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By Rennie Detore
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 31,
2004
For all his catch phrases and character nicknames, Christian still doesn't have the main-event credentials to
show for it. What "Captain Charisma" is missing are victories, at least ones that matter.
The successful, multiple-time
tag team champion is sputtering as a would-be singles star, even with his new haircut, fashionable wardrobe and bald-headed
bodyguard.
Yes, he even got new ring attire, trading in his enhancement wrestler singlet for actual wrestling tights.
Still, Christian isn't appreciated as a serious contender to any individual title because he never seems to win any
matches. Most of his wins come as a result of tiresome heel tactics, such as holding the ropes or enlisting Tyson Tomko to
kick whomever he's wrestling in the face when that pesky ref isn't looking.
Christian beat former WWE champion Shawn
Michaels at Madison Square Garden on "Raw" a few weeks ago, a win that should have catapulted him into world-title contention.
But it didn't for two glaring reasons.
Christian rolled up Michaels from behind and hooked his tights. Don't
bother trying to remember the highlights of the match, either, because there weren't any.
Christian displays little
in-ring offense. In fact, a Christian match takes the same formulaic approach each time: Christian's opponent beats on him
for five or 10 minutes, then Christian cheats and wins. Somewhere in between, Christian shows us his three moves: An inverted
backbreaker, his finisher, which never beats anyone, and that little choke hold he uses when he stands on his opponents back
and pulls up on the top rope.
When was the last time Christian actually defeated a wrestler with his finisher in the
middle of the ring after a back-and-forth match?
Before his ill-fated encounter -- it wasn't worthy of "feud" status
-- with Michaels, Christian failed to capitalize on a program with Chris Jericho, the first undisputed WWE champion.
He
beat Jericho at "Wrestlemania XX" with the help of Trish Stratus but that positioned Stratus a bigger, more important heel
than Christian. In essence, Stratus moved into the feud with Jericho, leaving Christian as a role player.
The feud
culminated when Jericho won the decisive match, and Christian hurt his back.
Not exactly the best way for Christian
to cement his status as a superstar.
One wrestler who seems destined for bigger things than mid-card performing is
Shelton Benjamin, the new Intercontinental champion and ironically Christian's next opponent.
Christian and Benjamin
seem headed in different directions, with the latter passing the former on his way up the company's roster.
Benjamin
defeated Jericho at "Taboo Tuesday" for the title, then successfully defended it last Monday on "Raw" in a rematch with Jericho.
Benjamin and Jericho shook hands, and Christian attacked Benjamin.
Christian showed great intensity attacking Benjamin,
but we've seen this before from him.
If every Christian feud, match or interview had the same energy as one of his
brief, in-ring attacks, he'd be the WWE heavyweight champion. It's as if Christian gets into the ring and forgets that he's
quickly becoming a damaged persona with every match that doesn't end with a decisive victory on his part.
Christian
can't keep moving from one meaningless feud to another, without a sense of purpose or direction. He is in danger of becoming
a fixture at the mid-card level, who only is kept around to feud with up-and-coming babyfaces such as Benjamin.
Right
now, Christian couldn't be further away from his long-term goal of becoming a top star -- or even his short-term one of actually
winning a match that is more memorable than forgettable.
Credit: http://pittsburghlive.com
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