This past weekend at WrestleMania 34, the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura didn’t appear to live up to the hype for most fans. Throughout the build-up to the match, the bout was being promoted as a ‘dream match’ between the former New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stars.
Fans in attendance didn’t seem to be too thrilled with what went on in the ring, with pockets of those in the crowd even chanting “boring” at some times.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian recently weighed in on the matter in a recent episode of he and WWE Hall Of Famer Edge’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness.
Christian explained how the crowd can affect the perception of a match, and even compared it to he and Randy Orton’s feud during his time in the ring:
“Sometimes the crowd can affect the perception of a match, [and] I think it happened during this one a little bit,” said Christian. “I think that’s where it started to happen when the crowd was getting fatigued. Especially, when it’s two guys that are babyfaces. And, there’s the title on the line, but emotionally, what else is going on? And I think what they did after the match meant more than anything that did in the match.
“I was thinking about the babyface match I had for the world title with Randy Orton when we wrestled at Over the Limit, and I was thinking, what’s the difference between that and this other than one was at Over the Limit and one was at WrestleMania? So, what I was thinking about is the emotion was not good guy – bad guy, heel – babyface. The emotion was, this guy who we’ve wanted to see at this level for like 17 years has been scratching and clawing and finally won it.
“And then, had it snatched from a guy who’s been patented as ‘the golden boy’ for years and years, and has been molded to be a top superstar gets it back after a couple of days. People didn’t want to see me lose it yet. That was the emotion. ‘Can he get it back? Can he get back to that level already, so quickly after he worked so hard to get there?’ People liked me, but they didn’t like what happened. That was the emotion.
“On this one, they liked both guys, so [fans] are just kinda choosing a side. There’s nothing else. So, to me, now I can really sink my teeth into this, because I think Nakamura now is gonna do better work. I think he’s gonna work more with a chip on his shoulder, I think he’s gonna work more aggressively. He works aggressive anyway, I think he’s gonna have a mean streak that he hasn’t had before, and I think it’s gonna amp up, and I think he’s done himself a huge favor by the aggression he had after the match, in my opinion.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
On a recent edition of the E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, former WWE Tag Team Champs Edge and Christian discussed being asked to induct The Dudley Boyz into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame class.
Edge discussed the news breaking that he and Christian would be inducting Bubba Ray and D-Von, which was Bubba announcing it on Busted Open Radio. The pair also discussed getting the calls to be asked to induct The Dudley Boyz:
“Actually, the news broke by Bubba Ray Dudley on Busted Open Radio with me as the guest. I didn’t know he was going to do it.
“He got the pop himself and it has now been officially confirmed by WWE today as we’re recording this that we will be inducting The Dudley Boyz. Yeah!”
“We were very honored that they asked us to do it, and, obviously, we’ve talked about it many times in the past,” Christian added.
“All three teams will always be linked. If you think of the Dudleys, you think of Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz, and vice versa with all those other teams.
“We helped to put each other on the map and the feud with us and the Hardys really took off when those guys showed up.
“My phone rings immediately after [Edge’s phone rang] and it says, ‘Melbourne, Florida’,” Christian recalled. “And I’m like, ‘do we know anybody in Melbourne?’ I’m like, ‘your phone rang and then mine did.
“Should I answer it?’ and [Edge] is like, ‘yeah, yeah, you should answer it!’ So I answered it. It was D-Von. We had a nice conversation and he said he tried to call [Edge], so I said, ‘oh, I’ll pass him to you. He didn’t want to talk to you earlier.'”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open radio show, Edge was asked by Bubba Ray to be joined by Christian to induct The Dudley Boyz into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018. Edge said he was all in and that Christian would have no problem making the trip to New Orleans.
Today (March 21), WWE made it official. Edge and Christian will induct Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley ahead of WrestleMania 34. Peep the conversation that sparked today’s announcement below:
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) March 19, 2018
Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz ruled tag team wrestling in the attitude era. All three teams participated in numerous Tables, Ladders, & Chairs matches. The most memorable one took place at WrestleMania 17. Edge and Christian ended up winning that battle.
The WWE Hall of Fame 2018 will stream live on the WWE Network on April 6. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET. Goldberg will be the main Hall of Fame inductee this year. He will be joined by Jeff Jarrett, Mark Henry, Ivory, Hillbilly Jim, and Kid Rock. Jarrius “JJ” Robertson will receive this year’s Warrior Award.
– A fan on Twitter recently asked 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bully Ray who he’d like to have induct he and D-Von Dudley into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Ray responded by saying that if it were up to him he’d have everyone who was in the ECW Arena in February of 1997 – where he and D-Von hit their first 3D – induct them. However, since it’s a WWE Hall Of Fame he admitted names like Paul Heyman, Edge & Christian, or The Hardy Boyz would also be good options:
If it was totally up to me, I would want something completely different.
I would have every fan who was in the ECW Arena in Feb. ‘97 who saw me and Devon hit our first 3D induct us.
– Rusev has been training Lana hard ahead of their Mixed Match Challenge bout against the team of Elias and Bayley next week. WWE posted the following video of Rusev having Lana break boards in preparation for the match:
– Below is backstage video of Curt Hawkins and The Brooklyn Brawler at RAW 25. Brawler says he can feel what Hawkins is going through with the losing streak and he can relate. Brawler tells Hawkins to never get down on himself because eventually he will win.
– Matt Hardy talks to Dasha Fuentes after his loss to Bray Wyatt at RAW 25. Hardy says he was happy to have the Manhattan Center as a battlefield in The Great War but he is disappointed. Matt says this was not the outcome he wanted but he will get revenge at the Royal Rumble on Sunday because he will delete until Wyatt and Sister Abigail are over.
– Christian’s Peep Show segment at Monday’s RAW 25 event was originally scheduled to take place inside the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, according to PWInsider. The segment was held at the Barclays Center with appearances by The Bar and RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan. Below is video from the segment:
On a recent episode of their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, WWE Hall Of Famer Edge and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian reviewed Survivor Series weekend. One subject that the former Tag Team Champs touched on was NXT TakeOver: Houston, which featured a match between Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream. It turns out “The Rated-R Superstar” is a big fan of Velveteen, as he issued out some high praise for the NXT product:
“I hadn’t seen much of Velveteen Dream but I watched him and Aleister Black. That kid’s been working 3 years, for 3 years to be where he’s at is incredible. He’s found a character, he’s fully committed to it. It’s parts Rick Rude, it’s part Prince and it’s fun. I really enjoyed that. He’s going to be a player, it was really fun to watch. It was a fun match and I thought there were a lot of cool false finishes and like I said for 3 years in or whatever, he’s going to be a good one.”
The 22-year-old has only been wrestling since October of 2014. With years to go in his career as he’s learning under some of the greatest minds in the business in NXT, Dream has a chance to be something special when his time comes to be called up to the main roster.
Discussion: How do you feel about Velveteen’s potential?
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Tag Team Champion Edge and Christian recently took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to discuss several professional wrestling topics. The pair discussed the recent releases within WWE, the opportunity the recently released talent now have, which releases surprised them, Lio Rush’s joke about Emma’s release, and so much more. You can check out the highlights here:
Christian on the releases of Emma, Darren Young, and Summer Rae:
“I guess a few talent got released and people are asking what our thoughts are and whether we’d talk about it on the podcast,” said Christian. “I mean, there’s not really much to say. I mean, obviously, you don’t want anybody to lose their job or their career or anything like that, so you just hope for the best for all the people that it has happened to and that they land on their feet and figure something out. If they truly love wrestling, they’ll continue on and make other avenues and we see that’s a very viable option now with all the other promotions and stuff not only in the U.S., but around the world. So we’ll see what happens.”
Christian on the opportunities the recently released talent now have:
“You look at a guy like Drew McIntyre, right? He was released and it actually helped him. It sucked at the time and I’m sure. We talked to him and if you haven’t listened to that podcast, do yourself a favor and go back and listen to it because it was a great conversation. Yeah, but a guy like him, it really helped him and he came back better than he ever has, so in some respects, it’s almost like, ‘hey, we don’t have anything for you – you’re just kind of spinning your wheels and this is a chance for you to go out and better yourself.'”
Edge on releases being an unfortunate part of the business:
“Yeah, it sucks. I get it,” Edge stated. “It’s a business and at some point there’s going to be a fluctuation in the talent roster and things like that. I don’t know the reasons for anyone [being released]. I don’t know if there necessarily needs to be a reason. It’s just the way the business is sometimes.”
Christian being surprised by Emma’s release:
“[Emma] had a pretty good showing I thought, the last month or so, on TV and on the pay-per-view against Asuka and all those sorts of things.” Christian added, “I feel like she’s the type of performer that will go out and become stronger and do some things, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see her back someday.”
Edge on Emma not getting the right opportunities:
“If you watch her history of work and her and Paige at the first NXT Women’s Championship. I mean, she can go. And a lot of times, you don’t get the opportunity to necessarily show it.”
Christian on Lio Rush’s comments regarding Emma’s release:
“I guess he had said something kind of [insensitive]. I guess he meant it to be somewhat cool or funny, saying, ‘this is what happens when you’re truly not ready for Asuka.’ And man, it’s like here’s the thing. Yes, the guy made a mistake. He probably regrets doing what he did. And we talked about it before with social media and stuff like that these days, and it’s another reason we should probably do an episode someday about the changing in technology, but just think before you hit the send button. Do you know what I mean? Read it over a couple of times and be like, ‘what am I send out into the internet?’ because once it’s out there, it’s out there. Use your head. That’s all you have to do. Use some common sense.
“Not only that, he’s someone that hasn’t accomplished nearly what Emma has accomplished. Do you know what I mean? It’s not a smart thing to do. And it’s not just for him, for any aspiring [pro] wrestler that wants to step up and make a name for himself and really go places, use your head before you hit the send button.”
Edge on WWE recruits needing social media training:
“Talent and brains don’t always go hand-in-hand, but I don’t know the kid. But definitely not a good idea because you’re now making a joke about someone’s livelihood.” Edge continued, “I think even WWE has classes now on social media and how to deal with this whole new thing. It’s not necessarily new anymore, but there are ramifications, repercussions, that can happen from what you put out there.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Randy Orton was recently a guest on former WWE Tag Team Champs Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. During their conversation, Christian recalled an incident between he and Orton after one of their matches back in 2005. “Captain Charisma” jumped Orton after their match, however, he legitimately injured “The Viper” during the segment:
“I came out and I jumped you after a match … it was just going to be a little TV program. I cuffed you so hard in the head and I guess it knocked your equilibrium all crazy because you were down in the ring. You weren’t moving.“
Orton suffered from a ruptured eardrum after the attack, causing a great deal of worry from Christian as he knew Orton was set for a big push in the coming months. Orton covered for Christian by telling everyone backstage that he was okay and was just selling:
“They finally got you up, they carried you back and you opened the curtain and you said, ‘Relax everyone. I was just working. I was just selling it,’. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, cool, good job Randy.’ We got down the stairs, you put your arm around me and you whispered, ‘I am so f—ed up.’ “
Last week on Monday Night RAW, Roman Reigns and John Cena laid out the groundwork for their newly formed feud with one another as they approach their one-on-one match at the upcoming No Mercy pay-per-view (PPV). Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to react to the segment. Here’s what they had to say about Cena and Reigns’ exchange:
Christian:
“I like them to feel organic, in a sense. Do you know what I mean? Where it’s not scripted and I did feel like I don’t think they’re the type of promo that should be done a lot. Do you know what I mean? And I think it’s kind of the right time for something like this to happen. And they addressed a lot of the things and sometimes when things are addressed that are on the internet or out there in the dirtsheets, brother, that sometimes they ignore it or pay no attention to it or whatever, which is what you have to do most times. But sometimes, it’s good to do something like that.
“It’s like, ‘whoa, hold on a second…’ They’re addressing all of the things people say about them or think about them and people think there are legit facts about certain situations and they threw it back and forth at each other and turned it into a real situation that was something that could help a feud like that. These guys are kind of in the same boat. They kind of get similar reactions, so it’ll be interesting and I think it added maybe a little bit of a personal edge to if they’re going to have a match or a feud for however long it’s going to go. I think that it gave them that something personal instead of two guys, ‘I want your spot because you’re leaving – you keep coming back – I want your spot’ kind of thing.”
Edge:
“It’s all the things people assume they think about each other and now it was just validated, like, ‘yeah, that really does happen.’ So here’s where I’ve got to start: why No Mercy? Why? There [has] got to be something going on there. You don’t do this at [No Mercy]. That’s a WrestleMania match! Back to my Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe [soapbox]. Imagine you put Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns/John Cena on WrestleMania. Sold. Hold on! I’m great-balls-of-fired-up about it, man!
“You put it on Great Balls Of Fire and you put it on No Mercy. Come on! Like, what?” Edge added, “they each have all kinds of opponents. You didn’t have to [book the match now]. That’s all I’m saying, man. There [are] loads of people that you could’ve got through and started those around Royal Rumble season and nobody would’ve touched each other and you have two fresh matches that haven’t happened that people want to see and want to talk about. That’s my take on that.
“Now, the promo itself, here’s what I thought it did. John [has] been in that situation before whether it’s with The Rock… he [has] had to deal with that before and he’s good at it. Reigns hasn’t and you could tell. You could tell that this was his first kind of, ‘okay, how exactly do I do this?’ But I will say, it’s the best promo I’ve ever seen him do because you could tell he really felt what he was saying. Now, I think with more practice, more tune up, he [has] got it because there were a lot more points that he could’ve hit about John that he didn’t. I mean, he could’ve speed bagged John with some of the stuff he could say and he didn’t go there.”
Christian:
“I found kind of a shift in [Reigns’ promo] where seemingly he ran out of words to say and John called him on it and said, ‘this is the reason I had to come back, because you’re not ready, basically, to do this.’ Do you know what I mean? ‘If you’re in this spot, you’re going to have to be able to do this.’ And he called him on it on live television. You could see Roman, almost the steam coming out of his ears. And I think that almost took him to another level. I’ve been there and gone blank on live TV and it’s not a fun feeling and it does something to you.
“You can’t go out there and rely on somebody else’s words, right? Somebody can’t hand you a sheet of paper and say, ‘go out there and read this and you’re going to get over with what’s written on here.’ Almost take the bullet points of it and have the gumption, the initiative, the like [Edge] said, [to] make it your own.” Christian explained, “sometimes things happen out there that aren’t necessarily a bullet point or on a piece of paper and you have to take advantage of those and you can’t be afraid to take advantage of those, right?”
Edge:
“That was a hard way to practice, but I think that was a good learning lesson for Reigns. I feel weird calling him Roman. I don’t know why. But I think that’s where he needs to get to with all of his promos. And that’s how I always looked at things. If you get to a certain place and ‘oh, okay, that is the pocket I need to get to for a promo to feel authentic, genuine, fired up. That’s when people believe. And if you can get there for every promo and find that space and whatever that trigger you need to get you there, that’s where you’ve got to get to in every promo and not every promo needs to be screaming and yelling, but he needs to get to that place for his promos.
“And if he can find that place for all his promos, man, if his promos catch up to his work and his look, now he is ready to take over and John can go to The Today Show or whatever it is.” Edge professed, “you’ve got to be able to think on your feet, know what you’re trying to get across, and go from there. And like I said, I thought that was the best, impassioned kind of promo, that I’ve seen out of him. I mean, it was a very tough situation to have to do it. And, sure, there were some awkward moments for him, but I think he stepped up. I really do.”
Christian:
“It was supposed to be awkward. I mean, that’s the feeling people were supposed to have coming away from it, right? It got people talking and that’s what it’s about. Whether it was awkward, whether he got confused in his head and didn’t have the right words to respond to John to, but it was a great moment, like, it was impactful.”
Edge:
“A couple of those moments got to John too. I know John’s reaction when things get to him. That got to him a little bit, but it was good. Again, it’s WrestleMania. I don’t know why it’s happening at No Mercy. There [has] got to be something scheduling-wise as to why it’s not. Otherwise, ‘WTF,’ as the kids say these days, Bird.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by visiting this link.
Former WWE Superstars and hosts of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness stopped by the London Film & Comic Con over the weekend. During the event, Edge & Christian posed with fans and one fan asked them to take an awkward prom photo with her. Edge and Christian obliged and the following photo was the result:
Finn Balor congratulates Curt Hawkins on his 100 match losing streak
As noted earlier, Curt Hawkins has not won a match since November 8th, 2016. Hawkins defeated Apollo Crews in that match via a roll-up and has been on the losing end of every match since. Finn Balor took to Twitter recently to congratulate Hawkins on his remarkable achievement in the following photo:
Titus O’Neil posted the following video on Twitter yesterday he and Tozawa on the road. O’Neil found Tozawa’s music choice to be confusing and asked what they were listen to. Tozawa simply responded “Japanese, yo!”.
WWE fans would love to see one last match from former World Heavyweight Champion Christian before he hangs up the boots for good, and they quite possibly could get it. Christian recently took to Twitter to post a picture of a pair of wrestling boots, teasing a potential return by saying that he wonders if they still fit. Former WWE Champion Randy Orton responded to Christian’s Tweet, saying he hopes they do and asked him if he’s down for one more match:
Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, and touched on the importance of young talent asking veteran workers for advice as much as possible. Both men noted how they received advice from the likes of The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin, however, it was Christian’s story about advice he received from Austin that stole the show.
“Captain Charisma” spoke about his respect for Austin and how “The Texas Rattlesnake” used to stay late at shows and watch every match on the card. One night Christian asked Austin to watch his match and give him some pointers on how he could improve, and the critique the WWE Hall Of Famer provided Christian with was priceless:
“I remember asking him specifically “Hey, can you watch my match tonight? I’m trying to get better as a singles performer.” And Steve doesn’t pull punches, he’s a straight shooter. I came back from the match… and Steve is a friend of mine. I thought he’d be like “Hey, this is a buddy”, the crowd was reacting, match was good, got reactions.
“I’ll never forget it… I walked back and said “What did you think?” He looked me straight in the eyes and said “Why don’t you learn how to f**king sell?” Then he walked away. I was like “Whoa. Hold on a second here. What?” I went back and watched a bunch of my matches and realized “He’s right. I don’t sell enough”
Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about WWE Champion Jinder Mahal’s current title run and push into the main event picture. Edge and Christian talk about why they enjoy seeing a fresh face with the title, and “The Rated R Superstar” talks about his past relationship with The Singh Brothers.
You can check out the highlights here:
Christian on Mahal winning the WWE Title being a nice surprise:
“I think it’s good. I think it’s a good surprise. I mean, I like it when there’s… it’s hard to shock people, especially when people want to know, like, spoilers and stuff like that. People seem to want to know stuff that’s going to happen before it happens sometimes instead of just enjoying it and following the ride and just seeing where it takes you. So it just was legitimately one of those ones where you didn’t know which way they were going to go on it and I like it. I think it’s different and I think it’s one of those ones too, even speaking from personal experience, that you sometimes you’ve just got to throw that person in that spot and see if they can sink or swim, if they have it in them to step up and be believable in that spot.”
Edge on fans always complaining about what’s different and new:
“Put the person in the situation and see how they do. Jinder’s a good dude. He’s a nice guy and the only way to prove and get to that next level is to be given a shot. Now, people always complain they want something different, they want something new, and when it happens, they complain about what is different and new. Now, these are broad paint strokes, but it generally seems to be the case where Kevin Owens becomes champion and they complain about how he’s used as champion. But you were complaining he wasn’t champion. Now he’s champion, you want to complain about how he’s used as champion? I get it. You’re passionate about the product. I’m passionate about it too, but I like to let things play out, having been in the industry. From being inside the industry, I understand you need patience to see things play out. And that’s what I would advise all of the folks who might be worked up about this. Let’s see how it plays out. I think he’s going to do good. I think he’s going to step up. And guess what. If he doesn’t, it’s not going to happen for long.”
Edge on why fans should give Mahal’s title reign a chance:
“I know the knee-jerk reaction from a lot of wrestling fans is, ‘huh? Why?’ Settle down. Relax. I’m going to be Uncle Edge here and try and talk you off the ledge. Here’s how I’m looking at this. You can say it’s a business decision because WWE is breaking ground in India. Well, okay. Then, it’s a good business decision. If you want a billion people to latch onto the product, then maybe put the 6’5″, 240 lbs. Indian dude as your world heavyweight champion. Just saying.”
Christian on liking Mahal’s pairing with The Bollywood Boyz (The Singh Brothers):
“The thing is too, they’ve surrounded him. They put an entourage with him, which is great. It gives him a little bit more of a presence, a little bit more of an aura. So yeah, I mean, give the guy a chance. And he’s either going to make it or he’s not and it’s on him.”
Edge on his past encounters with The Singh Brothers:
“And a shout out to the entourage, The Singh Brothers. We’ll have them on the show at some point, but really, really good guys. I go back with them a little bit, back when they were out in [British Columbia, Canada] and I was out there filming some stuff. They got in touch with me through Paul Lazenby, who is a complete moron.” Edge continued, “they got ahold of Paul and they found out I was in town, so they just wanted to pick my brain, so we went and hiked this mountain called The [Stawamus] Chief and they just picked my brain the entire time. I was like, ‘okay, I like these guys.’ They went out of their way to try to find out if they could just get into contact with me and get some ideas. So from that point, I’ve stayed in contact with them and just tried to give them advice along the way.”
“They’re great guys, good head on their shoulders, and it’s great to see them being put in that mix. And again, sink or swim. Yeah, so it [has] been nice to see and it’s different and it’s fun and I always liked that.”
Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian recently took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about some of the best and worst gimmicks in WWE history. Some superstars brought up included The Undertaker, Kane, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and more. Here are the highlights:
Edge on Kane’s string of failed personas:
“There’s a guy, okay, Isaac Yankem, then, new Diesel, and just, he’s too good to deny. And then, thankfully, finally, they realized, ‘okay, let’s do something with him.'” Edge said, “how thankful do you think he [has] got to be after trying to make all of those gimmicks work and then [to hear], ‘okay, you’re going to be The Undertaker’s brother, Kane’?”
Christian on Kane being too good to be held back by failed gimmicks:
“He probably did everything he could to make those other [gimmicks] work, right? So it’s one of those ones where you get out what you put in. And he might not necessarily like those ones, but he always did the best with what he had. And plus, he just looked so unique. He had the size. He was good, still is good, that eventually something was going to work out for him.”
Edge on Undertaker becoming the new Andre The Gian with his gimmick:
“On paper, does The Undertaker [gimmick] sound like something that will go on to be undefeated at WrestleMania for like 22 years, and be the tentpole holding up the company at certain times, and kind of the measuring stick within the [pro] wrestling industry, more or less, the new Andre The Giant?” Edge added, “it sounds like the shelf life isn’t going to be that long.”
Christian on nobody else being able to pull off the Undertaker gimmick:
“The thing is too, I honestly believe if it was on anybody but The Undertaker, it wouldn’t’ve worked. It would’ve had that shelf life, but because he personified it and he embraced it and he became The Undertaker. You just had to look at him. He had everything down, the movements, he had the entrance, and when he did his entrance, people still when they hear that gong, they stand up. It has become this revered character. He’s also one of the most revered guys in the locker room. But I don’t think it would have had much lasting power if it had been anybody but him doing it. I don’t think anybody could do the character the way that he has done it.”
Edge on Taker switching over to “The American Badass” gimmick to refresh “The Deadman” persona:
“I mean, probably. I think one of the keys to longevity in [pro] wrestling, especially if you are going to remain the same character is the fact that you have to change it sometimes. Otherwise, it gets stagnant. It can still be a lighter shade or a darker shade, but The Undertaker went through many different phases like that. It was the Ministry [Of Darkness] Undertaker for a little while, which got even darker. And then, I think it just came a point where he had to switch it up.
“I also think that the reason it switched up is that he actually wanted to wrestle more because, as The Undertaker in the first kind of incarnation of it, the character kind of pigeonholed how much he could actually wrestle and he’s a guy who can really work. So while he was working the gimmick initially, you couldn’t go out and have the type of matches he could actually have, so I think ‘The American Bad Ass’ was a way to segue into being able to get in there with Kurt Angle and have amazing matches, technical matches too.” Edge professed, “you had to have that segue to have The Undertaker that we have now.”
Christian on “The Ringmaster” gimmick not fitting Steve Austin’s look:
“I not really sure if it was a gimmick or really just a name, but the name didn’t fit the look. Do you know what I mean? He had the bald head, huge legs, well-built. He was full-steam ahead when he was in the ring. Yeah, [Austin wore green trunks as ‘The Ringmaster’ because he was with ‘The Million Dollar Man’, right? But, like I said, I don’t think the name fit the character [or] what he looked like. Do you know what I mean? And I think, to his credit, that he was not only good enough, but had the guts, I guess, to take the reins and change it into ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and make it the way he wanted it to be and like [Edge] said, become the biggest draw in the history of the company.”
On a recent edition of former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, both former world champs shared the worst gimmicks of their professional wrestling career. Christian shared the story of how he almost played a knockoff character of The Rock.
Playing The Rock’s stand-in as his Hollywood career began to take off:
“I remember I had almost in WWE, this is pretty funny actually, so The Rock had been going off doing movies and stuff like that. Yeah, I think he’s doing alright for himself, from what I understand. So he was starting to go off and do movies, so he was taking extended periods of time off. So he was doing a little thing with Goldberg and I can’t remember exactly how it came about, but they kind of slotted me in to be Rock’s spokesman, I had a little one-on-one backstage meeting with The Rock and he kind of anointed me, like, his favorite wrestler, trying to pump me up, but unbeknownst to me, he was trying to get me to take a bullet for him with Goldberg, was the backstory. Right? So when he wasn’t there I was kind of doing his talking as ‘The Rock’s Favorite Wrestler’ and I took upon myself to do The Rock’s work for him.”
WWE creative wanting to dub Christian “The Lock”:
“One day, I get home and I get this call [from WWE creative]. They’re like, ‘hey, they kind of want you to do this thing where you think you become The Rock.’ And I was like, ‘what?’ ‘Yeah, so basically, we want you to kind of do the eyebrow thing, maybe cut your hair real short,’ and, I had long hair at this point. Did I? Yes, I did. ‘What if you cut your hair real short? And, you know, The Rock wears black, so you’ll wear white and you’re going to use all of his catchphrases and you’re gonna act like The Rock and pretend you’re The Rock and you’re going to be The Rock, but we’re not going to call you The Rock.’ I was like, ‘okay…’ No, [they were not going to call him The Boulder as Edge asked]. They were going to call me, are you ready or this? Wait for it, wait for it, they were going to call me The Lock. The L-O-C-K, Lock because anytime I went to the ring, it was a lock I was going to win.”
Being stressed out about the gimmick:
“I was so stressed out that whole week and I was trying to explain it to them.” Christian continued, “‘you can’t imitate the original and expect it to work or people to care about it.’ I said, ‘it’s going to come off as that.'”
His conversation with friend and then-WWE creative team member Brian Gewirtz:
“I guess what happened was somebody had pitched it on one of the plane rides and Vince [McMahon] was like, ‘that’s great! Haha!’ and he laughed at it. So I was talking to Brian [Gewirtz] about it, and it wasn’t his idea, but he was like, ‘[Vince] likes it. This is what’s going to happen, blah, blah, blah.’ And I kind of plead my case to him.”
Vince McMahon shooting the character down:
“[Gewirtz] called me Friday afternoon and I see his number and I’m like, ‘oh, man.’ So I answer and he’s like, ‘hey, just wanted to give you a quick call. Good news.’ I was like, ‘what’s that?’ He goes, ‘I guess Vince kind of heard it in the room instead of somebody pitching it to him on the plane. And he’s like, ‘what? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. We’re not doing that.'”
On a recent edition of WWE Network’s Table For 3, former WWE Superstars Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle joined together for a meal to talk about a variety of topics. During the event, “Captain Carisma” discussed watching Angle come up through the developmental system and the former Olympian’s awkward appearance at his wedding. Check it out:
Knowing Angle was going to be a natural after their encounters together in developmental:
“I was already under a developmental contract at the time and they were just bringing me back monthly to figure out if I was ready to go up to the main roster. [Angle] never had a pro wrestling match [at that time]. Like, I remember getting in there and doing the basic lockups and grabbing the arm, just basic things that you learn very early on. And sometimes it takes guys are long time to pick those types of things up and I remember, boom, the first time [Angle] had it. Every time, [Angle] had it and I remember thinking to myself, ‘my God, this guy is a natural.'”
Talking Angle through his first match at a spot show in New England:
“To me, that was a huge honor. First of all, for me, they trusted me to be the guy to come in there and have a match with [Angle]. I was like, ‘don’t worry, you always know what you’re doing out there. I’m going to talk to you’ and [Angle is] like, ‘what? Don’t do that.’ I was like, ‘what do you mean?’ ‘You can’t talk.’ I was like, ‘yeah, I might even tell you a joke’ and now he [has] got his hands here [over his face], ‘please, don’t make me laugh. Please, don’t talk to me.'”
Angle showing up to his wedding with ripped pants and a red face:
“Maybe a little known fact that [Angle] stood up at my wedding. That’s how good friends we are and Adam was obviously the best man. When [Angle] showed up, his face was like beet red and I was like, ‘Kurt, are you alright?’ He was like, ‘I haven’t put this tux on for a while. The button is too tight.’ And it looked like [Angle’s] head was going to pop. And [Angle was] like, ‘hey, look at this,’ and [Angle] put [his] leg up and [he] ripped the crotch out of the pants on the way to the wedding.”
It was an eventful evening, with Finn Balor (and Triple H) returning to action in the main event. Triple H tweeted this photo of his (and Finn Balor’s) return in the main event. The star-studded match featured Triple H, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe teaming up against Finn Balor, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn.
– WWE legends Edge and Christian are joining the podcast game. Following up on the success of their successful but short-lived WWE Network series, the former tag team champions and longtime friends will host “E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness” starting March 24th.
Starting Mar.24 it's @EandCpod exploding in your ear holes! Subscribe now wherever you get these podcasts thingshttps://t.co/Jaovwo2REw
– Recently married WWE Hall of Famer Edge revealed on Twitter that he and Christian are working on a second season of their popular WWE Network show. The duo had previously expressed uncertainty regarding the show’s future, so this is a pleasant surprise.
– Dave Meltzer says WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitor Jack Gallagher is on his way to WWE and hasn’t been seen on RAW yet because he’s resolving an issue with his work via.
As noted last week, WWE is launching the 205 Live Cruiserweights show later this month and WWE will be bringing in several more performers to round out that growing division. Other Superstars announced for the show include Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, HoHo Lun, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Gran Metallik, Tozawa, Gurv Sihra and Harv Sihra.
Edge & Christian spoke with Nick Hausman of 120 Sports over the weekend to promote their upcoming live stage show at Caroline’s On Broadway during SummerSlam weekend. You can listen to the full segment above, here’s what the guys said about Roman Reigns’ Wellness Policy violation:
Christian: “You don’t like to see stuff like that happen to anybody. Especially when they work hard. I don’t know what the circumstances are. I don’t want to comment on it in that respect. It’s a tough thing. You don’t want to see anybody in that situation. Like I said, it’s kind of a tough thing to put your finger on and you hope that it doesn’t affect him going forward. You hope that he can continue where he left off.”
Edge: “He’ll learn from it. Like Jay said, we don’t know all of the circumstances surrounding it and probably never will. All you can do is throw guesses at it so, why bother? To me it’s like, “He’s a good kid. He’ll learn from it. He’ll own up to it and probably won’t make the same mistake again.” I think that’s how you have to kind of deal with it. You see a guy like John Cena and there’s a reason he’s the face of the company. I think that’s the kind of model that the WWE is going to put out as their franchise player. That’s what you have to look to for guidelines to kind of aspire to.”
If you’ll be in town for SummerSlam and want to see Edge & Christian’s live stage show, visit LifestyleAuthentic.com for ticket information.
– The season finale of the Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness airs this Monday night on the WWE Network after RAW. Here’s the synopsis:
“It all comes down to this! In the season finale, Edge and Christian embark on a quest to secure the most ultimate treasure of them all!”
– R-Truth is currently working on a clothing line with Cooper 9 urban clothing.
You can add another name to the list of wrestlers released from WWE last week. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Christian was released by the company in addition to 9 other talents.
The contract Christian was released from was reportedly his performer’s contract, and not his Edge and Christian Show deal. WWE hasn’t used Christian in action since his most-recent concussion back in March 2014. Christian was on Chris Jericho’s podcast earlier this month and said that while he’s not “officially retired,” he doesn’t think he’ll ever wrestle again.
Christian made his WWE debut in 1998 as a member of The Brood, and went on to win the Tag-Team Championships multiple times with Edge, Lance Storm, and Chris Jericho. He joined TNA in 2005 and became a World Heavyweight Champion, then returned to WWE in 2009 to become an ECW Champion and two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
The Brooklyn Brawler, Damien Sandow, King Barrett, Hornswoggle, El Torito, Alex Riley, Zeb Colter, Santino Marella and Cameron were also released last week.
WWE legends Edge & Christian recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast, which you can listen to over at PodcastOne.com. The topic of Daniel Bryan’s retirement came up, which eventually segued into talk about Edge and Christian’s careers ending due to injuries.
Christian clarified that he is not officially retired and never had a conversation with WWE about his career being over. However, Christian did say he’s come to terms with the fact that it’s unlikely he will be wrestling again.
Of course they also discussed the “The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness” on the WWE Network. They revealed that it was their appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast that led to Kevin Dunn approaching them and seeing if they’d want their own show. They were interested, but didn’t want to be just another “talking head magazine show.” They envisioned their own show being a hybrid of Key & Peele, Tosh.0 and Saturday Night Live.
They knew they were off to the races when Vince McMahon was willing to make a cameo on the premiere episode. “Vince told us it was our show, and everything was up to us.”
Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is not happy with being mocked on The Edge and Christian Show. WWE’s parody ad for Sunny’s Miracle Drops mocked her Erratic Behavior, “Cake Fancer” and DUI’s.
Sytch has had her share of brushes with the law. Back in 2012, she was arrested five times within the span of four weeks; for disorderly conduct, third degree burglary, and three counts of violating a protective order. She was arrested a sixth time in January 2013, also for violating a protective order. She served 114 days in jail and was released in May 2013.
The Original Diva fired back with this rant aimed at Edge and Christian:
those who matter in the WWE office called to check on me in the hospital a couple weeks ago. Edge and Christian are just douchebags #ugly1s
– “The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks Of Awesomeness” premieres on the WWE Network immediately after WWE Fastlane next Sunday night. The synopsis for the first episode reads, “Edge and Christian take a look back at some very memorable ‘FIRSTS!’ in WWE History.”
– Chyna is making a surprise appearance at Maryland Championship Wrestling’s anniversary show this weekend after no-showing an MCW event several months back. She’ll be doing a meet & greet before the show.
– WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Von Erich revealed that he’s headed to WrestleMania weekend.
It’s rumored that Michael Hayes and The Fabulous Freebirds will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, Kevin Von Eric could be in attendance to induct his former rivals.
– Sheamus was in the studio on Friday doing voiceover work for his role as Rocksteady in the upcoming Ninja Turtles movie.
Christian’s days in the ring appear to be officially over, according to his Superstar profile at WWE.com. His bio has been moved to the Alumni section and has been updated with the following description:
“Upon realizing the honor of inducting his longtime friend and former partner, Edge, into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, Christian confessed to experiencing a “moment of clarity” that reset his own career goals. He returned from injury at WWE Over the Limit 2012 and won a Battle Royal and a match with Cody Rhodes to claim the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time.
His reign ended on Raw 1,000, and Christian was out of action for nearly a year with a shoulder injury. He returned in June 2013, once again poised to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Although he never regain the title, he solidified his legacy and left active competition still at the top of his game.”
The former World Heavyweight champion has been out of action since suffering a concussion last year. He appeared on the Stone Cold Podcast with his childhood friend Edge, but did not make an official statement on his in-ring future during that interview.
