Christian

Christian
Information
Ring names	Christian Christian Cage Canadian Rage Male Nurse The Canadian Rage The Suicide Blonde
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	227 lbs (103 kg)
Born	November 30, 1973 (1973-11-30)
Birth Place	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Resides	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Billed from	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Trainer	Tom Prichard Dory Funk, Jr. Ron Hutchinson
Debut	June 9, 1995

William Jason "Jay" Reso (November 30, 1973) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor who is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Christian and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Christian Cage.

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 promotions early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, 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 matches. 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 that July. 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 22 total championships in WWE and TNA, which includes being a six-time World Champion (two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, two-time ECW 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, four-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.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1998–2005)

The Brood

When Reso came to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he shortened his ring name 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.

Edge and Christian

In 1999, Christian and Edge parted ways with Gangrel, who associated himself with The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt Hardy) to form the 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 WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, 2000, Christian and Edge defeated The Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) to win the WWF World 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 SummerSlam 2000 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 Royal Rumble 2001 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 No Way Out 2001, they were unsuccessful in regaining the title but recaptured the title on April 1, 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven 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 King of the Ring 2001. 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.

Singles competition

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 WrestleMania X8 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 on in the night.

Following WrestleMania X8, Christian formed an alliance with fellow Canadian wrestlers Lance Storm and Test in June 2002, calling themselves The Un-Amercians. Together, Christian and Storm won the now named WWE World World Tag Team Championship, formerly the WWF World Tag Team Championship (which was renamed due to the WWF being forced to rename itself "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE)), on July 21, 2002 at Vengeance 2002 but later lost it on the September 23, 2002 episode of WWE Raw to the team of The Hurricane & Kane. He later teamed with Chris Jericho with whom he won the WWE World 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 Armageddon 2002.

In 2003, Christian began using many of The Rock's mannerisms, which varied from calling his fans "The Peeps" (similar to The Rock calling his fans "The People") to using The Rock's one arm raised victory pose. He even called himself "The New People's Champion". He went on to win a nine-man over-the-top-rope battle royal at Judgment Day 2003 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 Divas 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 WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004, Christian faced Jericho in a singles match with Stratus on Jericho's side. Stratus, however, struck Jericho seemingly by accident, allowing Christian to defeat him. Stratus then joined forces with Christian, becoming his on-screen girlfriend in the process. Their alliance was soon also joined by Tyson Tomko, who Christian introduced to Trish as "the problem solver". 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.

Captain Charisma

Christian's gimmick became that of a cocky, overconfident villain, dubbing himself "Captain Charisma" in October 2004. In this character, Christian was often accompanied by Tomko, having both split off from Trish, and usually won his matches with Tomko's interference. 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. He wrestled with The Hurricane, whose gimmick is that of a modern-day superhero, as part of a tag team called "The Heroes", for one night. The next week he faced The Hurricane in a "battle of the heroes". After this, the heroes aspect of the ring persona was dropped, though Christian continued to go by the nickname of "Captain Charisma". 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 WrestleMania 21 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 a "poser". 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 successfully defended the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Christian and Jericho on June 26, 2005 at Vengeance 2005.

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. Christian later parted ways with WWE joining Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–2008; 2012)

Reso made his debut in TNA on November 13, 2005 at TNA's Genesis 2005 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 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; Cage's act also solidified his character as a face. Cage, Rhino, and Team 3D 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 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 Turning Point 2005. At Final Resolution 2005 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 Against All Odds 2006. Cage had his first successful title defense against Brown on March 12, 2006 at Destination X 2006. 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 Lockdown 2006 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 Sacrifice 2006 on May 14, 2006, where Cage defeated Abyss and regained the NWA Title belt under Full Metal Mayhem rules.

On June 18, 2006 at Slammiversary IV, 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. Larry Zbyszko and referee Earl Hebner intervened 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 Victory Road 2006 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.

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 Hard Justice 2006 but Jim had told him he needed Sting's approval. Sting accepted Cage's offer, with interviewer and occasional ring announcer 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 face to a heel. 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 No Surrender 2006 on September 24, 2006, which Cage won. A rematch was held at Bound for Glory II 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 Turning Point 2006 on December 10, 2006, Cage fought Abyss and Sting in a three-way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Cage failed to win the match, as Abyss won to retain the championship after pinning Sting.

Christian's Coalition (2007–2008)

Christian fought for the NWA Championship once again at Final Resolution 2007 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 Against All Odds 2007 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 The Christian Coalition. After a short feud with Samoa Joe, culminating in a victory for Cage at Destination X 2007 on March 11, 2007 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Cage was announced as a captain of a five-man team for the Lethal Lockdown Match at Lockdown 2007 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. A stipulation was added that the wrestler who got the pin fall would become number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and have their title shot on May 13 at Sacrifice. 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 2007. 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 at Sacrifice. 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 Slammiversary V 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 Victory Road 2007 on July 17, 2007 and Tomko, Styles, and he losing to the team of Andrew Martin, Sting, and Abyss at Hard Justice 2007 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 No Surrender 2007 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 Bound for Glory III 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 World Heavyweight Championship. Cage defeated Joe to gain entry. Cage made it all the way to the final round of the tournament, where he fought Frankie Kazarian 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 Genesis 2007 in a ladder match. Cage, however, failed to win the tournament final the second time around at Genesis.

Later in the night, Styles and Tomko helped Angle retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 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 Final Resolution 2008, 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 Against All Odds 2008 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, known as The Unlikely Alliance, at Destination X 2008 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 Lockdown 2008, 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 Sacrifice 2008. Cage and Rhino were involved as single competitors in a King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary VI 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 Victory Road 2008 on July 13, 2008. On August 10, 2008 at Hard Justice 2008, 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 World Heavyweight Championship against the champion, Joe, and Angle at No Surrender 2008 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 Bound for Glory IV 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 TNA Legends Championship at Turning Point 2008, with the stipulation that if Cage lost, he would have to join the newly formed Main Event Mafia. 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.

Return (2012)

In 2012, Reso made a one-night return to TNA at Slammiversary X under his old ring name, Christian Cage, to announce the number one moment in TNA history as voted by the TNA fans (Sting's 2006 return in the aforementioned Final Resolution tag team main event). This was part of a deal, which, in return, WWE were able to use Ric Flair in programming and induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of The Four Horsemen stable. Reso's appearance at Slammiversary marked the first time in TNA's history that a performer contracted to WWE has made an on-screen appearance for the rival promotion.

Return to WWE (2009–2015)

After resigning from his position on TNA, there had been rumors of Christian returning to WWE this was confirmed by Dixie Carter that Christian in fact did sign a contract with the WWE. Christian made his return to the WWE on its ECW brand on Feb 10th, issuing a challenge to the winner of the match between Finlay and the ECW Champion Jack Swagger. Later that night Christian won his first match back with the WWE as he beat Jack Swagger in a non-title match. On a February 24 episode of ECW, he would fight the ECW Champion, Jack Swagger, for the ECW Championship. However, Christian came up short in the match, as Swagger successfully defended his title. On the March 10 episode of ECW, Christian won a Tri-Branded Battle Royal, in effect becoming the seventh qualifier for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV.

ECW Championship and Feud with Swagger and Dreamer (2009–2010)

On an episode of ECW, Christian became the number one contender for Jack Swagger's ECW Championship and at Backlash Christian defeated Swagger to become the new ECW Champion. Christian and Swagger would vocalize there differences of opinion about the Backlash match and whether or not Christian cheated and this would lead to a rematch at Judgment Day 2009 which was won by Swagger.

On an episode of ECW Tommy Dreamer would cut a promo in the ring thanking the fans for his time and in ECW and that he and ECW GM Tiffany agreed to a one-day contract extension so he could get an ECW Championship match at Extreme Rules 2009 and that if he didn't win the match he would retire from ECW for good. In the weeks leading up to the match Dreamer & Christian would gain a mutual respect for each and Jack Swagger would work his way back into the title hunt making the Extreme Rules match a triple threat. Dreamer would go on to win the title at Extreme Rules

Christian would get a rematch at The Bash in a Champion Scramble match which also included Swagger, Mark Henry, Finlay, and Dreamer which would be won by Dreamer

Christian would face Vladimir Kozlov on an episode of ECW to determine Dreamer's opponent at Night of Champions and would defeat Koslov making Christian the person to hand Swagger & Koslov both there first ever ECW losses. At Night of Champions Christian regained the title by defeating Tommy Dreamer.

Various Feuds, World Heavyweight Champion and Injury (2010-2011)

On the February 22, Christian was re-signed contract with Raw. Later he defeat Carlito to earn spot Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania XXVI, which he failed to win. On the April 26 on WWE Draft, Christian was drafted back to SmackDown and Christian was joined for Intercontinental Champion but he was defeated by Kofi Kingston. On the July 2, Christian once again earn a spot for Money In The Bank 2010 but failed to win as Kane became victorious. In September 2010 Christian had a torn pectoral muscle injury which kept him from wrestling for four months. When he returned he began a feud with Alberto del Rio.

Christian made his return when he saved Edge from Alberto. Later on March 11 Teddy Long decided to make a tag team match between Edge and Christian versus Alberto and his personal bodyguard Brodus Clay. Edge and Christian were victorious. The following week Teddy decided Christian would face Alberto inside steel cage match which Christian won. At WrestleMania XXVII Christian accompanied Edge versus Alberto for the World Heavyweight Championship, later he helped Edge destroy Alberto's car after the match. After Edge retired, the World Heavyweight Championship become vacant. Christian won a ladder match at Extreme Rules 2011 to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship that following PPV.

Feuding with Randy Orton and Intercontinental Champion (2011–2012)

On the May 6 edition of SmackDown, Christian lost the championship to Randy Orton. At WWE Over The Limit 2011, Randy defeated Christian to retain the championship.

At Over the Limit 2012 he won a battle royal to qualify to either challenge the United States champion (Santino Marella) or the Intercontinental champion (Cody Rhodes). He initially chose Santino but changed his mind after Cody was badmouthing him in the back. He then won the WWE Intercontinental Championship. At No Way Out 2012, Christian successfully defended the title against Rhodes in a rematch. On the June 29 episode of SmackDown, Christian and US Champions Santino defeated Rhodes and David Otunga to qualify for spots in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match. However, at Money in the Bank 2012, he was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dolph Ziggler. on Raw 1000, Christian lost the intercontinental Championship to The Miz. Four days later on SmackDown, Christian failed to regain the championship in a rematch.

Injuries championship pursuits and retirement (2012–2014)

Christian returned on the June 18th episode of Monday Night Raw in an impromptu match against Wade Barrett, he thought he was getting a rematch against Curtis Axel. Later that week during the June 21 edition of Friday Night Smackdown, Christian defeated Drew McIntyre of 3MB. After that match, Christian was attacked by The Shield. On the June 24 episode of Monday Night Raw, Christian joined forces with Sheamus against Sandow and Cody Rhodes in a successful tag match. Christian went on to face Dean Ambrose of The Shield in a singles match on WWE Main Event. The match ended in disqualification as the remaining Shield members attacked Christian and proceeded to conduct a 3-on-1 assault until The Uso Brothers, Jimmy and Jey came to the ring to help Christian and drive off The Shield. The same week on Friday Night Smackdown, Christian teamed with The Usos against The Shield in a 6-man tag match. During the closing moments of the match, Christian speared Dean Ambrose and picked up the pin fall. The next week on Raw, Christian teamed with The Usos in a rematch against The Shield that ended with Dean Ambrose gaining a pin over Christian. Christian is due to compete at Money in the Bank for a chance to challenge for the World title. On July 3, during the opening half-hour of WWE Main Event, Christian defeated Damien Sandow in a singles match. In a series of tune-up matches for Money in the Bank, Christian faced Randy Orton during the opening hour of the July 5 Smackdown episode, losing to Orton.

At Money in the Bank, Christian faced CM Punk, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and the returning Rob Van Dam, all losing to Randy Orton who retrieved the contract briefcase. On Raw, the following night, Christian defeated Sandow in singles action before Sandow was attacked later by Cody Rhodes. On the July 29 episode of Raw, Christian faced and defeated World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio. During that same week on August 3, during the opening hour of Smackdown, SD General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced a triple-threat match between Christian, Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam for the right to meet Del Rio at SummerSlam for the World Title. Christian won the match by pinning Orton. After Orton and Van Dam shook hands with Christian, he was attacked by Del Rio establishing their rivalry leading towards SummerSlam. On the August 9 episode of Smackdown, Christian faced and defeated Del Rio in the main event after scoring a quick roll-up pin. At SummerSlam, Del Rio retained his championship in his match against Christian. On the following week's SmackDown, Christian would then again be defeated by Del Rio. On the September 9 episode of Raw, following Edge's opinion on Triple H's abuse of power, The Shield would then drag out an assaulted Christian as a message to anyone who would disrespect Triple H. On that week's SmackDown, Edge promised that Christian would be back soon and get his payback.

Christian returned and appeared at the 2013 Slammy Awards, where he presented an award and appeared in a segment with John Cena and Randy Orton.

Christian returned on the January 31 edition of SmackDown to defeat Jack Swagger in a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the February 17 episode of Raw, Christian attacked Daniel Bryan from behind while he was distracted by Kane and mocked Bryan during the match, turning heel in the process. At Elimination Chamber in the elimination chamber match he pinned Sheamus and eliminated him after a frog splash off the top of a pod he was the second man eliminated in the match after getting pinned by Daniel Bryan. He had recently qualified to challenge Big E for the Intercontinental Championship, which did not come to fruition due to Christian suffering a concussion. Since then, Christian has ceased to appear on television.

Since suffering his concussion, Christian began pre-show commentary for WWE pay-per view events which began at NXT Takeover. In September, 2014 various outlets reported that Christian has been cleared to return to the ring for some time, but WWE apparently "has nothing for him", and that that there are people in the company that feel that he may be too "fragile" due to all of his recent injuries, and he may not be brought back as a wrestler. On September 21, 2014, Christian returned to WWE TV programming, as a face, after almost a 6-month absence to host the Peep Show on Night of Champions 2014 with Chris Jericho as special guest.

On the November 7 episode of SmackDown, Christian would host the Peep Show with Dean Ambrose as his guest. During the segment, Bray Wyatt would interrupt and have a confrontation with Ambrose.

On the December 29 episode of Raw, Christian and Edge made their return as guest hosts. During their in-ring segment with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, Heyman and commentator Jerry Lawler stated that Christian had retired from in-ring competition.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves

• Frog Splash - WWE, TNA; used as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero
• Killswitch (WWE) / Unprettier (WWF/E / TNA) / Impaler (WWF) (Elevated double chickenwing to inverted double underhook facebuster)
• One man con-chair-to - used in hardcore matches
• Spear - 2011-2014; tribute to Edge

• Signature moves

• Cloverleaf - TNA
• Diving European uppercut - 2007-present
• Diving crossbody
• Diving headbutt - 2009-present
• Fireman's carry gutbuster
• Inverted facelock backbreaker
• Pendulum kick from out of the corner, as a counter to an oncoming opponent - 2008-present
• Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope
• Flapjack
• Multiple DDT variations + Flapjack
  • Falling inverted DDT
  • Implant
  • Inverted tornado
  • Tornado
• Springboard from out of the corner into either a plancha or a twisting sunset flip - 2009-present
• Sitout inverted suplex slam
• Stands on the shoulder of an opponent draped over the middle rope, choking them in the process

• Nicknames

• "Captain Charisma"
• "Instant Classic"
• "New People's Champion"
• "The Pontiff of Peepulation"

• Tag teams and stables

• Edge & Christian - with Edge
• Christian Cage and Tomko
• Christian and Chris Jericho
• The Alliance
• The Brood
• Christian's Coalition
• Ministry Of Darkness
• Revolution X
• Thug Life
• Un-Americans

• Managers

• Trish Stratus (WWE) (2004)
• Tyson Tomko (also his bodyguard) (WWE) (2006)

• Nickname for Fans

• "Peeps"

• Theme music

• "At Last" by Jim Johnston (WWE; October 21, – June 2003)
• "Blood Brother" by Jim Johnston (WWF; December 23, 1999 – February 6, 2000)
• "Just Close Your Eyes" by Waterproof Blonde (WWE; November 14, 2004 – November 4, 2005)
• "Take Over" by Dale Oliver (Independent, ROH, TNA; November 13, 2005 – November 13, 2008, June 10, 2012) 
• "Just Close Your Eyes " by James A. Johnston, Jim Johnston and Story Of The Year (WWE; February 10, 2009 – present)

Championships and accomplishments

• East Coast Wrestling Association

• ECWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Insane Championship Wrestling

• ICW Streetfight Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sexton Hardcastle

• International Wrestling Alliance
  • IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Earl The Orderly

• Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling

• PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

• World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
  • ECW Championship (2 times)
  • World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (4 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (9 times) - with Edge (7), Lance Storm (1) and Chris Jericho (1)
  • WWE European Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Hardcore Championship (1 time)
  • WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Twenty Third Triple Crown Champion
  • Twelfth Grand Slam Champion

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Match of the Year - (2000) Edge & Christian vs. the Dudley Boyz vs. the Hardy Boyz at WrestleMania 2000
• PWI Match of the Year - (2001) Edge and Christian vs. the Dudley Boyz vs. the Hardy Boyz at WrestleMania X-Seven.
• PWI ranked him # 454 of the 500 best wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
• PWI ranked him # 12 in the PWI 500 in 2006.

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• 2000 Tag Team of the Year (with Edge)

Acting career

In March 2006, Reso began filming his part in "Shoot 'Em Up", a film due to be released in December 2006. Reso has a short speaking part, that of a Secret Service bodyguard for a United States Senator.

On April 12, 2006, Reso taped an edition of "Casino Cinema" for Spike TV.

Personal life

• Reso graduated at Don Bosco Secondary High School with fellow friend and wrestler Adam Copeland. He married a German woman, Denise, on May 25, 2001.
• He has a tattoo of the head of a bulldog with a yellow rose in its mouth on his left upper biceps. He has four cats.
• He is good friends with Terry Gerin, who was the best man at his wedding.
• Reso started using the Frog splash as a finisher in TNA as a tribute to his friend Eddie Guerrero who had died the day of his TNA debut.
• Reso is also real life neighbours with Chris Irvine, better known by the stage name Chris Jericho.

External links

• WWE.com Profile
• Christian Cage profile at CAGEMATCH.net
• Profile