Shining a Spotlight 8.18.06: Edge and Christian
Posted by Michael Weyer on 08.18.2006
A focus on the way the former partners have advanced since splitting, why one of them is a better fit for champion than the other and a look back at the match that made them stars.
Well, ironic that I spent last week talking about women's wrestling and how it could use a shakeup and then Lita wins the women's title. It's doubly ironic considering my subject material for this week.
You'd have to go back to 1990 and the Ultimate Warrior and Sting to track a time when two former tag team partners were so dominant in separate federations at the same time. Since 2006 began, Edge and Christian appear to have finally gotten the major pushes they've been building toward for years. Edge is in his second reign as WWE champion with tremendous heel heat. Christian reigned as NWA champ for four months, which in TNA, is pretty long for anyone not named Jeff Jarrett. Both men had huge charisma, killer promos and have been getting a vast majority of the IWC on their side.
I'd never have believed it.
I'm serious. If in 2000 you had told me that Edge and Christian would both be huge singles stars, I would have never bought it. It's that I didn't think they had talent, they do. But tag team success is one thing, singles stardom something else altogether. Just look at the Dudley Boys when they tried to go solo. I always figured E&C might be the same way, awesome together but not able to replicate that magic on their own. Well, I was wrong. Actually, I was wrong on one of them.
It's ironic that it was Christian who won a title first in WWE, holding the Light Heavyweight belt for about a month in 1998, losing it to longtime jobber Duane Gill, who was turning himself into "Gillberg." Edge had been making the rounds then with his gimmick of a shades and trenchcoat wearing guy who'd come out of the audience unexpectedly. He'd teamed with Sable to fight Marc Mero and began a feud with Gangrel. WWE had the idea of having Edge and Christian be brothers (and you have to admit, there is a resemblance) and feud briefly. They would soon join forces and become part of the Undertaker's Ministry but broke away to go face.
Today's fans would probably never recognize the attitude of Edge & Christian back then, mostly quiet in and out of the ring. All that changed at Wrestlemania XVI and the classic tables match with the Hardyz and the Dudleyz that made all three teams superstars for fans. Right after that, E&C began to take on a new cocky attitude with interviews that soon became some of the funniest parts of WWF programming at the time. They would do the "5 second pose" before every match so "those with flash photography" could get them on film. They'd mock crowds and the cities they were in and feud with the Hardyz and the Dudleyz in some pretty excellent matches.
WWE began to tease a breakup as Edge won the 2001 King of the Ring tournament and the Intercontinental title at Summerslam. It was delayed because of the Invasion angle but it finally happened in August and the two traded the IC belt between them. 2001 ended with Edge as IC champ and Christian as European champ as their singles career were now set.
It's clear that WWE considered Edge the bigger star of the duo. While Christian was stuck in the horrible Un-Americans angle, Edge teamed with Hulk Hogan to win the WWE tag titles and had a feud with Kurt Angle that led to Angle losing his hair so you can thank Edge for how cool Angle looks today. Ironically, both men would go back to their tag team roots, Christian winning the World tag titles with Chris Jericho and Edge winning the WWE tag titles with Rey Mysterio.
However, Edge's momentum was stalled when he suffered a neck injury in early 2003 that put him out of action for a year. During that time, Christian started to rise in the mid-card with an angle where he first emulated, then feuded with the Rock. Then came the long running angle with him and Chris Jericho making a bet as to who could get Lita or Trish Stratus into bed first. Despite all great all four are on camera, it ran a bit too long with the typical WWE "twist" of the two men admitting on camera about the bet, unaware that Trish and Lita could hear them. That led to a match at Wrestlemania XX with Trish turning on Jericho to join with Christian.
It was at that time that Edge came back from his injury and surprised many by showing no signs of weakness, still using the spear as a finisher despite his bad neck. He won the tag titles with Chris Benoit and the IC belt from Randy Orton but was forced to relinquish it after suffering a real groin injury. Ironically, Christian was also injured and forced to take a few months off. When he came back, Christian began to take on the "Captain Charisma" persona that really pushed him to the top while Edge also turned heel and was quickly pushed up the card.
The point of all this is to illustrate how, despite similarities, it was clear that from the start, Edge was pushed as the bigger star of the duo. And in many ways, that still remains today and not just because WWE is on a higher plateau than TNA (despite what TNA themselves will claim). It's because Edge has…well, an edge in terms of in-ring ability and heat.
I think we can all agree that Edge owes his present position a great deal to his…shall we say…extracurricular activities. Oh, hell, why beat around the bush? Edge probably wouldn't be champ if he hadn't decided to screw around with Lita. When word of their affair hit, it brought more pure heel heat to Edge in a few weeks than the previous five years. It's not because of the cheating, because that's common. Even IWC golden boy Chris Benoit was cheating with a married woman who eventually became his current wife. But considering the popularity of Matt Hardy with fans and the fact Edge and Hardy were real friends, it erupted big-time. I don't think I need to fully recap the whole saga but suffice to say it shot Edge to the forefront in the minds of fans and WWE knew it.
I'm aware there's a growing feeling among fans that Lita and Matt actually broke up on good terms and cooked this up with Edge to give all three of them heat. I don't know if that's true or not (although there is some compelling evidence to support the theory) but if it is, than Edge surpasses Ric Flair, HHH and even Hulk Hogan when it comes to brilliant backstage strategy.
Christian was really getting over as well, especially after being moved to SmackDown and having a terrific WWE title match against Cena and Jericho at Vengeance '05. He seemed to be on the rise to take a stand in the WWE title scene which was why it was so surprising that he decided to leap over to TNA. Which brings us to today.
What I'm about to say is probably not going to be a popular statement with some people, including a few guys here at 411mania. But it's how I feel and I'll say it. I have never, never, ever bought the idea of Christian as a world champion. Edge, yes, but not Christian.
I know he's awesome on the mic, we can all agree on that. I still miss the "Peep Show" segments. But when it comes to real in-ring work, Christian has never impressed me in any match that didn't involve a ladder or chair. He's not bad, especially compared with a lot of "main event style" guys WWE pushes on a regular basis but at the same time he's not exactly wowing crowds with amazing movesets or technical showcases. In a promotion that includes guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, that's not a good thing.
Of course, it doesn't help Christian that TNA can sometimes be…off when it comes to pushing people right. First off, they made him a big face when he came in. True, Christian had a fan base but he's always been better as a heel. His cocky and arrogant ways are made for a heel star, not a face and having him play up to the crowd like he did softened him. It doesn't help that when he did win the NWA belt, he never got a chance to really shine because Jarrett insisting on pushing himself all the time. So Jarrett and Sting dominated air time over Christian and his title reign. Still, Christian has never struck me as a guy who can carry an entire promotion on his shoulders.
Edge, on the other hand, has shown he can indeed dominate in that spot. As much as I am a fan of John Cena (yes, I know I'm in a minority on that on the IWC), I do admit it was cool to see Edge win the belt back in January and I wish they'd kept it on him longer. I do believe the plan was for Edge to win it back around the time he did but they sped it up after RVD's little run-in with the law. Now, WWE has a man who is so far turning into one of the best heel champs since HHH's heyday.
As I watch both men on TV, Edge just comes off more believable as a champion than Christian does. That belt really fits around Edge. In fact, he's one of those guys who just looks less complete when he doesn't have gold around his waist. Christian…the NWA title belt around Christian Cage never sat right with me somehow. I won't go so far to say that Christian is a midcard guy only. But unlike some midcard guys who have been elevated (HHH, the Rock, hell even JBL), Christian just doesn't have that truly good balance of in-ring skill and crowd heat to get over as a champ. In his defense, he was never given the chance to truly shine as even as champ, he was pushed to the back burner so Jarrett/Sting could take center stage on TNA programming. Perhaps his heel turn can get him back that edge he once had (no pun intended). However, as I stated before, Christian has never been as impressive in the ring as some of his followers seem to think and having him carry a promotion is a bit much on those narrow shoulders.
Edge is great in the ring and has shown that. He's an awesome seller, a factor that I feel is often overlooked in a champ (like Cena). His matches always seem energized just by him, a man who isn't exactly hugely built but very fast and able to pull off some pretty cool moves. More important, he dominates a mic and feeds off the crowd's reactions to him, good and bad. In short, he's just what you want in a champion and thankfully WWE has managed to pull their heads out enough to really realize that and give him a decent run again. We can hope that continues for a while yet but one or the other way, Edge has proven his doubters wrong. He can run in the main event and do it very well.
Once again, Christian's run as champ was curtailed by basically being made a mid-carder despite the fact he held the title. However, and again I know I'll hear it from people on this, Christian seems less able to hold the main event spotlight than Edge does. Edge truly thrives in that limelight, he always has. Christian has mostly been quieter, sometimes even content to be in the background. I do expect him to be a player with TNA for a while but the failure of his reign as champion may not endear him to the higher-ups (never mind the fact they caused much of that failure in the first place…). The biggest difference between them is that WWE is simply on a much bigger scale than NWA/TNA. Which means that no matter if he regains the title or how long he runs with it, Christian will still seem second best to Edge, the bigger guy on the bigger stage.
They've come a long, long way, these two, much further than people would have predicted. While I may think his skills aren't as awesome as he believes, Christian has become the superstar he's long wanted to be. Likewise, Edge, a lifelong WWE fan, holds the title he's dreamed of since he was a kid. They've found their goals, Edge and Christian have. They do "reek of awesomeness." It's just that Edge's reek is a tad stronger. And like it or not, Christian may never be able to forget that.
One match.
It doesn't happen that often but when it does, it's big. Wrestlers can spend years, decades even, working and struggling but never making it. Some may build up in a short time (Steve Austin). Others may go through ups and downs before finally getting that big break to show what they can do (Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels). But sometimes, for some wrestlers, all it takes is one single match to turn them from nobodies to stars.
For four men, one match was all it took.
No Mercy. October 17, 1999. The Hardy Boyz vs Edge & Christian, tag team ladder match.
The two teams had been on a slow rise for a while. The Hardyz had actually won the tag team titles from the APA a few months earlier with manager Michael Hayes. They lost the belts back to the APA in a handicap match with Hayes and turned on him afterward, going heel. They eventually joined with Gangrel to become the New Brood. Edge and Christian had turned face after leaving the Ministry and had gone face but not much was clicking for them. Both teams were invited to join in the T.I.T.
Yeah, this was one of Vince Russo's last ideas before he jumped from WWF to WCW. Officially titled the Terri Invitational Tournament, the deal was that the winning tag team would get $100,000 and the "managerial services" of Terri Runnels. Terri appeared to be interested in both pairings and they traded victories on Raw and Smackdown before agreeing to a decisive ladder match.
Now you have to understand that in 1999, tag team ladder matches were not a common thing. ECW had done some, yes, but nothing on a big stage like WWF. Also, the ladder matches that had been held were, by today's standards, relatively tame. In fact, I've seen newer fans complaining that the classic Razor Ramon-Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania X match was downright "boring" to watch today. In many ways, this match ushered in just that sort of high-impact, high speed ladder battles that we know today.
It started off typically enough with all four men brawling with each other and taking turns setting up the ladder, then pulling each other off. At the same time, Gangrel, the Hardyz' manager, was tossed out by the ref. Christian began to bring on the pain by impaling Jeff with the ladder, pushing him in the corner, then running up the ladder to dropkick Jeff in the face. Edge set the ladder up in a corner, tossing Matt onto it with Christian's help then ran to splash Matt but instead flew right into the ladder when Matt got out of the way. Jeff put up the ladder to climb up for the bag of money hanging overhead but Christian brought on the first "holy shit!" moment by giving him a reverse DDT off the ladder and to the mat.
Christian went for the ladder only for Matt to reverse suplex him off. Matt went up but Edge powerbombed him off. Edge climbed up only for Jeff to leap off the top rope to dropkick him off. In a move he'd repeat more times than any sane human being should, Matt brought the ladder down and put Edge on it so Jeff could hit him with the senton bomb splash. Propping the ladder in a corner, the Hardyz threw Christian into it, Jeff leaping off Matt's back to hit Christian with a flying leg. They then held the ladder between them to clothesline the future Captain Charisma. In another repeated move, the Hardyz put up the ladder, Jeff leapfrogging over it and dropping a leg on Christian. They followed that up by putting Christian inside the ladder so Matt could splash him from the ropes.
Edge added to the madness by brining in another ladder (hey, it was a tag match) and used it to knock Jeff off the first ladder. He then put Matt in the corner, tossed the ladder into his face, grabbed Jeff's legs and flipped him face first onto the ladder and Matt. Matt used that ladder to hit Edge and knock him back. The Hardyz picked up the ladder and rushed Edge but Edge ducked and Christian flew off the top rope to crossbody the ladder and knock it back on the Hardyz. E&C then opened up a ladder and baseball slid it so the top hit Matt in the crotch. They then draped Jeff into the other ladder, lying on one end while they slammed the other on him ten times, the crowd counting down each slam. They did a whacky move with Edge grabbing Christian's legs, holding him up and splashing him on the ladder.
With one ladder in a corner, Edge and Christian lifted Matt up and flapjacked him face first into it. After some more brawling, both sets of ladders were put up side by side. Edge and Jeff fought on one with Edge nailing the Downward Spiral from the ladder. Edge went up only for Matt to catch him and give him a reverse neckbreaker from the ladder to the mat. Christian and Jeff went up with Christian grabbing Jeff's hair and tossing him down.
What came next was possibly the highlight of the match (which is saying something). Edge and Christian set up the ladders, one folded and sitting on top of the other spread out. They tried to superplex/powerbomb Jeff on them but Matt broke it up, sending Edge to the outside. As Matt and Christian fought, Jeff leapt down, sitting on top of the ladder, sending it flipping like a seesaw to nail both Matt and Christian in the face. The crowd by this point was on their feet giving ovations over this, with Jerry Lawler commenting "I'm sore just from watching this."
Both ladders were set back up, Edge and Matt climbing opposite sides of one, Jeff and Christian the other. All four reached the top and all four went down, Christian with the rope between his legs, Matt bouncing on the rope to the outside and Edge and Jeff hitting the ropes with their faces and flopping to the mat. The crowd had forgotten any distinction between favorites and were cheering all four together.
Once again the ladders went up, one facing the middle of the other and as all four men tiredly climbed up, Jerry Lawler called out "Come on, it's only a hundred grand, guys!" Matt and Edge climbed the one under the money bag, Jeff and Christian fighting on the other. Edge and Matt brawled at the top of their ladder Edge ramming Matt's head onto the top to send him down. Matt stumbled back, bounced off the ropes and pushed the ladder holding Christian and Jeff. As it and Christian fell, Jeff leapt from it to land on the other ladder, pounded Edge off it, climbed up, grabbed the money and fell off, landing hard on the mat.
The Hardyz staggered off with Edge and Christian left behind. The entire crowd cheered the spectacle they had just witnessed. None could have foreseen it was only the precursor to the TLC series that would set a new stage for wild tag team battles. Instantly, all four men were elevated to superstar status as WWF realized they had two priceless teams on their hands would carry a feud that would last for more of 2000. The match itself is on the 2001 DVD Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith and it's worth tracking down just to see that rare moment of four stars being born.
All for this week. Be sure to check out the other 411mania columns including…
JP counts down the Top 10 Summerslam matches. Not bad but where is Ultimate Warrior trashing the Honky Tonk Man, my all-time favorite mark-out moment?
Forgotten Goodness looks at another fave of mine, the British Bulldogs beating The Dream Team for the WWF Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania 2. Very good match, nice to see it brought back.
Piledriver Report has other people giving their thoughts on DVDs the WWE should make. Dammit, without Ricky Steamboat, no DVD library can be complete!
Meehan has a very good article on the Internet and fans with great points.
Crystal Ball looks at OVW and I do wish their TV show was available in my area.
The Triple Threat's has been giving me good words so here's back at them.
Check out the Roundtable's year-by-year coverage of SummerSlam.
And don't forget 3 R's and Ask 411.
And the countdown to SOAP may be over but I've got a new guilty pleasure film to check out: DOA: Dead or Alive. Jamie Pressley, Sarah Carter, Holly Valance, Devon Aoki and Natassia Malthe half-naked wielding samurai swords and fighting ninjas? I am SO there!
