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With the decision to turn down a new WWE contract offer and debut this Sunday at TNA’s Genesis, Christian has jumped into a new role, that of the first WWE star who walks away from being part of the biggest company in the world and guaranteed money in order to help put a smaller would-be upstart company on the map, becoming a top-tier player in the process. He's also now in the rare position of being a WWE performer who walks out without being completely buried, with a hell of an upside, and a pretty sizeable fan base to boot.
Christian has solidified his place in history, although time will tell what the history books remember him for. He could end up getting the credit for being the first star with the cajones to walk out on WWE for greener pastures and prove it can be done. On the other side of the coin, when it’s all said and done, Christian could also end up be remembered as the one fool who tried it and fell flat on his face, proving that you need the McMahons to be a star in the business.
If you are a McMahon loyalist, you are likely shaking your head at the idea of anyone walking out of the WWE to make a bigger name for themselves. However, despite developing his persona and mic skills, getting himself over with the fans, having good matches, and all the other things that WWE management bemoans that their Superstars need to do to become top-tier players, it wasn’t going to happen for Christian. Vince McMahon saw him as a lower level performer. Since it wasn’t McMahon who was elevating Christian, but the fans, Christian was never going to be more then he was under the WWE regime. Vince would simply have to prove to the fans they were wrong until they gave up the idea that Christian was a top name, just as they had given up on names like Tazz and Rob Van Dam, among others, before.
While WWE history has proven that talented names like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart could build themselves from being tag team performers to mid-card singles stars to legitimate main eventers, the current feudal system that is WWE management has created a situation where that is no longer the case. Unless someone with the last name of McMahon specifically takes an interest in a performer, more often then not, the workers are wading in the water, waiting for something to happen, rather then swimming that marathon across the ocean to the other side. There is no such thing as hard work leading to a continued push. If there was, Shelton Benjamin wouldn’t be losing two minute Internet Heat matches because the creative team doesn’t have something for him.
WWE's loss was truly TNA's gain as they have their first "name" WWE talent who walked away from the McMahon kingdom of their own accord to carve out their career in the world of the six sided ring. This can only be seen as a positive by Dixie Carter and TNA management, and can only serve to help their growing synergy with Spike TV, having brought one of the most charismatic performers of the WWE Spike era back to the network.
After talking to many within WWE, though, it’s amazing how much the wrestling world changes and how much it remains the same. While there are many who acknowledge that the company dropped the ball by not offering Christian a better deal, it isn’t anyone with the power to have changed the course of events. There are also some in WWE who have told me that as talented as Christian is, he will fall on his face because he needed to be part of the WWE synergy to succeed. He can’t do it in TNA. He isn’t talented enough to carry the ball. It’s possible those who are saying it truly mean it, but I think deep down they are simply parroting the company line that is being practiced for the first time a stock holder asks how someone with such an upside to his work was allowed to just jump ship.
The entire situation harks back to a very similar instance during the height of the Monday Night Wars, when an extremely talented good wrestler got his own persona over, had good matches, and energized a good portion of the fans with everything he did. In the end, he was never going to get the push he deserved and despite the money on the table, took the chance to walk out and jump to the opposition.
His name was Chris Jericho.
Jericho's debut on Raw, going back and forth on the mic with The Rock, remains one of the most important moments in that war. He wasn’t the biggest name but he was someone that the fans grew to care about and respect because of the work ethic and heart he put out in the ring. He was someone the fans wanted to see on top and followed to see if it would happen. He was someone they knew was better then he was being treated. Sound familiar?
At the time, WCW’s head, Eric Bischoff, blew off the entire situation, feeling that he would simply sign Shane Douglas and everyone would forget about Jericho. Instead, it was the exact opposite. No one who was watching forgot that debut, especially those who worked for WCW. When Jericho debuted, he opened the doors for more and more talented performers, like Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero to do the same. Only when they made the move, they knew that they would have a chance in a new setting to make money, have good matches, and not stand secondary for the rest of their career to the old guard.
Fast forward to 2005 and Christian is now standing in the same shoes that Chris Jericho was once wearing. He and TNA have the chance to show the world that there is life beyond WWE, outside the gates of the McMahon kingdom. He has the chance to leave a career legacy behind and grow TNA into a larger company and know that he was a force behind that. He has the chance to kick open the doors and show those other underappreciated talents that there is another place to ply your trade. With stories of Chris Benoit’s deal being up shortly, it makes the situation even more intriguing.
When Chris Jericho left WCW, Eric Bischoff balked at the idea that he would make a difference in the war. Years later, Jericho was headlining Wrestlemania and Bischoff was a McMahon employee who’s prime on-camera role was to be a subservient to the very man he tried to put out of business. Looking back, it's amazing to think that Bischoff was so arrogant or unaware at what he was losing.
It will be equally amazing to look back in a few years and see where all the players sit then. It will be interesting to track the timeline and see if Christian’s decision sparked not just TNA into a new era, not just wrestling fans into trying a new product, but also forced WWE management, into realizing that perhaps things needed to change, or else. This Sunday, live on PPV, a new era begins for Christian, TNA, and the entire business. History may repeat itself, or the entire thing could fall flat on it’s face. No one truly knows what will happen and as worked as the wrestling business is, that’s one of the beauties of following it when a major story unfolds like this.
Good or bad, Christian’s decision is one of the biggest stories of 2005. No matter where Christian ends up at the end of this journey, his legacy will be that he had a chance to change the course of the history of the business, and took it. By doing so, he’s made himself a bigger name then WWE creative could have if he stayed.
Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.
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