-view, in which Christian lost. Their feud continued through the Vengeance
pay per-view, with Christian once again losing to Sheamus. On November 9, 2011, during the WWE European Tour, Christian suffered a ankle injury which caused him to be out of action for an indefinite amount of time, and be pulled from the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match at Survivor Series
.
, which was released on September 7, 2007. He had a larger part as the character 'Ricky', a man whose best friend is in love with his lesbian
ex, in the horror-comedy film, Dark Rising
, which was released October 30, 2007 nationwide in Canada
.
In mid-2007, TNA Home Video
released a DVD titled "The Instant Classic: Christian Cage", covering Reso's beginnings in the independent circuit and other various subjects up to his second NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign.
Reso is featured in the wrestling documentary, Bloodstained Memoirs
. Reso also had a role in the 2010 horror film Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf as the character Pete.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, better known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
s Christian and Christian Cage. He is currently signed to WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), appearing on its SmackDown brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
Reso was trained by former professional wrestlers Ron Hutchinson
Ron Hutchinson
Ron Hutchinson is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, trainer and promoter who competed for Canadian independent promotions such as Grand Prix Wrestling and Maple Leaf Wrestling as well as a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation during the mid-1980s...
, Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...
, and Tom Prichard
Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, working in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer using his ring name Tom Prichard...
, and made his wrestling debut in June 1995. Reso wrestled in Canadian independent promotion
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
s early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Edge, his storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
brother. In 1998, Reso signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company the following year. After signing with the WWF, Reso made his debut and captured his first title with the company, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
. He and Edge
Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian was a tag team made of real life best friends Edge and Christian , who performed in WWE and the Canadian independent circuit. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven occasions...
went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
es. In 2001 the team parted ways and Reso signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) in 2005.
Following his move to TNA, he won his first of six world championships, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, in February 2006. He recaptured the title in January 2007 and established his Coalition
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
, which disbanded a year later. Reso left TNA in late-2008 and re-signed with WWE. In April 2009, Reso won his first world championship in WWE, the ECW Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, which he would win again in July of that year. He became the longest reigning ECW Champion in the WWE era and later went on the SmackDown brand capturing the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
in May 2011, and again in July of that year.
Overall, Reso has won 21 championships in WWE and TNA, which include being a six time world champion (two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, two-time ECW World Champion, and two time World Heavyweight Champion), as well as a one time WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, one time WWF Hardcore Champion
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
, one time WWF European Champion
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
, three-time WWF/E Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, and a nine-time World Tag Team Champion. In addition to these accolades, Reso is the twenty-third Triple Crown Champion and the eleventh Grand Slam Champion in WWE history.
Personal life
William Jason Reso was born in Kitchener, OntarioKitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on November 30, 1973 to an American father and a Canadian mother. Reso played hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and was a wrestling fan as a child. After moving to Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...
when he was a youth, Reso met Adam Copeland, who became his best friend and later tag team partner throughout his early career as "Edge" and "Sexton Hardcastle". The two attended high school together at Orangeville District Secondary School, from which Reso graduated. Before moving to Orangeville, Reso lived in Huntsville, Ontario
Huntsville, Ontario
Huntsville is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located north of Toronto and south of North Bay....
and East Luther-Grand Valley, Ontario
East Luther-Grand Valley, Ontario
East Luther-Grand Valley is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, composed of the former township of East Luther and the former village of Grand Valley. The township is located within Dufferin County, and includes part of the Luther Marsh. The marsh covers over 10,000 acres including...
. He is close friends with fellow wrestler Terry Gerin, better known as "Rhino", "Rhyno", or "Rhino Richards". Reso currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Denise, whom he married in 2001.
Early career
In September 1994, Reso enrolled in a wrestling school at Sully's Gym, ran by Ron HutchinsonRon Hutchinson
Ron Hutchinson is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, trainer and promoter who competed for Canadian independent promotions such as Grand Prix Wrestling and Maple Leaf Wrestling as well as a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation during the mid-1980s...
. One of Reso's early ring names, "Christian Cage", was a combination of the names of the actors, Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
and Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
. Christian's wrestling career began in June 1995 in a match against Zakk Wyld, which resulted in a draw. In 1997, he was a part of THUG Life, a stable (or alliance) that included Joe E. Legend
Joe Hitchen
Joseph Edward "Joe" Hitchen is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe E. Legend.-Canadian independent circuit:...
, Zakk Wyld, Rhino Richards, and Sexton Hardcastle. As a tag team on the Canadian independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
, Copeland and Reso were known as "High Impact" and later "The Suicide Blondes". The duo held titles in numerous professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
s and competed in Canada, the United States, and Japan. Reso won East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...
's (ECWA) Heavyweight Championship
ECWA Heavyweight Championship
ECWA Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion East Coast Wrestling Association.-References:...
on July 18, 1998, which he held till October 15, 1999.
When Copeland received a tryout match with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF), Reso went with him. Reso and Copeland faced off in an untelevised tryout match which Copeland was booked to win. After the tryout, Copeland signed a contract with the WWF. Once Copeland was promoted from his developmental status to touring with the WWF he put in a good word for Reso, getting him invited to the WWF affiliated Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...
’s "The Funking Conservatory" training camp in 1998. After completing the training at the conservatory, Reso signed a contract with the WWF to become a full-time performer.
The Brood (1998–1999)
When Reso came to the World Wrestling Federation, he shortened his ring nameRing name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
to Christian. Reso made his television debut on September 27, 1998 at the Breakdown: In Your House
Breakdown: In Your House
Breakdown: In Your House was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, under the In Your House name, produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event distracting Edge during his match against Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
to reveal his allegiance to Gangrel
David Heath (wrestler)
David William Heath is an American professional wrestler and pornographic film director. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Gangrel.-Beginning:...
. He won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
in his debut match against Taka Michinoku on October 18, 1998 at the Judgment Day: In Your House
Judgment Day: In Your House
Judgment Day: In Your House was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation , which took place on October 18, 1998 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the first pay-per-view titled Judgment Day as WWF were uniquely naming all pay-per-views...
PPV event.
Christian, given the character of a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, formed an alliance with Gangrel and Edge, who, in storyline, was finally persuaded to join what became known as The Brood. The Brood briefly feuded
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with, then joined, The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness
Ministry of Darkness
The Ministry of Darkness was a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation during the WWF Attitude Era of the late 1990s...
, but upon learning that Christian was beaten into telling Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
the whereabouts of Stephanie McMahon, The Undertaker wanted to punish Christian by flogging (according to the storyline at the time). More loyal to the Brood than to the Ministry, Edge and Gangrel betrayed The Undertaker and rescued Christian.
Edge and Christian (1999–2001)
In 1999, Christian and Edge parted ways with Gangrel, who associated himself with The Hardy BoyzHardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
(Jeff
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
and Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
) to form The New Brood. As a result, they began feuding with The Hardy Boyz, and went onto compete in a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
at the No Mercy
No Mercy (1999)
No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on October 17, 1999 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio....
PPV event on October 17, 1999 for the managerial services
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
of Terri Runnels
Terri Runnels
Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler....
and $100,000, which The Hardy Boyz won. At the WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 was the sixteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California...
PPV event on April 2, 2000, Christian and Edge defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship in a Triangle Ladder match, which ultimately led to the creation of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
(TLC).
Following their victory, Christian and Edge portrayed themselves as villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, shifting their in-ring personas from borderline goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
to a comedic pair of "cool dudes", winning the Tag Team Championship six more times (for a total of seven). During this time, their trademark became the "five second pose", where they performed a pose in the ring for five seconds "for the benefit of those with flash photography" to mock, insult, or otherwise amuse the fans. At the SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2000)
SummerSlam was the thirteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event took place on August 27, 2000 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina....
PPV event on August 27, 2000, the duo successfully defended the tag team title in the first-ever TLC match against The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz. At the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2001)
Royal Rumble was the fourteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
PPV event on January 21, 2001, Christian and Edge lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to The Dudley Boyz. The following month on February 25, 2001 at the No Way Out
No Way Out (2001)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the third such annual event and took place on February 25, 2001 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada....
PPV event, they were unsuccessful in regaining the title, but recaptured the title on April 1, 2001 at the WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...
PPV event in the second-ever TLC match involving The Hardy Boyz. Christian and Edge were defeated by The Brothers of Destruction
Brothers of Destruction
The Brothers of Destruction was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of The Undertaker and Kane, both currently wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown roster.-History:...
(Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
and The Undertaker) for the tag team championship on the April 19, 2001 episode of WWF SmackDown!.
After losing the tag team title, friction arose within the team after Edge won the 2001 King of the Ring tournament on June 24 at the King of the Ring PPV event. It was also during this time that Edge was becoming a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
during "The Invasion" storyline. Christian turned on Edge shortly afterward, resulting in the two feuding for Edge's WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
for several months, with the title changing hands twice.
Singles competition (2002–2004)
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
from Bradshaw
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
in October 2001, though he would later lose the title to Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...
in January 2002. After a series of defeats, Christian announced he was quitting the WWF, but Page persuaded Christian to reconsider, and adopted him as his protegé. Christian betrayed Page and faced off against him for the European championship at the WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name...
event on March 17, 2002, in which Page defeated him. During the same event, Christian defeated Mighty Molly
Nora Greenwald
Nora Kristina Greenwald , better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she...
to win the WWF Hardcore Championship
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
, but lost the title to Maven
Maven Huffman
Maven Klint Huffman is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between October 2001 and July 5, 2005 under the name Maven. In 2008 he became a guest expert on the Home Shopping Network.-Early life:Maven was born to an African-American...
later that night.
Following WrestleMania X8, Christian formed an alliance with fellow Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm
Lance Storm
Lance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
and Test in June 2002, calling themselves The Un-Americans
The Un-Americans
The Un-Americans were a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment who were active throughout mid-2002...
. Together, Christian and Storm won the now named WWE Tag Team Championship, formerly the WWF Tag Team Championship (which was renamed due to the WWF being forced to rename itself "World Wrestling Entertainment"), on July 21, 2002 at the Vengeance
Vengeance (2002)
Vengeance was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on July 21, 2002 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the second annual Vengeance produced by WWE. Professional wrestling is a type of sports entertainment in which...
PPV event, but later lost it on the September 23, 2002 episode of WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
to the team of The Hurricane
Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
and Kane. He later formed a tag team with Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship, the renamed WWE Tag Team Championship, on October 14, 2002. Christian and Jericho lost the title in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
and Goldust, and William Regal
Darren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
and Lance Storm, on December 15, 2002 at the Armageddon
Armageddon (2002)
Armageddon was the third Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on December 15, 2002 at the Office Depot Center in the Ft...
PPV event.
In 2003, after receiving advice and endorsement from The Rock, Christian self-proclaimed himself as the new "People's Champion", and began calling his fans "The Peeps". He went on to win a nine man over-the-top-rope battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
at the Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2003)
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on May 18, 2003, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina...
PPV event on May 18, 2003 for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship, the renamed "WWF Intercontinental Championship". The following night on Raw, he appeared on Chris Jericho's talk show, The Highlight Reel, sporting a new haircut and ring attire. Christian would later lose the Intercontinental Championship to Booker T on the July 7, 2003 episode of Raw. Christian, however, regained the title at a live event
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
on August 10, 2003 after Booker was legitimately injured.
Also in 2003, Christian and Jericho began romances with WWE Diva
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
s Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....
and Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
, respectively. As part of the angle, it was revealed to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective female first, with a Canadian dollar at stake. Despite the bet, Jericho continued his relationship with Stratus, which ultimately resulted in Christian and Jericho turning on each other. At the WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York....
PPV event on March 14, 2004, Christian faced Jericho in a singles match with Stratus on Jericho's side. Stratus, however, accidentally struck Jericho, allowing Christian to defeat him. Stratus then joined forces with Christian, becoming his on-screen girlfriend in the process. During a steel cage match against Jericho on the May 10, 2004 episode of Raw, Christian suffered a severe back injury, causing him to miss almost four months of in-ring action. He returned on the August 30 episode of Raw, resuming his feud with Jericho ending in a ladder match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2004)
Unforgiven was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 12, 2004 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. It was the sixth annual Unforgiven event. The show's seven matches showcased prominent WWE wrestlers, who acted...
.
Captain Charisma and departure (2004–2005)
Christian's gimmick became that of a cocky, overconfident villainHeel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, dubbing himself "Captain Charisma" in October 2004. At Survivor Series 2004, Christian debuted "Just Close Your Eyes" by Waterproof Blonde
Waterproof Blonde
Waterproof Blonde was a rock band based in Louisville, Kentucky. Officially, Rachel Hagan provided vocals while Jeffrey Smith was the bassist and songwriter...
as his theme song. On December 6, 2004, he was forced to wrestle as Captain Charisma, complete with a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
costume, by Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, who was general manager for the night. Christian was often accompanied by Tyson Tomko
Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
, whom he called his "problem solver", and usually won his matches with interference from Tomko. Christian was loosely paired with Edge again several times in late 2004 and early 2005. Despite being a villain, he acquired a fanbase, who he referred to as his "Peeps", "Peepulation" (a play on the word "population") or the "Christian Coalition".
In April 2005, Christian participated in the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at the WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It started off with an interpormotional battle royal, for which Booker T...
PPV event on April 3, 2005. Following this, Christian, who had an encounter with SmackDown! superstar John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
at the start of the year, began commenting on Cena, claiming he was a better rapper than Cena and denouncing him as "poseur". Christian was noticeably cheered during these segments and was thought to be finally becoming a main eventer. Soon after Cena, then-WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, was drafted to the Raw brand, where he [Cena] successfully defended the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Christian and Jericho on June 26, 2005 at the Vengeance
Vengeance (2005)
Vengeance was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 26, 2005 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the fifth annual Vengeance event. Professional wrestling is a type of sports entertainment in which...
PPV event.
On the June 30 episode of SmackDown!, Christian was drafted to the SmackDown! brand in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery
2005 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place over a three week period in June. There were ten draft picks and an eleven-person trade conducted between the promotion's two brands: Raw and SmackDown!, where twenty-two superstars were drafted and traded overall...
. He replaced The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
in a six-man elimination match for the newly-created SmackDown! Championship, and lost to John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
. Soon-after, he was given his own interview segment on SmackDown! called The Peep Show.
On October 31, 2005, Reso's contract with WWE expired. According to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...
, he was asked on the spot to sign a new contract but declined. His last match occurred during the tapings for the November 4 episode of SmackDown!. Despite his quitting, Christian appeared on the October 31 episode of Raw and at the Taboo Tuesday
Taboo Tuesday (2005)
Taboo Tuesday was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 1, 2005 at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California. It was the second annual Taboo Tuesday event in which the fans were given the chance to vote on...
PPV event on November 1, 2005, fulfilling his obligations to the company, as he was one of five SmackDown! wrestlers eligible to be voted Snitsky and Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
' opponents by the fans.
From early 2007 onwards, Reso began calling himself "The Instant Classic", although he continued to be referred to as "Captain Charisma" in off-screen appearances and sometimes wore his "Captain Charisma" entrance jumpsuits to the ring at live events.
Debut and instant success (2005–2006)
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
on November 13, 2005 at TNA's Genesis PPV event under his old ring name "Christian Cage". Reso then made his way the ring, where he grabbed a microphone and announced his intentions, as his Cage character, to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
held by Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
, after taking a few shots at his former employer. Coach Scott D'Amore
Scott D'Amore
Scott Francis D'Amore is a Canadian professional wrestler, manager, promoter, booker and entrepreneur. He formerly managed Team Canada in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He was also the former head of the creative team...
and Bobby Roode of the villainous Team Canada
Team Canada (TNA)
Team Canada was a heel professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which was active from 2004 to 2006.-2004 X-Cups:In 2004, wrestling promoter and personality "Coach" Scott D'Amore brought together fellow Canadians to form his own incarnation of Team Canada in Total Nonstop...
alliance then made their way to the ring. D'Amore then offered Cage a position in Team Canada (since Reso is Canadian) and even giving him a Team Canada T-shirt and telling Cage to take his time on making a decision. Later in the night after the main event, a Six Man Tag Team match pitting the team of Jarrett and America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted (professional wrestling)
America's Most Wanted was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm, who competed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
(Chris Harris
Chris Harris (wrestler)
Christopher Eric "Chris" Harris is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was formerly one-half of the tag team America's Most Wanted along with partner & Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion James Storm.-World Championship...
and James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
) (AMW) against Rhino
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon), Cage ran down to the ring while Team Canada (D'Amore, Roode, Eric Young
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
, and A-1
Alastair Ralphs
Alastair Charles Ralphs , better known as A-1 , is a Canadian professional wrestler and former bodybuilder.-Early life:...
), AMW, and Jarrett were assaulting Rhino and Team 3D. After Cage entered the ring, he removed the jacket he was wearing to reveal the Team Canada T-shirt he was given earlier by D'Amore. D'Amore immediately rejoiced that Cage was seemingly a member of Team Canada until Cage turned on D'Amore and performed his Unprettier maneuver by forcing D'Amore's face into the mat; Cage's act also solidified his character as a hero, rather than a villain. Cage, Rhino, and Team 3D together as a unit attacked AMW and Team Canada and threw them out of the ring; they then forced the remaining Jarrett through a wooden table after Cage removed his Team Canada shirt to reveal a hidden TNA T-shirt.
Cage made his first appearance on TNA's primary television program TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
during the November 19, 2005 episode by engaging in a verbal sparring bout with Monty Brown
Monty Brown
Monty Brown is an American professional wrestler and former National Football League linebacker, also known as Marcus Cor Von. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von...
. This led to a match against Brown to become number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on December 11, 2005 at TNA's Turning Point PPV event, which Cage won. Before his match at Turning Point, Cage had his in-ring debut on the December 8, 2005 episode of Impact!, defeating Bobby Roode. At TNA's Final Resolution PPV event on January 15, 2006, Cage participated in his first TNA PPV main event by teaming with Sting to defeat the team of Monty Brown and Jeff Jarrett. Cage went on to defeat then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jarrett for the title on February 12, 2006 at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event.
Cage had his first title defense against Brown on March 12, 2006 at TNA's Destination X PPV event; there Cage defeated Brown to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On the March 25 and April 2 respective Impact! episodes, Abyss
Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks , better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, his manager Father James Mitchell, and Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley
Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
showed two pre-taped video packages that had been complied in the weeks before the episodes. The first, on March 25, depicted Mitchell stalking Cage's wife Denise, confronting her, and even threatening that "they were coming". The second aired on April 2, with Abyss, accompanied by Mitchell and Shelley, who was taping the segment with a camcorder like the previous video package, attacking Cage at his home in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
and nearly drowning Cage in his own pool. This storyline led to Cage facing Abyss at TNA's Lockdown
Lockdown (2006)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on April 23, 2006 from the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the second annual event under the Lockdown chronology. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured...
PPV event on April 23, 2006 in a Six Sides of Steel cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, with Cage prevailing. After the match, Cage attempted to attack Mitchell and gain revenge for all his recent evil deeds against Cage and his family. Abyss, however, stopped him, took a steel chain
Chain
A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
, wrapped it around Cage's neck, and attempted to hang him with it until he passed out. Abyss and Mitchell then stole the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt and left the arena. The storyline between Abyss and Mitchell and Cage continued until TNA's Sacrifice PPV event on May 14, 2006, where Cage defeated Abyss and regained the NWA Title belt under Full Metal Mayhem rules.
On June 18, 2006 at TNA's Slammiversary PPV event, Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign came to an end as he was defeated by Jeff Jarrett in a King of the Mountain match
King of the Mountain match
The King of the Mountain match is a professional wrestling match exclusive to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It consists of five competitors competing for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship or the TNA X Division Championship as of Slammiversary 2009...
, which also involved Abyss, Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
, and Sting. The match was later declared unofficial due to Larry Zbyszko
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
and referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
Earl Hebner
Earl Hebner
Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner...
intervening at the end of the match by helping Jarrett win. The title was declared vacant until TNA's main authority figure at the time, Management Director Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
, awarded the title belt back to Jarrett on the June 29, 2006 episode of Impact! on the condition that he defend it against the winner of a four-way match at TNA's Victory Road PPV event on July 16, 2006 involving Cage, Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
, and Sting. Jarrett agreed to the condition, and at the event Sting became the new number one contender.
Various feuds (2006–2007)
After Victory Road, Cage befriended the new number one contender Sting on the July 27, 2006 episode of Impact!, by asking for forgiveness for doubting Sting's agenda by coming to TNA in January of that year. He went on to say that he had asked Jim Cornette the week before if he could be in Sting's corner in his match with Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA's Hard Justice PPV event, but had told him he needed Sting's approval. Sting accepted Cage's offer, with interviewer and occasional ring announcerRing announcer
A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash , is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, producer and website designer...
announcing Sting's decision in a backstage segment on the August 3, 2006 episode of Impact!. On August 13, 2006, Cage was in Sting's corner at Hard Justice as he faced Jarrett, with Scott Steiner in his corner, for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the contest, Cage interfered to help Sting win numerous times, as did Steiner for Jarrett, until Cage turned on Sting by taking Jarrett's signature guitar and bashing it over his head—changing his character from a hero to a villain. He then allowed Jarrett to pin Sting and retain the title.
After the event, Cage began a feud with Rhino, whose real name is Terry Gerin
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, one of Reso's real-life good friends. On the August 17, 2006 episode of Impact!, Rhino questioned Cage on his actions at Hard Justice; Cage replied saying he did it for the good of TNA. He went on to explain later in the episode, during a sit-down interview with TNA commentator Mike Tenay
Mike Tenay
Michael William "Mike" Tenay is a professional wrestling play-by-play announcer currently employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Prior to signing with TNA in 2002, he had a notable tenure with World Championship Wrestling from 1994-2001...
, that he attacked Sting because he felt Sting did not show enough passion during the encounter to
"get the job done" and win the title. The next week on Impact!, Cage came down to the ring where he addressed his attack on Sting further, until he was interrupted by Rhino. After a small debate, Rhino attacked Cage, starting a brawl between the two which came to an end after Cage laid Rhino's head on a steel chair, picked up another chair, and bashed it over the outside of Rhino's head performing a one man con–chair–to in the process. This led to a match against Rhino at TNA's No Surrender PPV event on September 24, 2006, which Cage won. A rematch was held at TNA's Bound for Glory PPV event on October 22, 2006, which Cage also won under 8 Mile
M-102 (Michigan highway)
M-102 is a state trunkline in the US state of Michigan, running along the northern boundary of Detroit. It is known as 8 Mile Road for most of its length. As part of the land surveying of the state, the road follows the Michigan Baseline, and it is called Base Line Road in places. M-102 is the...
Street Fight rules. They had their final bout on the November 16, 2006 episode of Impact!, where Cage defeated Rhino in a Barbed Wire Six Sides of Steel cage match.
Christian's old WWE enforcer Tyson Tomko (now going simply by Tomko) made his TNA debut on the November 23, 2006 episode of Impact! helping Cage in a match against Sting. Cage, with Tomko at his side, set his sights on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, now held by Abyss. At TNA's Turning Point PPV event on December 10, 2006, Cage fought Abyss and Sting in a three way match for the NWA Title. Cage failed to win the match, as Abyss won to retain the championship after pinning Sting.
Christian's Coalition (2007)
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, who had defeated Samoa Joe in a 30 minute Iron Man match
Iron Man match
An Iron Man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most falls at the end of that time named the victor...
at Final Resolution to gain the opportunity. Heading into their encounter at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event on February 11, 2007, Cage announced on the January 17, 2007 episode of Impact! that he had hired a special consultant to assist him in training for his bout with Angle. This consultant was revealed on the February 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, who turned out to be Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
after he attacked Angle following a match pitting the team of Angle and Joe against Cage and A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
. Cage went on to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Angle at Against All Odds with Joe as the unofficial special outside enforcer.
On the March 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, Cage proclaimed that he, Tomko, and Steiner were an "inseparable family", which he called Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
. After a short feud with Samoa Joe, culminating in a victory for Cage at TNA's Destination X PPV event on March 11, 2007 for the NWA Title, Cage was announced as a captain of a five-man team for the Lethal Lockdown match at TNA's Lockdown
Lockdown (2007)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place on April 15, 2007 at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri. This was the second monthly pay-per-view, after Bound for Glory , to be held outside Orlando, Florida. It was the...
PPV event on April 15, 2007 against Team Angle, led by Kurt Angle, during the March 15, 2007 episode of Impact!. Team Cage, consisting of Cage, Tomko, Steiner, A.J. Styles, and Abyss, went on to lose to Team Angle, consisting of Angle, Joe, Rhino, Sting, and Jeff Jarrett at Lockdown. An added stipulation to the match was the competitor to get the pinfall in the bout, would become number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and have their title shot on May 13, 2007 at TNA's Sacrifice PPV event. Sting was the individual who gained the pinfall victory for Team Angle, and became the new number one contender.
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA), the owners of the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World Tag Team Championships, stripped Cage of the title and Team 3D of the tag team titles. NWA Executive Director Robert K. Trobich stated the reason was that Cage refused to defend the NWA Title at NWA live events. At the PPV event, Cage, still holding the physical NWA Championship belt, defended what was billed as the "World Heavyweight Championship" against Angle and Sting. Angle was the victor of said contest by making Sting submit, who had "technically" just pinned Cage at the very same moment, and was announced as the new "World Heavyweight Champion". The Impact! following the event, Angle came to the ring with a new championship belt in-toe, and announced he was the new "TNA World Heavyweight Champion", a championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
that TNA had just introduced the day of the airing on the May 17, 2007 edition of TNA Today
TNA Today
TNA Today was a free online professional wrestling program produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It is hosted by TNA interviewer Jeremy Borash, with occasional appearances by Don West...
. Afterwards, Cage and Sting came to the ring and the three began to argue over who was the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Due to the controversial finish to their match at Sacrifice, the title was declared vacant by Cornette. A tournament was held for the title which culminated in a King of the Mountain match at TNA's Slammiversary
Slammiversary (2007)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place on June 17, 2007 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the third event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the fifth anniversary of...
PPV event on June 17, 2007. Cage won entry into the match on the June 14, 2007 episode of Impact!, by defeating Abyss
Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks , better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
. Cage, however, failed to defeat the four other men (Styles, Joe, Angle, and Chris Harris
Chris Harris (wrestler)
Christopher Eric "Chris" Harris is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was formerly one-half of the tag team America's Most Wanted along with partner & Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion James Storm.-World Championship...
) and win the title, as Angle hung the title belt to become the new and undisputed TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
After defeating Harris at TNA's Victory Road PPV event on July 17, 2007 and Tomko, Styles
A.J. Styles and Tomko
A.J. Styles and Tomko are former tag team partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling who were a part of two factions together, Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance....
, and he losing to the team of Andrew Martin, Sting, and Abyss at TNA's Hard Justice PPV event on August 12, 2007 in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match to become number one contender to the TNA Title, Cage restarted his feud with Samoa Joe. The two met at TNA's No Surrender PPV event on September 9, 2007, where Cage defeated Joe by disqualification when Joe refused to release his Coquina Clutch submission hold he had applied. The two had a rematch on October 14, 2007 at TNA's Bound for Glory
TNA Bound For Glory
Bound for Glory is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced every October by the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. The event was created in 2005 to be their premier event of the year, similar to the company's main rival World Wrestling Entertainment and its...
PPV event with Matt Morgan as the special outside enforcer. There, Joe defeated Cage to end his 23 month long undefeated streak by not officially being pinned nor made to submit. Cage and Joe fought one more time on the October 18, 2007 episode of Impact!, with a spot in The 2007 Fight for the Right Tournament
Fight for the Right Tournament
The Fight for the Right Tournament is a professional wrestling tournament in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling designed to determine a new #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was held in 2006 and 2007, both starting in the month of October.-2006:The inaugural Fight for...
to become number one contender to the TNA Championship. Cage defeated Joe to gain entry. Cage made it all the way to the final round of the tournament, where he fought Kaz
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
on the November 8, 2007 episode of Impact!. Cage defeated Kaz, but due to interference from Styles and Tomko on Cage's behalf, the match was declared a no contest, with the finals being determined on November 11, 2007 at TNA's Genesis PPV event in a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
. Cage, however, failed to win the tournament final the second time around at Genesis.
End of the Coalition and departure (2008)
Later in the night, Styles and Tomko helped Angle retain the TNA title during the main event as Cage looked on from the ramp. Styles and Tomko were later announced as members of Angle's new group, The Angle Alliance, which led to a title match between the two on January 6, 2008 at TNA's Final Resolution PPV event, and also turning into a fan favorite in the process. On the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact!, Tomko left both Christian's Coalition and The Angle Alliance. Cage failed to win the title at Final Resolution, as a result of Styles' betraying and attacking him during the bout, thus ending Christian's Coalition. Cage got a rematch against Angle on February 10, 2008 at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event with Samoa Joe as the special outside enforcer. He once again was defeated by Angle as this time Tomko interfered and cost Cage the match.Cage teamed with Joe and Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
, known as The Unlikely Alliance, at TNA's Destination X
Destination X (2008)
Destination X was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on March 9, 2008 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. It was the fourth event under the Destination X chronology and the third event in the 2008 TNA PPV...
PPV event on March 9, 2008 to defeat The Angle Alliance (Angle, Styles, and Tomko) in a six man tag team match. Cage, along with Tomko, were announced as opposing team captains for a Lethal Lockdown match at TNA's Lockdown
Lockdown (2008)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on April 13, 2008 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was the fourth annual event under the Lockdown chronology. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured...
PPV event, to be held on April 13, 2008, on the March 13 episode of Impact!. Team Cage (Cage, Rhino, Nash, Morgan, and Sting) went on to defeat Team Tomko (Tomko, Styles, Brother Devon, Brother Ray, and James Storm) at the event. Afterwards, Cage and Rhino began competition as a regular tag team, with the pair being involved in The Deuce's Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
. They, however, failed to win the tournament and the championship on May 11, 2008 at TNA's Sacrifice
Sacrifice (2008)
Sacrifice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on May 11, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event under the Sacrifice chronology...
PPV event. Cage and Rhino were involved as single competitors in a King of the Mountain match for the TNA Championship at TNA's Slammiversary
Slammiversary (2008)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on June 8, 2008 from the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. It was the fourth event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the sixth anniversary of the...
PPV event on June 8, 2008, but failed to win the match. Cage and Rhino went on to team with Styles, who had made amends with Cage and Rhino, in a losing effort against Angle, Brother Devon, and Brother Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match at TNA's Victory Road
Victory Road (2008)
Victory Road was the fourth Victory Road professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by American promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
PPV event on July 13, 2008. On August 10, 2008 at TNA's Hard Justice
Hard Justice (2008)
Hard Justice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on August 10, 2008 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. It was the fourth annual event under the Hard Justice chronology...
PPV event, Cage and Rhino defeated Team 3D in a New Jersey Street Fight. Cage was involved in a Three Ways to Glory match for the TNA Title against the champion, Joe, and Angle at TNA's No Surrender
No Surrender (2009)
No Surrender was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on September 20, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
PPV event on September 13, 2008, but failed to become the new champion. Cage then went on to participate in a 3-Way War against Styles and Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
at TNA's Bound for Glory IV
Bound for Glory IV
Bound for Glory IV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on October 12, 2008 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the fourth annual Bound for Glory event and the first to be referred to in roman numerals...
PPV event on October 12, 2008, which Booker T won. Cage was defeated in his final TNA match on November 9, 2008 by Booker T for the newly established Legends Championship at TNA's Turning Point
Turning Point (2008)
Turning Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on November 9, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event under the Turning Point chronology and first event under the name to...
PPV event with the added stipulation that if Cage lost, he would have to join the newly formed Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia was a heel stable in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
alliance. On the November 13, 2008 episode of Impact!, Cage had his final appearance in TNA before his contract expired. During the telecast, Cage was to be inducted into The Main Event Mafia, but was attacked and "injured" by Angle, Booker T, Nash, and Scott Steiner.
Independent circuit (2006)
In March 2006, Reso competed as "Christian Cage" three times in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the One Pro Wrestling
One Pro Wrestling
One Pro Wrestling was a British professional wrestling promotion. 1PW was founded in 2005 by Steven Gauntley until the promotion went into liquidation in 2007; it was restarted within the same year..It ended in August 2011....
(1PW) promotion. His first appearance was on March 4, 2006 at their All or Nothing: Night 1 event, where he defeated Rhino. His second appearance was at 1PW's Know Your Enemy: Night 1 event on May 26, 2006, defeating Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...
. At Know Your Enermy: Night 2 event on May 27, 2006, Reso fought against the champion, Abyss, and Corino for the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship in a three way dance, but failed to win as Corino gained the fall and the title.
In May 2006, Reso made two appearances for the Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH) promotion as "Christian Cage". His first appearance was on May 12, 2006 at ROH's How We Roll event in a tag match with Colt Cabana against Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
and Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
, which Cabana and he won. His second appearance was a loss to Christopher Daniels at ROH's Generation Now event on July 29, 2006.
ECW (2009–2010)
During an interview with TNA president Dixie Carter, she confirmed that Reso's contract with TNA had expired and that he had re-signed with World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE). Reso did not appear for the promotion until the February 10, 2009 episode of ECW under his old ring name "Christian", as a face
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
confronting then-ECW Champion Jack Swagger. Later that night, Christian defeated Swagger in his first match back with the organization. Christian faced Swagger again on the February 24, 2009 episode of ECW, this time for the ECW championship; however, he failed to defeat Swagger this time around and win the ECW Title. Christian won a tri-branded 15-man battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
on the March 10, 2009 episode of ECW, gaining entry into the Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at the WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
PPV event. Christian, however, did not win the match on April 5, 2009 at WrestleMania, as CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
went on to retrieve the briefcase that hung above the ring.
Christian won an elimination chase tournament to become the number one contender to the ECW Championship, with finals between Christian and Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
taking place on the April 16, 2009 episode of Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, there-by gaining a title match at WWE's Backlash
Backlash (2009)
Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 26, 2009 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The 11th and final event under the Backlash banner, it featured talent from all three WWE brands: Raw,...
PPV event on April 26, 2009. At the event, Christian defeated Swagger to win the ECW Championship, his first world championship in WWE and his third overall. Christian and Swagger then began a feud over the title that lasted until Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
defeated Christian and Swagger in a Triple Threat Hardcore match
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
to become the new ECW Champion at WWE's Extreme Rules PPV event on June 7, 2009.
Christian fought Dreamer for the ECW Championship on the June 15, 2009 episode of Raw but failed to regain the title. After unsuccessfully challenging for the ECW Championship at WWE's The Bash PPV event on June 28, 2009 in a Championship Scramble match, that also included Swagger, Finlay, and Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
, Christian regained the ECW Title on July 26, 2009 at WWE's Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2009)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on July 26, 2009 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the second annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the...
PPV event.
Christian went on to retain the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
against Dreamer on the August 4, 2009 episode of ECW. Christian then began a rivalry with William Regal over the ECW Championship. Their first encounter took place at WWE's SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2009)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 23, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the 22nd annual SummerSlam event and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands...
PPV event on August 23, 2009, with Christian retaining. They fought again on September 13, 2009 at WWE's Breaking Point
WWE Breaking Point
Breaking Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 13, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The name of the event was voted by fans via...
PPV event, where Christian also retained the title. After a few months of defending the ECW Championship on ECW only, Christian successfully defended the title against Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
in a ladder match on December 13, 2009 at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV event. Christian became the longest reigning WWE-era ECW Champion in late-December 2009. At the Royal Rumble PPV event on January 31, 2010, Christian successfully defended the ECW title against Ezekiel Jackson. On February 16, 2010, Christian dropped the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match to Jackson on the final episode of ECW.
World Heavyweight Champion; various feuds (2010–present)
On the February 22 episode of Raw, it was announced that Christian had re-signed with the Raw brand. Later the same night, he defeated Carlito to gain entry into the Money in the Bank ladder matchMoney in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
, which he failed to win. Later, it was announced that he will be WWE Pro on the WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
brand, mentoring NXT Rookie, Heath Slater. Christian was drafted back to the SmackDown! brand due the WWE Draft
2010 WWE Draft
The 2010 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the eighth Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 26, and the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 27...
. On the May 7 episode of SmackDown, he was placed in a WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
tournament, defeating Cody Rhodes to get to the finals, where he lost to Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
. On the July 2 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Christian would compete in the SmackDown! Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at the Money in the Bank pay per-view event. At Money in the Bank, he was unsuccessful in capturing the briefcase.
In September 2010, Christian tore his pectoral muscle and was expected to be sidelined for approximately six months. However, following surgery WWE released a statement that revealed he was now expected to only be sidelined for four months. The injury was put into a storyline with Alberto Del Rio attacking Christian backstage, on the September 24, 2010 episode of SmackDown.
On February 20, 2011 Christian made his return from injury at the Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber (2011)
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California...
pay per-view event, saving Edge from an attack by Del Rio. On the March 4 episode SmackDown, he saved Edge from another attack by Del Rio. On the March 7 episode of Raw, Christian made his in-ring return from injury against Del Rio's bodyguard, Brodus Clay
Brodus Clay
George Murdoch is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Brodus Clay. He is signed to WWE, where he wrestles on its Raw brand and its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling...
, picking up the victory. On the March 11 episode of SmackDown, Christian reunited with Edge and defeated Alberto Del Rio and Brodus Clay in a tag team match. The following week Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a steel cage match, but was afterwards attacked by both Del Rio and Clay. On the April 8 edition of SmackDown!, he was defeated by Alberto Del Rio in a number one contender's match for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
after a distraction from Brodus Clay. After Edge's sudden retirement from wrestling on the April 15 edition of SmackDown, Christian won a 20-man battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
to determine who will face Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules
Extreme Rules (2011)
Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
. At the pay per-view, Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
On the May 6 edition of SmackDown, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. At the Over The Limit
Over the Limit (2011)
Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
pay-per-view event, he failed to regain the championship from Orton. On the June 3 episode of SmackDown, Christian was Special Referee for a World Heavyweight Championship defense by Orton against Sheamus. Orton went on to successfully defend the title, however, after the match Christian hit Orton with the title belt, thus becoming a villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
in the narrative. At Capitol Punishment
WWE Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
, Christian faced Orton for the championship once again, however he failed to capture the title. At Money in the Bank
Money in the Bank (2011)
Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view...
, Christian won the World Heavyweight Championship, after Orton got himself disqualified for kick
Kick
In combat sports and hand-to-hand combat, a kick is a physical strike using the foot, leg, or knee . This type of attack is used frequently, especially in stand-up fighting...
ing Christian in the groin; as the stipulation was if Orton got himself disqualified he would lose the title. At SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
, Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Orton in a No Holds Barred match. On the August 26 episode of SmackDown, special guest General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
announced that Christian would face Orton in a steel cage match on the August 30 episode of SmackDown! for the championship, in which Christian went on to lose the encounter. On the September 9 episode of SmackDown!, Christian began a feud with Sheamus, which led to a match between the two at the Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell (2011)
Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on October 2, 2011 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the third annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 and 2010 events, this event also featured the Hell in a Cell match...
pay per-view, in which Christian lost. Their feud continued through the Vengeance
Vengeance (2011)
Vengeance was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on October 23, 2011 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. It is the 12th event under the Vengeance/Night of Champions chronology and the first event under the Vengeance name since the 2007 edition...
pay per-view, with Christian once again losing to Sheamus. On November 9, 2011, during the WWE European Tour, Christian suffered a ankle injury which caused him to be out of action for an indefinite amount of time, and be pulled from the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2011)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on November 20, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the 25th annual Survivor Series event and the first one to take place in Madison Square Garden since the 2002 event...
.
Other media
Reso had a small part in the film Shoot 'Em UpShoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
, which was released on September 7, 2007. He had a larger part as the character 'Ricky', a man whose best friend is in love with his lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ex, in the horror-comedy film, Dark Rising
Dark Rising
Dark Rising is a 2007 independent Canadian horror comedy film directed and written by , and starring , , and Jay Reso. It received a theatrical premiere in Toronto and was released on DVD in 2007.-Synopsis:...
, which was released October 30, 2007 nationwide in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In mid-2007, TNA Home Video
TNA Home Video
TNA Home Video is a division of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that releases TNA's PPV events & other TNA produced compilations on DVD. TNA Home Video was formed in 2005 to partner with Navarre Corporation to distribute and produce TNA's expanding video library...
released a DVD titled "The Instant Classic: Christian Cage", covering Reso's beginnings in the independent circuit and other various subjects up to his second NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign.
Reso is featured in the wrestling documentary, Bloodstained Memoirs
Bloodstained Memoirs
Bloodstained Memoirs is a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in 2009. It is compiled by interviews featuring wrestlers synonymous with different eras in wrestling and different wrestling regions . Production was filmed in the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Italy...
. Reso also had a role in the 2010 horror film Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf as the character Pete.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Killswitch (WWE) / Unprettier (WWF/E / TNATNATNA may refer to:*Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka*The National Archives, in the United Kingdom*The New Amsterdams, a band*Threose nucleic acid, an analog of the nucleic acid DNA*Tonga Nurses' Association...
) / Impaler (WWF) (Inverted double underhook falconwing facebuster, sometimes from the second rope) - Spear, with theatrics - used as a tribute to Edge after his retirement
- Frog splash (TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
) - used as a tribute to Eddie GuerreroEddie GuerreroEduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
after his death, used rarely in WWE
- Killswitch (WWE) / Unprettier (WWF/E / TNA
- Signature moves
- Cloverleaf – TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- Diving headbutt
- DropkickDropkickA dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
, sometimes from the top rope - Fireman's carry gutbuster
- Flapjack
- Flashpoint (Diving European uppercut)
- Inverted facelock backbreaker
- Multiple DDTDDT (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
variations- Falling inverted
- Implant
- Inverted tornado
- Tornado
- One man con–chair–to
- Pendulum kick from out of the corner, as a counter to an oncoming opponent
- Spinebuster
- Sitout inverted suplex slam
- Diving reverse elbow
- Slap
- Springboard from out of the corner into either a plancha or a twisting sunset flip
- Stands on the shoulders of an opponent draped over the middle rope while holding onto the top rope, choking them in the process
- Super hurricanrana
- While his opponent is draped over the middle rope, Christian slingshots out of the ring and slaps them in the face
- Cloverleaf – TNA
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Creepy Little Bastard (CLB)" (WWE)
- "The New People's Champion" (WWE)
- "Captain Charisma" (WWE / TNA)
- "The Pontiff of the Peepulation" (WWE)
- "The Live-Wire" (WWE)
- "The Champ" (TNA)
- "The Instant Classic" (TNA)
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- GangrelDavid Heath (wrestler)David William Heath is an American professional wrestler and pornographic film director. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Gangrel.-Beginning:...
- Terri RunnelsTerri RunnelsTerri Lynne Boatright Runnels is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler....
- Trish StratusTrish StratusPatricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....
- (Tyson) TomkoTravis TomkoTravis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
- Gangrel
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "Blood" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(used as part of The Brood) (WWF) (October 26 1998–July 12 1999) - "Blood Brother" by Jim Johnston (WWF) (December 23 1999–February 6 2000)
- "At Last" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E) (October 21, 2001–June 2003)
- "My Peeps" by Jim Johnston (WWE) (June 2003–December 2004)
- "Just Close Your EyesWWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6 is a compilation album released by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2004. It mostly features recent theme songs of wrestlers on the roster at the time...
" by Waterproof BlondeWaterproof BlondeWaterproof Blonde was a rock band based in Louisville, Kentucky. Officially, Rachel Hagan provided vocals while Jeffrey Smith was the bassist and songwriter...
(WWE) (November 14, 2004–February 9, 2009) - "Take Over" by Dale OliverDale OliverDale Byron Oliver is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a guitarist in BackHawk , Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.-Music composer for TNA:Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under...
(TNA / ROH) (November 13 2005–November 13 2008) - "Just Close Your Eyes" by Story of the YearStory of the YearStory of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000. The band was initially named 67 North but was then changed to Big Blue Monkey...
(WWE) (February 10, 2009–present)
- "Blood" by Jim Johnston
Championships and accomplishments
- East Coast Wrestling AssociationEast Coast Wrestling AssociationEast Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...
- ECWA Heavyweight ChampionshipECWA Heavyweight ChampionshipECWA Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion East Coast Wrestling Association.-References:...
(1 time)
- ECWA Heavyweight Championship
- New Tokyo Pro Wrestling
- NTPW Pro Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sexton Hardcastle
- Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling
- PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Match of the Year (2000) vs. The Dudley BoyzDudley BoyzTeam 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
and The Hardy BoyzHardy BoyzThe Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
in a Triangle Ladder matchLadder matchA ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
at WrestleMania 2000WrestleMania 2000WrestleMania 2000 was the sixteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California... - PWI Match of the Year (2001) vs. The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matchTables, Ladders, and Chairs matchA Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
at WrestleMania X-SevenWrestleMania X-SevenWrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...
- PWI Match of the Year (2000) vs. The Dudley Boyz
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
(2 times)
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship
- World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
- World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- ECW World Heavyweight ChampionshipECW World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
(2 times) - WWF/E Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(3 times) - WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (9 times) – with Edge (7), Lance StormLance StormLance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
(1), Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
(1) - WWF European ChampionshipWWE European ChampionshipThe WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
(1 time) - WWF Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
(1 time) - WWF Light Heavyweight ChampionshipWWF Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
(1 time) - Eleventh Grand Slam Champion
- Twenty Third Triple Crown Champion
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Tag Team of the Year (2000) – with Edge
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) – TNA Reverse Battle RoyalFight for the Right TournamentThe Fight for the Right Tournament is a professional wrestling tournament in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling designed to determine a new #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was held in 2006 and 2007, both starting in the month of October.-2006:The inaugural Fight for...
on the October 26, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!TNA iMPACT!Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...