Christian

/wiki/Christiancreator
Captain Charisma

Christian (real name: William Jason Reso, born in 1973) is one of the popular upper-mid-tier professional wrestlers in the WWE. His career started in 1995.

Referred to as Captain Charisma, Christian gained fame in WWE first as a member of The Brood with Gangrel and Edge. Later on, Christian found superstardom as he teamed with Edge and the team feuded against the Dudley Boyz and the Hardys for the latter half of the Attitude Era in many memorable matches, chiefly Ladder Matches and TLC Matches. When the team broke up, Christian initially fell to the wayside while Edge found more immediate success, though Christian remained incredibly popular among the fans. The WWE eventually recognized his popularity and raised him to the Upper-Midcard, though not enough to give him a title, and in 2005 he didn't renew his contract with the WWE, jumping ship to TNA where he wrestled as Christian Cage up until the end of 2008 when his contract expired. Christian re-signed with WWE in 2009, returning at ECW, where he would win the ECW Championship twice, holding the longest reign with the title under the WWE before the show was discontinued.

He finally won the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules 2011, only to be booked to lose it to Randy Orton 2 days later on Smackdown!

You can learn more about Christian's career at That Other Wiki.

Christian provides examples of the following tropes:
  • Agent Peacock: Edge & Christian as a post-Brood heel tag team.
  • Alliterative Name: "Captain Charisma" Christian Cage
    • And his stable in TNA, the Christian Coalition
  • Awesome but Impractical: His finisher, The Unprettier/Killswitch, whilst impressive looking is hard to hit. It requires a whole rotation of the opponent to pull off, which causes a lot of potential counters from various opponents.
  • Arch Enemy: Randy Orton, Sheamus, and before that, The Dudley Boys, Matt and Jeff Hardy, and Chris Jericho. Naturally, his first big singles feud was with Edge.
  • Arc Fatigue: An in-universe example. Christian vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title has happened about three or four five times and some of the announcers - not to mention other members of the roster and especially Randy Orton himself - are getting tired of him.
  • Batman Gambit: How Christian won his second World Championship. Two weeks before the Money in the Bank PPV Christian had Randy Orton sign a contract with the stipulations that the title can change hands if Orton gets disqualified or if the referee makes a bad call. The following week Christian does things to piss Orton off like vandalizing his luxury bus, gambling his money away in a casino and costing him his match that night all in an effort to enrage him to make it easier for Orton to lose at PPV. At the PPV in the match's climax Christian spits at Orton's face causing him to go off the deep end and delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Christian which ends in a Groin Attack and Orton losing his championship.
    • And two maniacal RKOs on the announce table afterward. Pretty sure it was Worth It, though.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: The Kayfabe reason why Randy Orton faced Christian on Smackdown and got his title? Because the WWE Universe wanted Randy to be Christian's first Title opponent. Oops.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Returned from his pectoral injury at Elimination Chamber, saving Edge from Del Rio and possibly reforming E&C.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: Heel.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
  • By the Hair: He loved grabbing Trish Stratus by her hair.
  • Breakup Breakout: Not as much as Edge, but he's been fairly successful.
    • Possibly averted with his second World Heavyweight Championship reign, which went categorically better than reign #1 by just lasting the week.
      • Christian accomplished the one feat Edge never did: become a Grand Slam Champion.
    • Both Edge and Christian are this in regards to the Brood.
  • Canada, Eh?: Part of the chorus for This One for My Peeps" (a song was was written about Christian) is just the singers chanting "O Canada! O Canada!"
  • Canon Discontinuity: When Christian and Edge started in WWE they where referred to as brothers, this was however downplayed over the years, until they referred to each other as best friends.
  • Catch Phrase: Towards the end of his first WWE run (And early in his stint in TNA), he had "Because that's how I roll!"
    • In TNA, he adopted "If you don't know, now you know."
    • During his run with Edge, the two would often end a conversation with Edge going "[Place whatever here] rules!" and Christian going, "YEAH, it does!"
  • Chairman of the Brawl: One word. CON-CHAIR-TO.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Christian turned on pretty much EVERY partner he's ever had, until AJ Styles & Tomko turned on him to join the Angle Alliance and Christian underwent a Heel Face Turn, which carried over to his second WWE run. Lampshaded early in his TNA run, as Jeff Jarrett pointed out to Sting that Christian couldn't be trusted, and Christian retorted that Edge & Chris Jericho would vouche for his loyalty; before immediately remembering that he did betray them and remarking that calling them wouldn't be a good idea.
    • Subverted at Wrestlemania XXVII: everyone and their mother was expecting Christian to turn on Edge during the match with Alberto Del Rio and yet amazingly, this wasn't even hinted at during the match. Christian never turned and pretty much everyone was rather surprised and happy with the Meta Twist.
  • Comparatively Weak, but Skilled: Christian's no flyweight, but he tends more toward a speedy, elusive style with a few high-flying moves. He does have a couple of power moves in his arsenal, but he just doesn't use them very often.
  • Costume Porn / In the Hood: The old Captain Charisma / Instant Classic jumpsuits he wore to the ring for six years. (Usually kept the hoods off for the Instant Classic ones.)
  • Cute Mute: A shy, long blond haired, silent 'psuedo-vampire' in the Brood.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Determinator: Christian is quite determined to get one more match. A title match that is. Triple H and Teddy Long have used Exact Words on him and put him in matches against opponents he'd faced before, just not the current title holder.
  • Exact Words: Triple H used this against him during the September 26 episode of Raw, after he interrupted Triple H, wanting more one match. He got it. On that edition of Raw he had to face John Cena, in a non title match, then he was booked on the following episode of Smackdown in a match against Randy Orton and then against Sheamus on the Hell in a Cell PPV. Christian wasn't pleased at all.
  • Finishing Move: The Unprettier / Killswitch, his signature inverted double underhook facebuster.
    • Shout-Out: He actually changed the name of the move (to Killswitch) because he's a fan of the band.
    • His former finisher was the Impaler. Or possibly the Implant DDT. Or possibly those are the same thing. The commentators never seemed to call it the same way twice. This became a Running Gag to the point that the original CCG card for the Impaler just had a picture of Christian shrugging.
    • He's now worked the Spear into his moveset to pay homage to his best friend Edge after Edge was forced to retire due to a Game-Breaking Injury.
    • If he's a face, he'll finish off a match with a Frog Splash on occasion.
    • Sometimes - especially when facing a larger opponent - he'll use the Tornado DDT to finish them off.
  • Foe Yay: Epic amounts with Trish Stratus and Chris Jericho.
  • Foreign Wrestling Heel: The "Un-Americans", with Lance Storm.
  • Gratuitous Italian: His themes when he and Edge broke up in 2001.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Why he turned on Edge in 2001.
  • Groin Attack: Was the victim of one by Randy Orton, which was how he finally won the World Heavyweight Championship the second time.
  • Heel Face Return: Returned from a six-month absence at Over the Limit 2012, turning face and capturing the Intercontinental Championship in the process.
  • Heel Face Revolving Door: Maybe somewhat to be expected given the length of his career, but unlike a lot of wrestlers nowadays, he seems to turn fairly often. It's gotten to the point where it's actually discussed in storyline.
  • Heroic BSOD: When Christian lost the World Heavyweight Championship.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: With Adam Copeland (Edge), former tag-team partner and best friend since childhood.
  • Humiliation Conga: At Summer Slam 2011, Christian received one, first at the hands of Edge, whom he expected to be in his corner for the No Holds Barred match against Randy Orton. Edge would tell Christian off for the winning the World title via DQ and called him a "whiny bitch" before leaving the arena. Christian would then face Orton and would attempt to spite in Orton's face again, a Call Back to the spit that provoked Orton to get DQed and lose the title. For that, Christian would take many of Orton's signature moves with a twist. Orton would deliver the rope assisted DDT into a trash can and a snap powerslam into a table. Orton would then attempt his signature Garvin Stomps with Christian laying on the steps, but Christian would use a kendo stick to stun Orton. Christian would then spring off the second turnbuckle only to get RKOed in mid-air into the steps, another Call Back, this time to the finish in their first match in the series. This would cap off the Humiliation Conga of the slimy, cowardly Christian that tormented Orton for months over the World title.
  • Important Haircut: In 2003, as his singles career started to take off.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: Has four cats.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He was ADORABLE from his debut till the end of the E & C days with his long blond hair.
  • Mad Eye: Not as good as Edge's, but you don't see it as often, either. If and when you do, he is pissed, and whoever he's attacking is screwed.
  • Manipulative Bastard: His recent heel run.
  • Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The Brood defected from the Ministry of Darkness for the sake of Christian, whom Edge and Gangrel were ordered to help nail to the "symbol" after he failed The Undertaker.
  • Never My Fault: He blamed it on Edge that he lost the World Title at Summer Slam, after Edge called him out on all the stunts he played to get the title back, and thus lost focus during the match.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Got a nasty one from CM Punk (who was in full-on Unstoppable Rage mode). He ate the announcer's table about a dozen times in a row, then took a GTS - except Punk abandoned his left knee in favor of the steel ring stairs. Then Punk put him in the Anaconda Vice for about 45 seconds.
  • Oh Crap: Christian's face on the 7/29/11 Smackdown when he watched Randy Orton RKO R-Truth into the announcers' table. Triple H had ordered Randy Orton's rematch at Summerslam to be No Holds Barred - which pretty much means that Randy (whose recent loss has made him even more unhinged than he was already) can do anything he wants to Christian.
  • One of Us: Christian is a pretty big gamer - He was once #52 in the Top Spin 2 rankings on Xbox360, and in 2008 was colomnist at Game Tap (Unfortunately, all links to the blogs are now dead).
  • Overly Long Gag: "One More Match."
  • Perma-Stubble: Overlaps mostly with Beard of Evil.
  • Power Trio: The Brood, with Gangrel and Edge (1998 to 1999)
  • The Quiet One: His debut in the WWF during his time in the Brood. The first time someone put a microphone in his face, he merely stared at it with disdain. (Nowadays, it's getting him to shut up that's the problem).
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: Maybe Christian would have gotten a legitimate WC shot soon anyway. But the Extreme Rules 2011 match where he won the title was supposed to be Edge defending his championship against Del Rio. But then, of course, Edge retired. This was even touched on by Michael Cole during the actual match - and he might have been doing it just to be a Troll, but he was actually telling the truth in a way.
  • Red Baron: Captain Charisma (WWE) and the Instant Classic (TNA).
  • Redemption Promotion: The page for this trope lists Christian as perhaps the ultimate example of it. After turning his back on the WWE fans, he simply got more and more pathetic and boring. In 2003, it seemed like he couldn't win a match clean if his life depended on it, even against 150 pound Spike Dudley. After returning to ECW, many new fans were shocked to see he could actually escape from an armbar and with the crowds behind him, tag teams had to cheat to beat Christian in two on one matches.
    • A similar thing seems to be happening with his recent feud with Randy Orton, although not as dramatically.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: He was the blue oni to Edge's red, especially when they teamed together. Christian was pushed as the more calculated and calmer of the two, while Edge...well, he often got by on just being batshit insane.
  • The Rival: The Hardys and the Dudleys when he tagged with Edge.
  • Rule of Funny: Edge and Christian circa 2000 ran on this.
  • Screwed by the WWE: Dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton 2 days after Extreme Rules.
    • The WWE eventually took the storyline in this direction, with Randy Orton getting preferential treatment from Smack Down GM Teddy Long & Christian turning heel because of it.[1]
  • Shout-Out: Has started to use the Spear occasionally (usually in PPV matches) since Edge retired.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: His WWE character, from 2001 to 2005. Played for laughs.
  • Token White: At Survivor Series 2009, Christian competed in a team featuring Kofi Kingston, MVP, R-Truth and Mark Henry, each of them black. Initially subverted when Christian was initially nervous about teaming with them for being the only one in the team to be from ECW and Canada (R-Truth was on Smackdown, and Henry, Kingston, and MVP were on RAW at the time). Lampshaded when Christian then proceeded to rap:

Christian: Team Kofi Kingston, looking for a fight. Four of us are black and one of us is white. What's up? WHAT'S UP? ... What's up?

  • Unrelated Brothers: Christian (Jason Reso) and Edge (Adam Copeland) were initially referred to as brothers when in WWE; after they stopped teaming (And feuding), this was dropped rather quickly.
    • The fact that they are childhood best friends and have several photos together as kids surely helped a lot.
      • The fact that their birthdays are exactly one month apart does not help as much[2].
  • Unstoppable Rage: At Elimination Chamber 2011. Edge had just won the chamber match and retained the World Heavyweight Championship in the Elimination Chamber match when Alberto Del Rio, who was to face Edge for the title at Wrestlemania XXVII, ran into the chamber and started beating down on a tired and vulnerable Edge. Del Rio locks in the Cross Arm Breaker. Cue loud "GO!" from out of nowhere. Cue fan markout. Cue Christian, who (kayfabe) missed six months of action due to Del Rio using the same move on him, running down to the ring and handing Del Rio his ass on a platter.
  • Vampire Vannabe: Christian and Edge were arguably this as the Brood. Edge lampshades this in his retirement speech as he was a 'psuedo-vampire' during that time. To this day it's still uncertain as to the 'relationship' both Christian and Edge had with Gangrel.
  • Very Punchable Man: Has been zigzagging this recently. He seems to end up booked in a lot of matches where he's an outlet for someone else's pent-up frustration about something completely unrelated.
  • Weapon of Choice: The good ol' steel chair.
  • What Could Have Been: Christian's TNA departure & WWE return - on both sides. If he had stayed in TNA, he would have become the mouthpiece for the faction opposing the Main Event Mafia; when he returned to the WWE, he was initially slated to be the person sabotaging Jeff Hardy's life, before everyone figured it out fairly quickly & the role in the feud was instead given to Jeff's brother Matt.
  • Would Hit a Girl: After being booked in a match with Trish Stratus (Love Interest of Christian's partner, Chris Jericho) in 2004, Christian told Trish he would just lie down for her, so she wouldn't get hurt. He proceeded to instigate a Curb Stomp Battle, and cross the Moral Event Horizon again.
    • But with the way the angle played out this was more of a gambit on Trish's part, as in the end Trish turned, they became the couple, and Jericho became a clear face.

One More Trope

  1. ↑ Five days after Extreme Rules, Christian is forced into a title match that night against Orton by Long, after a quick poll of the fans showed they wanted Orton to get a shot more than two other superstars. Fast forward a month, and we have the exact same situation, only with Christian & Orton switching places; this time, however, Long ignores that Christian was the fan's choice & makes a triple threat with the winner getting a shot the next week, meaning Orton is getting a week to prepare for the defense, and when the triple threat match happens, Christian loses due to the referee not counting a pinfall that would have won the match for Christian. Long then does nothing about this, and refuses to let Christian make the title match a triple threat.
  2. ↑ Edge was born October 30th, and Christian on November 30th
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