The year of 2021 has seen some huge wrestling moments in and outside, one of which was the sensational return to the ring for AEW's Christian Cage, a future WWE Hall of Famer and former multi-time world champion. His comeback story could well be one of the best in all of wrestling.
Christian Is A Legend Of The Business In And Out Of WWE
Christian is a 20+ year veteran in the wrestling business, and after a few years on the independent circuit, along with best friend Edge, he was signed to the WWE to begin a rich, historic career. Edge and Christian are widely considered one of the best tag teams of all time, and the pair would win seven tag team championships together, making the TLC match famous in the process.
After the split, Edge would rise up the ranks to main event stardom, whilst Christian was largely an upper mid-card talent. He won several mid-card championships before making a name for himself outside WWE, winning the NWA Championship in his time with TNA. Christian proved he could survive on his own and be a top name.
His First Retirement Went Under The Radar
He would return to WWE, eventually becoming World Heavyweight Champion in 2011. A few years into this second run, which was riddled with injuries, Christian faded into the background. Over the years, it was revealed that Christian had in fact retired from in-ring competition due to concussion issues.
What made Christian’s exit from wrestling even more devastating was that there was no goodbye and no fanfare. There was no announcement, no promo, just nothing. Compared to the likes of Edge and Daniel Bryan, neither Christian or the fans had a chance to bid farewell and end his career on a somber, yet heart-warming moment.
Christian And Edge Both Had Sensational Returns
When it comes to Edge, the fans saw him make a monumental return in 2020 after retiring from a career-ending neck injury in 2011. Many saw this as the biggest comeback of all time, as Edge came back to end his career on his own terms, having one last run at the top. A year later, Christian would mimic this, returning at the following year’s Royal Rumble and having an emotional moment with Edge in the ring as the two friends who started out with one another twenty-five years prior, and had now both made unthinkable comebacks.
In comparison to Edge, who retired as the world champion having his last match at Wrestlemania, Christian’s last match was simply just a match on Raw in a number one contender’s contest. Edge’s career, if it did end initially, had a fairy-tale last match of sorts, so in a way it was closed-ended. With Christian, having a match that no one remembered on an episode of Raw makes his comeback feel even more special as now he can hopefully finish his career on a high.
Christian Tried His Luck In AEW, And It Has Been A Success
However, Christian didn’t stick around long. Instead of settling as Edge’s partner once again in WWE, Christian signed for AEW, debuting at the Revolution pay-per-view. This was a huge, yet very risky move for him. He had proven in the past with his time with TNA that he could thrive on his own two feet, but fifteen years later in a brand-new company was always going to be difficult.
Christian has remained regularly featured on television, mixing it up with the young talent of today, revisiting old rivals, and having great matches. Christian’s post-retirement run is doing so many different things; giving the fans dream matches that they didn’t know existed, such as facing Kenny Omega, and is also helping the young AEW brand by elevating new names.
Christian Cage Is In A Perfect Position In AEW
In AEW, he has received respect as a legend, but has also been treated like a formidable performer with years of experience. Whilst in WWE, he was always considered underrated, even if he always proved himself at a main event level. In AEW, he has already challenged for the AEW World Championship at their biggest event yet, All Out, facing arguably the best wrestler in the world.
Not just that, but Christian has also become a world champion, winning the Impact Championship a few weeks prior to the pay-per-view. It’s poetic that it’s all come full circle for Christian, winning the Impact title once more (albeit under a different brand name and a different belt). It proves how good he still is and that he hasn’t missed a beat.
Christian’s run thus far has been a wholesome experience, giving him a chance to have a real final run and a chance to properly say goodbye to the wrestling business whenever he plans to hang up the boots. Of course, there are countless other remarkable comebacks from injuries, from Edge to Shawn Michaels, and also comebacks from the likes of Brock Lesnar and Goldberg who took long hiatuses. But Christian is on a roll right now, and is at the top of the card where he was always meant to be.
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