[nOOb]

And he's on ECW. So yeah...big step up from main eventing TNA, I suppose? Hell, he must be getting paid a lot, so good on him.

[Mikey]

I was shooting pool with my brother and we pulled up the guide on the TV at 8:00, and just for shits and giggles, we turned on ECW. And I see some guy I'd never seen before (Swagger) talking for like 15 seconds and then FUCKING CHRISTIAN COMES OUT!!

And Grisham and the other guy sold it like, well, it was just another guy.

I watched the rest of the show just to see the main event - to both see Christian and check out CIG's boy - and I was underwhelmed. But I can definitely see the recent love for Miz and Morrison.

[Demko]

This almost makes Jericho's blown return look like the Second Coming of Christ.

Jesus, WWE. Way to fuck up what could have been a cool surprise.

[Beer Baron]

Oh great. It now totally makes sense to hold him back from debuting in the Hardy/Edge title match. Over/Under for how long before Hornswoggle steals something from Christian?

[Pun]

Is this punishment for the way he left WWE in the first place?

[bdoriginal]

Yeah, how dare that fucker leave with his dignity intact? I love Christian and not that he needs to be pushed to the World Title in his first match, but if he's matching up against heels, why not Shelton on SmackDown? He hasn't been US champ yet and we'll get better matches. I thought Swagger was a Finlay project?

[bdbdbd]

I'm officially taking back Striker's "best color man in wrestling" award. Between him and Cole you'd think Christian was of less importance than Tyson Iforgetthelastname they changed TJ Wilson in to. For a company that doesn't care about their competition they sure do put the people leaving down and drop those coming back to a lower tier (if they show them at all, what ever happened to that Gail whats her face anyway?)

[Beer Baron]

Feb 11, 2009 12:01:23 GMT -5 bdbdbd said:

...(if they show them at all, what ever happened to that Gail whats her face anyway?)

She's in my bed right now, bucko. Sleeping off last night with the Baron.

Heyyyy-OOOOO

[columbo]

Feb 11, 2009 12:09:29 GMT -5 Beer Baron said:

Feb 11, 2009 12:01:23 GMT -5 bdbdbd said:

...(if they show them at all, what ever happened to that Gail whats her face anyway?)

She's in my bed right now, bucko. Sleeping off last night with the Baron.

Heyyyy-OOOOO

DAMN YOU Damn YOU TO HELL!!!!

[salmonjunkie]

You guys do realize he won the match, right?

[Jack Quinn]

so?

I was one of the ones who hoped Christian would return to TNA, so him showing up in ECW left me feeling a whole lot of MEH. I mean, you really couldn't get much more of an underwhelming return unless you were the "Already in the ring - Christian" taking on someone

[Tommy]

Feb 11, 2009 13:57:31 GMT -5 Jack Quinn said:

so?

I was one of the ones the only one who hoped Christian would return to TNA,

You're also delusional.

[Jack Quinn]

delusional because I had hoped he would go back to a built in story in TNA rather than show up in WWE and be the next D-Lo?

[DevSop]

With the current state of TNA, I held no hope that if Christian went back there, it would be a better situation for him. I said this OOver there, but when you really think about it, there was no better place for Christian to come back to if they wanted him on tv right now.

On Raw, he'd probably be the 4th heel on the totem pole behind Orton/Legacy, JBL, and Jericho so that means he gets matched up against Kofi? Ugh.

On Smackdown, once they decided to go with Matt for the Jeff story, that takes him out of that equation since Christian and Matt aligning really doesn't make sense. You could put him with Edge, but again that makes him the 4th or 5th heel on the SD side of the totem pole behind Edge, Kozlov, Show, and Matt.

A face on either brand puts him in the same situation. Behind Cena, HHH, HBK, Jeff, and others.

At least on ECW, he's already being elevated to the belt. Which, while right now IS midcard hasn't always been and could always be raised up again. I hold no great hope for that, but Christian has the potential to do it. And besides that, the potential of some matches on ECW is really good. He can work with Swagger and make him look better in the ring. Christian and Finlay (DIE HORNSWOGGLE) could be really good. M&M, Burchill, Noble, and TJ are all on the plus side of average so there's potential across the board that just might not be there on the other brands.

And to bring this back to TNA, Petey Williams, Lance Hoyt, and Jimmy Rave have all been fired.

[Jack Quinn]

They fired Petey? FUCK YOU TNA!

[DevSop]

One day I really hope to figure out what makes you like and dislike someone because I just don't get it. I think Petey's okay but you're upset about it and then you think D-Lo and Killings suck....



hmmmmmm.........



Maybe Tommy is right....

[Lucky]

Here's the deal. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Christian was a midcarder when he left WWE. Its part of the why he left WWE. His overness was greater than his position on the card, but WWE clearly lacked faith in him. It was clearly reminiscent to Jericho in WCW and I say that as someone who thought Christian was overrated at the time and was surprised by him in TNA.

So naturally he returns to WWE at the same place he was. 3 years of main eventing TNA doesn't mean anything. Winning the NWA or TNA world title doesn't mean anything. WWE hasn't seen fit to mention R-Truth's history as NWA Champion to help put him over, why would they do it for Christian? That doesn't matter to TNA. Christian might as well have spent the last 3 years in ROH or Japan. To WWE he's the same guy who left 3 years ago. So that they put him back into the midcard should come as no surprise.

That being said, it could be a LOT worse. ECW could well be a temporary stop to keep him from getting lost in the shuffle of RAW or SD. He's paired with someone WWE seems high on and who you guys seem to actually enjoy. There's also a potentially kick ass roster on ECW with Bourne, Miz & Morrison, Burchill & Katie Lea, Noble, Wilson & Neidhart, Finlay, and probably others I'm forgetting. Whether WWE lets those guys shine over DJ Gabriel, Hornswoggle, and Boogeyman, I don't know. But there's something there to make me want to really watch ECW for the first time in a long time.

Besides, Edge & Christian vs the Hardyz was lazy booking and Edge/Matt vs Jeff/Christian would be no lazier. Slotting Christian in as someone's sidekick from 10 years ago isn't really any better for him and they'll get to that stuff soon enough just like they did all those "one night only returns" of the Hardyz, I'm sure.

EDIT: And I agree with Dev. There was nothing for Christian to do in TNA and he had been cooling his heels there for months. And its a case where you can't even blame TNA for not booking him other ways. He had done everything in that company. While a Matt Morgan or James Storm feud might have been a cool option around the corner... Christian was really stuck having done programs with all the big players and having nowhere to go. Feuding with Thwagger really isn't any different from the best case scenario for him in TNA, elevating a midcarder like Storm.

Well, I mean granted... I'm sad realizing I'll never see Storm/Christian promos. But still.

[Jack Quinn]

I never said D-Lo sucked, I just didn't get the OMG D-LO appeal that he had for everyone in chat. He was never horrible, but never great either. He was just sort of there.

Killings though, yeah he sucks

[salmonjunkie]

Feb 11, 2009 14:56:29 GMT -5 DevSop said:

On Raw, he'd probably be the 4th heel on the totem pole behind Orton/Legacy, JBL, and Jericho so that means he gets matched up against Kofi? Ugh.

Although Christian vs. CM Punk would be cool.

[DevSop]

MVP of TNA Christian vs. Ring of Honor CM Punk would be epic on so many levels.

Now I'm sad.

[Byrntrigan]

Sop, where did you see the TNA releases? That's too bad if true, I really liked Petey and Rave, and hell, even Hoyt was less annoying with Rave and Hemme.

Speaking of which, where has she been? Is she injured?

[Ryan]

Ah fuck, you're kidding me. Should have watched it.

[Lucky]

Yes. She has a bad neck/back injury that kept her out of the Kong title match she was supposed to have on PPV recently.

I saw Hoyt and Petey elsewhere, not Rave. I didn't post anything because Petey's kind of a spoiler (and in typical fashion the internet spoiled it without labeling it as such). Plus, you know... this is a Christian/ECW thread.

[Beer Baron]

When I saw that he debuted last night, I did question putting him on ECW. I felt that did belittle his talents a bit. But then again, Christian was gone from the WWE world for the past 3 years in some "black hole of nothing"(in the eyes of the WWE, of course) Even though I didn't record the show last night, I did get home around 9:40 pm PST and started taping it to watch it later. Luckily I ended up taping Christian vs Lisp. Watched it, and I will say that Christian being in ECW is a win win on both sides.

On ECW's side, they get a multi time former champion who brings the show instant credibility. He is a face, and they needed someone who could offset the loss of Matt Hardy. Speaking of which, I guess ECW got shafted in the Matt Hardy for no one trade. Unless, "Peanut Head" Teddy Long(remember Heenan calling him that?) comes out and says that he got Christian for Matt Hardy in a straight up trade with Smackdown.

On Christian's side, he has a chance to start fresh, without having to be thrust into pretty much only the mid card on either RAW or Smackdown. He can shake off the ring rust, work a program with Finlay, Jack Lispy, Evan Bourne, etc, and then get drafted to one of the big shows.

I will have to agree that ECW's roster is now being fleshed out. A week ago, I was wondering what the hell they were doing with about 5 people on the entire roster. Now they have promise with people like TJ Wilson(Tyson whatever his last name is) and Natalia, Christian, Evan Bourne returning. I am a fan of Burchill, Swagger's coming along nicely, Mizark Henry serves his purpose as resident monster, and Miz and Morrison serving triple duty on all shows. If I was in charge, I would bring in another tag team(not named Cryme Tyme) to challenge Miz/Morrison, keep Jaime Noble on the roster, drop Ricky Ortiz, morph the DJ Gabriel gimmick into a "Model Rick Martel" gimmick, and banish the Boogeyman to the Bottomless Pit. Who am I missing? Maybe steal Scotty Goldman from Smackdown and maybe a Charlie Haas, and this roster would be cooking. Start bringing up wrestlers from their minor leagues and get this party started, playa!

[BC]

Feb 11, 2009 15:08:53 GMT -5 DevSop said:

MVP of TNA Christian vs. Ring of Honor CM Punk would be epic on so many levels.

Now I'm sad.

I haven't watched WWE in quite some time, but doesn't Raw & ECW share talent frequently? CM Punk vs Christian could still happen unless I'm wrong.