New AEW signee Christian Cage recently spoke to Sports Illustrated. Captain Charisma stated during the interview that he was happy to join All Elite as he felt they would present his character in a way befitting of a legend.
“[Jon] Moxley is a good friend of mine, and he was saying, ‘You’re a free agent; you should at least have a conversation with Tony Khan,’ so I did” Christian Cage began.
“Listening to the things Tony thought I could bring to the table and how he thought I could help, providing me the right platform at this stage in my career, it all made sense,” Cage continued. “In less than a week, it was a done deal.”
Christian Cage also discussed why he left WWE back in 2005. As you may remember, Christian joined TNA during the mid 2000s to try and prove that he could be a main event player in a promotion.
Christian Cage on Leaving WWE
“When I left in 2005, I was kind of pigeonholed into a certain spot [in WWE]” Christian Cage revealed. “And that wasn’t going to change unless I changed it myself,” Jay Reso mentioned.
“So I bet on myself. I knew that I had the talent and I was confident in my ability” Cage claimed. “I wasn’t content with where I was at, and I knew I had more to give.”
Cage appeared on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, confronting and attacking AEW Champion Kenny Omega. Although it has not been confirmed if that is a match AEW are considering going forward; it shows that the company believes the 47 year old Cage will be considered as a main event talent.
Do you want to see Christian Cage fight for the AEW Championship? Let us know in the comments
WWE Hall of Famer and former TNA star Booker T recently discussed Christian Cage making his way to the All Elite Wrestling roster. Cage was revealed at this past Sunday’s AEW Revolution event, ‘signing’ in-ring to confirm that he was now a member of the AEW team.
“I didn’t see it coming, but I didn’t not see it coming either,” Booker T said on the Hall of Fame podcast. “It was one of those deals where Christian has always been a guy that writes his own script. [That’s] in terms of ‘it’s not working out here, let me go try it out over there.'”
“Maybe the grass is greener on the other side” Booker T continued. “Or maybe I just need a change up. Christian, after you saw him in the Rumble, looked pretty good. The brother looked like he can still go. He’s my brother man, we’re tight like that. Some guys man, they feel like they still got something left in the gas tank and they want to go. They don’t want to be told no.”
Booker T on Christian Cage
Booker T also lamented the fact that this may be the last time that he gets to work alongside Captain Charisma. Christian Cage and Booker T were both part of the WWE Backstage show which aired on FOX; although right now the future of that show appears to be up in the air.
“If it was the last time him and I worked together on WWE Backstage, I just wanna say I’m gonna miss him” Booker T stated. “Christian was always like my right hand man, always a guy I loved to be around, always the guy that wasn’t going to be the sore thumb at the party. He is a guy who’s taken every finisher better than anybody else.”
Christian Cage has joined AEW with his new catchphrase being ‘Out Work Everyone.’ The former WWE Intercontinental, World Heavyweight and TNA Champion will be looking to put on some stellar performances as he heads into the twilight of his career.
We are only 3 months into 2021 but Christian Cage already has had an eventful year. He first made his in ring return after 7 years at Royal Rumble and since then, he has made the big decision to sign with AEW.
Discussing the hype AEW had created for him before his big debut at Revolution event, Christian revealed that he was surprised as well because he hadn’t signed the contract at the time:
“I didn’t know. As far as I knew at that point in time, it was going to be a complete secret, and I was going to show up, and it was going to be a complete surprise, honestly, on Wednesday, there was nothing signed.
So, it was a shock to me when I heard it,” said Christian, “Tony [Khan] and I hit it off fairly quick. We felt comfortable enough to definitely to get something done and worked out at that point.”
The former world champion also commented on the length of his AEW deal and said “It’s a long-term deal, I’m not here for just a couple of matches now, like, I’m here for the long haul.”
Apart from this, Christian discussed things such as the opponents he is looking forward to facing in AEW and his Royal Rumble return. You can check out some more highlights from his interview here.
Christian recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast where he opened up about the circumstances leading to his in-ring return and his signing with WWE’s rival promotion.
The AEW signing of the former world champion is a bitter-sweet deal for his fans as he will get to compete against a plethora of exciting talent but it also means that we will probably never get to see him having a proper reunion with Edge.
Though they did get to share a moment at Royal Rumble in January when Christian made his in ring return. During the interview, he revealed Edge’s reaction to his comeback:
“Well, he was one of the very few people who knew. When I told him what I was thinking, he was very supportive,” he noted. “When you get to that point where you think it’s gone, and then it comes back, it’s like what just happened?
“When he came back at Royal Rumble from the year previous, he’s always been good at keeping his nerves in check. I’ve never seen him nervous before. And he was super nervous for that Rumble.” recalled Christian, “I was there to lighten the mood. And he kind of did the same for me. It’s just reverse roles. He’s a great sounding board.”
Apart from this, the former WWE star talked about his AEW signing. He explained that he has no animosity towards his former employers and that joining AEW was just the better choice for him.
Christian Cage is Renee Young’s guest on the latest episode of the Oral Sessions podcast. Hot off his AEW debut at Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view, Christian goes in-depth about his experience getting medically cleared after 7 years away from the ring, his jump to AEW and much more.
Returning To WWE, Jumping To AEW
Christian said when he returned at the Royal Rumble in January, he wasn’t nervous at all. However, he was nervous at AEW Revolution. He doesn’t know why, but he suspects the nerves were related to the new environment.
The PPV began at 8pm (Eastern) and he showed up after 7pm. He went straight onto his bus and did not mingle with anybody. He felt like the new kid in class. He really wanted to live up to the hype set by Paul Wight and AEW.
It felt great to appear in front of the AEW crowd. Obviously, these times are not ideal due to the pandemic. However, the people who were in attendance were loud. Wrestling at the ThunderDome was cool, but there’s nothing like a live audience.
When he signed with AEW, he did not know how he’d be introduced. He wasn’t signed when Paul Wight announced a ‘huge huge star’ would be at the PPV.
Christian says he will be a full-time performer. If he didn’t have the confidence to go at 100%, he wouldn’t be in AEW. He’s coming back to show the world he’s one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.
Getting Medically Cleared
He feels like his body has been preserved for 7 years. He’s in a great place mentally and physically.
Christian visited the University of South Florida Concussion Center in June 2020 in hopes of getting medically cleared. He went there on his own and did not tell anybody about the visit. He figured, if the doctors tell him he needs to stay retired, nothing would really change.
After undergoing rigorous medical examinations, his doctor told him, “You crushed these tests.” He was average or above average on all the scores related to his brain. He didn’t fail any of the tests. The doctor told him, “You’re good to wrestle again.”
At this point, he knew it was time to get the rest of his body in peak physical shape. Edge referred him to Nutrition Solutions, a meal prep company. He built a minimalist gym in his garage and trained hard using basic weights, kettle bells and an assault bike. He’s also doing a lot of planks.
As he was getting into shape, he got a call from WWE around September/October. He spoke with Vince McMahon and told him the news about getting medically cleared. Vince was very happy for him. They had a few good conversations. Christian told Vince he still wanted to get his body into better shape and they left things there. Edge was very supportive about his journey.
Who He Wants To Work With In AEW
Christian says he’s with AEW for the long haul. He’s not here just to wrestle a couple matches. He sees a lot of people in AEW that he wants to work with, including:
Jon Moxley: Moxley has told Christian that he’s learned a lot from working with him in WWE. “At some point, he and I are going to do something together.”
Kenny Omega: Christian has never met Omega, but is familiar with his work. Renee added that Omega is a tough nut to crack. She’s been around him a few times but hasn’t gotten to know him.
Darby Allin: Christian says he’s got the Jeff Hardy “cool” factor.
The Young Bucks: He knows the Young Bucks grew up as fans of the Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian. Renee suggested that we might see The Young Bucks vs. Matt Hardy & Christian.
MJF: Christian says Max is super talented and “gets it.”
Christian added that he still hasn’t wrapped his brain around all the possibilities that await him in AEW. He can’t wait to get started. In addition to wrestling, he’s also excited to contribute behind the scenes. He spoke very highly of Pat Patterson and his role in WWE.
Christian Cage was revealed as the big new AEW signing last night. The 47-year-old had just recently been in the 2021 Royal Rumble for WWE. Tony Khan addressed how the deal came together to bring him into the company.
“He’s been a friend of mine for a long time. I met Christian Cage 7 years ago. He’s a great person,” Khan said at the post-event media scrum. “I’ve always really liked him as a person but long before that I’ve been a huge, huge fan of him as a wrestler.”
“I think he’s one of the great wrestlers of the last couple decades. He’s had great matches in different companies. He’s been a great singles wrestler, great tag champion and I think he adds a lot here.”
Khan continued to talk about what Christian’s brings to the company.
“He’s one of the best minds in wrestling and he’s in great physical condition.”
Khan then revealed Christian called him about working in AEW following his Royal Rumble appearance.
“We saw him very recently compete on PPV and there was a lot of interest in it, it generated a lot of interest. He was interested in wrestling on a regular basis. And he gave me a call and said ‘I’d really like to come wrestle in AEW for you’. And I said ‘I’d really like to have you come wrestle for me in AEW, that sounds awesome.'”
Later in the interview, Khan revealed he was not aware Christian was a free agent.
“This came together pretty quickly. Christian Cage had just recently returned to the ring and looked incredibly impressive and I was not aware that he didn’t have a contract and would be interested in wrestling for us,” Khan continued.
