His wrestling career started in 1995, and he originally wrestled under the full ring name of Christian Cage, tagging with childhood best friend Sexton Hardcastle (who would later gain fame as Edge) over the years on the independent circuit in the northern United States and their home nation of Canada, before both men eventually made it to the then-World Wrestling Federation in 1998.
Christian first appeared in the WWF as a member of The Brood with Gangrel and Edge, dropping the Cage surname in the process. Later on, Christian found superstardom breaking out of the Brood and teaming with Edge, and the team feuded against the Dudley Boyz and the Hardys for the latter half of the Attitude Era in many memorable matches, chiefly Ladder Matches and TLC Matches. When the team broke up, Christian initially fell to the wayside while Edge found more immediate success, though Christian remained incredibly popular among the fans. As he refined his persona with the moniker of "Captain Charisma", the WWE eventually recognized his popularity and raised him to the Upper-Midcard, though not enough to give him a title, and in 2005 he didn't renew his contract with the WWE, jumping ship to TNA where he wrestled as the full Christian Cage up until the end of 2008 when his contract expired. Christian re-signed with WWE in 2009, returning at ECW, where he would win the ECW Championship twice, holding the longest reign with the title under the WWE before the show was discontinued.
A former NWA World Champion and ECW Champion, he finally won the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules 2011, only to lose it back to Randy Orton 2 days later (5 days later as recognized by WWE) on SmackDown. He won it a second time shortly after and this time was able to hold it for around a month, but dropped it back to Orton.
Christian retired in 2016 after his WWE contract expired, citing cumulative injuries over the course of his career. Following intensive rehab and recuperation following years away from the ring, he jumped back in with a surprise appearance in the 2021 Royal Rumble. The deal was a very short term "legends" contract that soon expired. A free agent and a hot ticket once more, he promptly signed a multi-year contract with All Elite Wrestling at AEW Revolution 2021. He defeated Kenny Omega at the first episode of AEW's "Rampage" television show to win the Impact World championship. This marked the first time a major world title changed hands away from its home promotion in over twenty years and made Christian one of only three wrestlers* to have held both the Impact/TNA world titles and the NWA world title when it was held by TNA Wrestling. He is also a 2-timenote TNT Champion.
"TROOOPES! TROOOPES! AT LAST, THE'YRE ON THEIR OOOOOOWN!":
- Abusive Parents: Played for Laughs. At one point during Collision while he's cutting a promo, Christian's daughter asks him if she can wear the TNT Belt. Christian coldly refuses saying that she didn't win the belt (even though Christian didn't win it at the time either) and tells her to go find her mother, immediately telling security to remove his daughter from the arena afterwards.
- The Ace: On WWECW, where the only competition portrayed anywhere close to his level was Shelton Benjamin. To illustrate that, Christian is the only two-time ECW Champion in the history of the show besides Bobby Lashley, and much like Lashley, he never lost the title cleanly. The first time was a triple threat match involving Tommy Dreamer and Jack Swagger (Dreamer won by pinning Swagger, only for Christian to regain the title one month or so later in a rematch), and the second time was against Ezekiel Jackson, in a match he only lost because every heel on WWECW's roster interfered to make sure he'd lose.
- Agent Peacock: Edge & Christian as a post-Brood heel tag team.
- Alliterative Name:
- "Captain Charisma" Christian Cage.
- And his stable in TNA, Christian's Coalition.
- Arch-Enemy:
- The Dudley Boys & the Hardy Boyz whilst teaming with Edge
- Edge & Chris Jericho during his first solo run in the WWE. He saw John Cena as this during his time as Captain Charisma, but it was fairly one-sided.
- Said rivalry with Edge, now going by his real name Adam Copeland, would be renewed when the latter arrived in AEW.
- Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett during his time in TNA.
- During his second WWE run, Jack Swagger, William Regal, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. In regards to Orton, Christian is considered the closest he had to a real rival.
- The Elite in AEW
- Apparently anyone with a dead father in AEW (Jack Perry, Wardlow, Nick Wayne, Adam Copeland, and Daniel Garcia) is a target for Christian. Or, in the case of Wayne, was before Wayne allied with him in late 2023.
- Arc Fatigue: An in-universe example. Christian vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title has happened about
three or fourfive times and some of the announcers—not to mention other members of the roster and especially Randy Orton himself—ended up getting tired of him. - Awesome, but Impractical: His finisher, The Unprettier/Killswitch, whilst impressive looking, is hard to hit. It requires a whole rotation of the opponent to pull off, giving opponents a large window to counter.
- Batman Gambit: How Christian won his second World Championship. Two weeks before the Money in the Bank PPV Christian had Randy Orton sign a contract with the stipulations that the title can change hands if Orton gets disqualified or if the referee makes a bad call. The following week Christian does things to piss Orton off like vandalizing his luxury bus, gambling his money away in a casino and costing him his match that night all in an effort to enrage him to make it easier for Orton to lose at PPV. At the PPV, in the match's climax, Christian spits at Orton's face, causing him to go off the deep end and deliver a Groin Attack on Christian, resulting in Orton losing his championship. This was followed by a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Christian which ends in two maniacal RKOs on the announce table afterward. Pretty sure it was Worth It, though.
- Battle Couple: With Trish Stratus, firstly against Spike Dudley, then later against Chris Jericho, whom they betrayed.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The Kayfabe reason why Randy Orton faced Christian on Smackdown and got his title? Because the WWE Universe wanted Randy to be Christian's first Title opponent. Oops.
- And the contrived method in which he won his second World Heavyweight Championship. Yes, he did piss Randy Orton enough for him to snap and get himself disqualified. His reward for this was taking a kick downstairs and then getting the crap beaten out of him, ending with him getting RKO'd on the non-Spanish Announcers' Table. Twice.
- Been There, Shaped History: Parodied; during a Collision promo before Forbidden Door 2023 in Toronto, Christian claims to have been responsible for Kawhi Leonard leaving the Toronto Raptors after winning the NBA Championship in his first and only year with the team back in 2019, saying Kawhi had to leave to be more successful like he did. Fittingly for a Heel, this would mean he sabotaged both his close friend and his own hometown with bad advice, as neither Kawhi nor the Raptors have sniffed a return to the NBA Finals since he signed with the LA Clippers.
- Big Damn Heroes: Returned from his pectoral injury at Elimination Chamber, saving Edge from Del Rio and reforming E&C.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Christian in the brand extension era, a clean shaven high spirited pretty boy who bared his abs for all to see. Oh, and he came out to an inspirational theme sung by Waterproof Blonde. And he was an utter bastard.
- Blatant Lies: Christian would have you know that his TNT Title win on the September 23, 2023 episode of Collision was just another title defense and that he has clearly been TNT champion since Wardlow lost it on the June 17 episode of Collision.
- By the Hair: He loved grabbing Trish Stratus by her hair.
- Canon Discontinuity: When Christian and Edge started in WWE they where referred to as brothers, this was however downplayed over the years, until they referred to each other as best friends.
- Chairman of the Brawl: A signature of Edge and Christian.
- Character Catchphrase:
- Towards the end of his first WWE run (And early in his stint in TNA), he had "Because that's how I roll!"
- In TNA, he adopted "If you don't know, now you know."
- During his run with Edge, the two would often end a conversation with Edge going "[[Place whatever here]] rules!" and Christian going, "YEAH, it does!"
- As a heel after losing the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011, he would often ask the SmackDown General Manager for the one thing that he deserves: "one more match".
- His entrance graphics in AEW has "Out. Work. Everyone." After his heel turn in 2022, it was tweaked to "Worked. Everyone."
- As a heel in AEW he tells the crowd of whatever city he's in to "Shut up while I conduct my business."
- Constantly reminding everyone during his TNT Title run, that he is the TNT Champion (and the Face of TNT/AEW) "now and forever!"
- Charlie Brown from Outta Town: He and Edge revived the Conquistadores gimmick in 2000 as a way to get a shot at the WWE World Tag Team Titles
. At times, they would appear as themselves with two other guys in the costumes. Those guys, named "Rick" and "Sparky", were, respectively, Christopher Daniels and Aaron "Jesus" Aguilera. - Cheap Heat: In his AEW heel run, he's made it a Running Gag to pick on anyone who has a dead father, from Wardlow to Jack Perry to Nick Wayne. It's gone absolutely
Memetic with the fanbase, with jokes about Christian eagerly counting down the days until -1 (the son of the late beloved Brodie Lee) becomes old enough to wrestle. Some people have gone much, much darker and brought up David Benoit. - Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Christian turned on pretty much EVERY partner he's ever had, until AJ Styles & Tomko turned on him to join the Angle Alliance and Christian underwent a Heel–Face Turn, which carried over to his second WWE run. Lampshaded early in his TNA run, as Jeff Jarrett pointed out to Sting that Christian couldn't be trusted, and Christian retorted that Edge & Chris Jericho would vouche for his loyalty; before immediately remembering that he did betray them and remarking that calling them wouldn't be a good idea.
- Subverted at Wrestlemania XXVII: everyone and their mother was expecting Christian to turn on Edge during the match with Alberto Del Rio and yet amazingly, this wasn't even hinted at during the match. Christian never turned and pretty much everyone was rather surprised and happy with the Meta Twist.
- Comparatively Weak, but Skilled: Christian's no flyweight, but he tends more toward a speedy, elusive style with a few high-flying moves. He does have a couple of power moves in his arsenal, but he just doesn't use them very often.
- Costume Porn / In the Hood: The old Captain Charisma / Instant Classic jumpsuits he wore to the ring for six years. (Usually kept the hoods off for the Instant Classic ones.)
- Cute Mute: A shy, long blond haired, silent 'pseudo-vampire' in the Brood.
- Deadpan Snarker: In WWECW, regarding Jack Thwagger and Bill Regal
- Demoted to Extra: He was unfortunately one of those guys that WWE doesn't seem to know how to use if he's not in a title feud. Consequently, often times he was left to do absolutely nothing.
- Determinator: Christian is quite determined to get one more match. A title match that is. Triple H and Teddy Long have used Exact Words on him and put him in matches against opponents he'd faced before, just not the current title holder.
- Generally, the guy is one of the more resilient and resourceful characters you'll see in wrestling. One of his strengths is how he can soldier through a lot of pain and then find a way to get the job done. Even as a heel, though he he will bail if possible when he knows he can't win a fight, you can bet he'll come back later with an Evil Plan of some sort.
- Exact Words: Triple H used this against him during the September 26 episode of Raw, after he interrupted Triple H, wanting more one match. He got it. On that edition of Raw he had to face John Cena, in a non title match, then he was booked on the following episode of Smackdown in a match against Randy Orton and then against Sheamus on the Hell in a Cell PPV. Christian wasn't pleased at all.note
- Eye Take: His crazy stare is not as good as Edge's, but you don't see it as often, either. If and when you do, he is pissed, and whoever he's attacking is screwed.
- Fan Community Nickname: The Peepulation. The Christian Coalition was also this before becoming his stable name in TNA.
- Finishing Move: The Unprettier / Killswitch, his signature inverted double underhook facebuster.
- Shout-Out: He actually changed the name of the move (to Killswitch) because he's a fan of the band.
- His former finisher was the Impaler. Or possibly the Implant DDT. Or possibly those are the same thing. The commentators never seemed to call it the same way twice. This became a Running Gag to the point that the original CCG card for the Impaler just had a picture of Christian shrugging.
- He's now worked the Spear into his moveset to pay homage to his best friend Edge after Edge was forced to retire due to a Game-Breaking Injury.
- If he's a face, he'll finish off a match with a Frog Splash on occasion.
- Sometimes - especially when facing a larger opponent - he'll use the Tornado DDT to finish them off.
- Five Moves of Doom: Since his return to WWECW.
- Foreign Wrestling Heel: The "Un-Americans", with Lance Storm.
- Game-Breaking Injury: A torn pectoral muscle in 2011, and a concussion in 2013 was what lead to his first retirement.
- Glass Cannon: Sadly became this by the end of his first run.
- Gratuitous Italian: His themes when he and Edge broke up in 2001.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Why he turned on Edge in 2001.
- Groin Attack: Was the victim of one by Randy Orton, which was how he finally won the World Heavyweight Championship the second time.
- Hate Sink: Starting with his Face–Heel Turn in mid-2022. Christian has steadily evolved into the most despised man in All Elite Wrestling. Even overtaking MJF as the biggest heel in the company due to some of the fans sympathy towards Max's Friendless Background and his own Heel–Face Turn in 2023. Cage is just a vile, ruthless, man. Who insults and personally demeans everyone he faces, is a coward beyond the highest order in his matches, and is very openly using his disciples as a way to keep himself safe.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Maybe somewhat to be expected given the length of his career, but unlike a lot of wrestlers nowadays, he seems to turn fairly often. It's gotten to the point where it's actually discussed in storyline.
- Heel–Face Return: Returned from a six-month absence at Over the Limit 2012, turning face and capturing the Intercontinental Championship in the process.
- Heel Realization: When Cody questioned Christian on his seemingly odd Heel–Face Turn, Christian explained that it came to him in a "moment of clarity" when inducting Edge in the Hall of Fame, saying he'd rather try to build up a great career like his friend rather than be the whiner always asking for "one more match."
- Heel–Face Return: Returned from a six-month absence at Over the Limit 2012, turning face and capturing the Intercontinental Championship in the process.
- He's Back!: Christian was forced to retire by WWE back in 2016 due to concussion related issues. After years away from the ring as well as intensive rehab and recuperation. Christian shockingly returned to the ring at the 2021 Royal Rumble. However this was only the start, as it was revealed that Christian's contract with the WWE was already expired. Over a month later, Christian Cage was back and All Elite!
- Heroic BSoD: When he lost the World Heavyweight Championship.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Adam Copeland (Edge), former tag-team partner and best friend since childhood. To illustrate a point, they had their daughters within six weeks of each other, and Edge's mother asked them if there was anything they couldn't do together.
- Hijacked by Ganon: Christian carried WWECW during its last year of existence. Him, Shelton Benjamin, and (maybe) William Regal were the only reasons anyone watched the show by that point. If he hadn't, then wouldn't have had Sheamus or (however briefly) Zack Ryder.
- Honorary Uncle: Outside of Kayfabe, Edge's daughters apparently call him "Uncle Jay".
- Humiliation Conga: At SummerSlam 2011, Christian received one, first at the hands of Edge, whom he expected to be in his corner for the No Holds Barred match against Randy Orton. Edge would tell Christian off for the winning the World title via DQ and called him a "whiny bitch" before leaving the arena. Christian would then face Orton and would attempt to spite in Orton's face again, a Call-Back to the spit that provoked Orton to get DQed and lose the title. For that, Christian would take many of Orton's signature moves with a twist. Orton would deliver the rope assisted DDT into a trash can and a snap powerslam into a table. Orton would then attempt his signature Garvin Stomps with Christian laying on the steps, but Christian would use a kendo stick to stun Orton. Christian would then spring off the second turnbuckle only to get RKOed in mid-air into the steps, another Call Back, this time to the finish in their first match in the series. This would cap off the Humiliation Conga of the slimy, cowardly Christian that tormented Orton for months over the World title.
- Hypocritical Humor: Lambasted CM Punk for carrying around the "Real World Title" in AEW by asking what kind of person is carrying around a belt that they didn't win. Meanwhile, Christian had Luchasaurus' TNT Championship on his own shoulder.
- I Banged Your Mom:
- Or at least, "I'd Like to Bang Your Mom": after he betrayed Jungle Boy, Christian kept insulting every member of Jungle Boy's family (particularly his dead father, the late Luke Perry) — except for Jungle Boy's mom, who he hit on two weeks in a row.
- In 2023, he started to do the same to Nick Wayne's mom, regularly hitting on and objectifying her, only for Nick Wayne to side with Christian and screw over Darby Allin, with his mom in the front row watching on in shock. Ironically, after Shayna ended up siding with Christian in response to an enraged Adam Copeland hitting her son with a Con-chair-to, Christian heavily implied that they had banged.
- Important Hair Cut: In 2003, as his singles career started to take off. He's kept it short ever since.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mostly apparent as a face, though it can show as a heel if he's got people he feels like showing his loyalty towards.
- Kazoos Mean Silliness: During their tenure as a duo, he and Edge used kazoos for comedy bits. They started out playing their intro themes during a birthday party for Stephanie McMahon, then did Triple H's theme when he yelled at them to quit. They would bring out the kazoos for such bits later on, and in 2015, they even got Steve Austin to join in during his podcast, playing Austin's theme music on their kazoos while he joined them on a ukelele.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Has four cats.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Took his original ring name from his two favorite actors, Christian Slater and Nicolas Cage.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He was ADORABLE from his debut till the end of the E & C days with his long blond hair.
- Manipulative Bastard: Particularly as a heel.
- The Mentor: To Jurassic Express, and Jungle Boy in particular, in AEW. He guided the team to their first Tag Team Championship victory over the Lucha Brothers and helped Jungle Boy to develop the hard edge he'd need to survive in the business when he teamed with them in a Falls Count Anywhere against The Young Bucks and Adam Cole at Full Gear 2021.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The Brood defected from the Ministry of Darkness for the sake of Christian, whom Edge and Gangrel were ordered to help nail to the "symbol" after he failed The Undertaker.
- Named Weapons: Christian named the dented folding chair The Rock had used to pummel Goldberg with "the people's steel chair" and took it for himself, believing it had some special quality.
- Never My Fault: He blamed it on Edge that he lost the World Title at SummerSlam, after Edge called him out on all the stunts he played to get the title back, and thus lost focus during the match.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When his childhood friend, Adam Copeland arrived in AEW, Christian warned him not to interfere with his business, despite the former not wanting to fight him. However, when Christian tried to snap his neck and paralyze him on the 11/1/23 of Dynamite, this wound up enraging Adam into aligning with Sting and Darby Allin, whom Christian had been feuding with, against him.Adam Copeland: YOU WANNA SNAP MY NECK?! I'M GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS! It is on, you stupid little son of a bitch! (turns to Sting) Sting, you were right. You want a partner at Full Gear? (to Darby) Darby, you want a partner at Full Gear? I'm your man!
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Got a nasty one from CM Punk (who was in full-on Unstoppable Rage mode). He ate the announcer's table about a dozen times in a row, then took a GTS - except Punk abandoned his left knee in favor of the steel ring stairs. Then Punk put him in the Anaconda Vice for about 45 seconds.
- Oh, Crap!: Christian's face on the 7/29/11 Smackdown when he watched Randy Orton RKO R-Truth into the announcers' table. Triple H had ordered Randy Orton's rematch at Summerslam to be No Holds Barred - which pretty much means that Randy (whose recent loss has made him even more unhinged than he was already) can do anything he wants to Christian.
- Overly Long Gag: "One More Match."
- Overshadowed by Awesome: His 2011 feud with Randy Orton carried SmackDown! through the summer after Edge was forced to retire and produced several Match of the Year contenders, and effectively cemented Christian as Randy's one true rival throughout his career. It probably would've been Feud of the Year — had it not happened in 2011, aka the same year as the "Summer of Punk II", which helped kickstart the legendary rivalry between John Cena and CM Punk.
- Patriotic Fervor: Its 2005, he's on Raw and he wants to go to Smackdown. Why? Because Smackdown has Americans, it has Mexicans, it has Japanese, it has Frenchmen, but it doesn't have one Canadian!
- Perma-Stubble: Overlaps mostly with Beard of Evil.
- Power Trio: The Brood, with Gangrel and Edge (1998 to 1999)
- Team ECK with Kurt Angle and Edge (2000 to 2001)
- In TNA, he led the Christian Coalition, which featured Tomko & AJ Styles (2007 to 2008)
- Precision F-Strike: To Adam Copeland when they met up again in AEW.Christian: "Go fuck yourself."
- Put on a Bus: Alarmingly often. He's been hurt at points during the latter part of his career, but there have also been occasions where he's simply disappeared with no given explanation. Then there's going from WWE to TNA and back.
- The Quiet One: His debut in the WWF during his time in the Brood. The first time someone put a microphone in his face, he merely stared at it with disdain. Nowadays, it's getting him to shut up that's the problem.
- Red Baron: Captain Charisma (WWE) and the Instant Classic (TNA).
- Redemption Promotion: The page for this trope lists Christian as perhaps the ultimate example of it. After turning his back on the WWE fans, he simply got more and more pathetic and boring. In 2003, it seemed like he couldn't win a match clean if his life depended on it, even against 150 pound Spike Dudley. After returning to ECW, many new fans were shocked to see he could actually escape from an armbar and with the crowds behind him, tag teams had to cheat to beat Christian in two on one matches.
- A similar thing seems to be happening with his recent feud with Randy Orton, although not as dramatically.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He was the blue oni to Edge's red, especially when they teamed together. Christian was pushed as the more calculated and calmer of the two, while Edge...well, he often got by on just being batshit insane.
- Ring Oldies: In his late 40s, and still able to outwork everyone.
- The Rival: The Hardys and the Dudleys when he tagged with Edge.
- Rule of Funny: Edge and Christian circa 2000 ran on this.
- Running Gag:
- His lackluster rapping skills. They come up in a backstage skit at the 2005 Royal Rumble when he tries to rap-battle John Cena, and again at Survivor Series 2009 as he tries to impress his black teammates.
- Mocking other wrestlers for their deceased fathers, and similarly, objectifying their single mothers.
- Shout-Out: Has started to use the Spear occasionally (usually in PPV matches) since Edge retired.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Apparently had one in real life; a loan officer by the name of Snooks who hounded him to repay college loans he had spent on wrestling school, who would mock his aspirations to become a wrestler.
- Slimeball: Increasingly became one during his Raw team up with Chris Jericho to the point Stone Cold Steve Austin dubbed him a CLB (creepy little bastard). Eventually he and Jericho had a falling out too.
- Small Name, Big Ego: His WWE character, from 2001 to 2005. Played for laughs.
- His TNA character, from 2006 to 2008. Taken more seriously.
- Speaking Ill Of The Dead: As a heel in AEW, he has no issue insulting the deceased relatives of his opponent.
- Smug Snake: Thrives as this whenever he's a heel.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: WWECW was practically a long, extended version of "The Peep Show" after Christian came back.
- Tag Team: The Suicide Blondes with Sexton Hardcastle, also known together as High Impact. Later just Edge and Christian in WWF/E.
- Talk Show with Fists:
- "The Peep Show" in WWE.
- He introduced "Chatting with the Champ" on the October 11, 2007 episode of TNA Impact. The set was a Tiki Bar, with AJ Styles as The Bartender, for guest Samoa Joe. Joe disapproved, and called AJ "Woody from Cheers."
- Tantrum Throwing: Due to a long losing streak on Raw, along with things generally not going his way. Christian was on the verge of just quitting.
- Targeted to Hurt the Hero: Got the crap beaten out of him by The Shield just to antagonize a returning Edge back in September. Hasn't been seen since.
- Technician/Performer Team-Up: He and Edge fit this early in their careers, with Edge more of the charismatic "performer" (who'd go on to a much more successful singles career after, embracing the less-technical "main event style" popular in the WWE at the time) and Christian being the more technical "worker" in the ring (his catchphrase even being "Out Work Everyone"), famous as one of the best at "putting over" other wrestlers in the ring. As their careers went along, each evolved to include some traits of the other archetype.
- Terrible Trio: Christian's Coalition, oddly enough. Despite their major heel status, Christian, Styles, and Tomko's talking segments together came across as a comedic take on "the evil mastermind and his henchmen" shtick more often than not. It's actually part of the reason they were so over at the time.
- This Cannot Be!: Eddie Colon kicking out of the unprettier at WWC Aniversario 34, it must have been an officiating mistake!
- Title Drop: At Bound For Glory 2006's "8 Mile Street Fight", Christian hit Rhino with an 8 Mile street sign.
- Token White: At Survivor Series 2009, Christian competed in a team featuring Kofi Kingston, MVP, R-Truth and Mark Henry, each of them black. Initially subverted when Christian was initially nervous about teaming with them for being the only one in the team to be from ECW and Canada (R-Truth was on Smackdown, and Henry, Kingston, and MVP were on RAW at the time). Lampshaded when Christian then proceeded to rap:Christian: Team Kofi Kingston, looking for a fight. Four of us are black, and one of us is white! What's up? WHAT'S UP? ... What's up?
- Took a Level in Badass: By the end of his WWE run, he was treated by the company as a glorified midcard jobber act despite his soaring popularity. Then he came to TNA, became world heavyweight champion in three months and had an undefeated streak even longer than Samoa Joe's.
- True Companions: Occasionally showed signs that he considered AJ Styles and Tomko this, such as his "I'm giving you the night off" motivational speech to focus on their #1 contender's match for the tag team titles at No Surrender 2007, the genuine hug with AJ at Final Resolution 1/2008, and applauding Tomko for refusing Kurt Angle's advances and being his own man in the lead up to the following month's Against All Odds. Unfortunately, betrayals ended up following each of those moments.
- A real life example is of course his relationship with Edge.
- Tuckerization: His kayfabe first name comes from Christian Slater. His non-WWE last name, Cage, comes from Nicolas Cage.
- Unrelated Brothers: Christian (Jason Reso) and Edge (Adam Copeland) were initially referred to as brothers when in WWE; after they stopped teaming (and feuding), this was dropped rather quickly.
- The fact that they are childhood best friends and have several photos together as kids surely helped a lot. The fact that their birthdays are exactly one month apart does not help as much*.
- Unstoppable Rage: At Elimination Chamber 2011. Edge had just won the chamber match and retained the World Heavyweight Championship in the Elimination Chamber match when Alberto Del Rio, who was to face Edge for the title at Wrestlemania XXVII, ran into the chamber and started beating down on a tired and vulnerable Edge. Del Rio locks in the Cross Arm Breaker. Cue loud "GO!" from out of nowhere. Cue fan markout. Cue Christian, who (kayfabe) missed six months of action due to Del Rio using the same move on him, running down to the ring and handing Del Rio his ass on a platter.
- Villainous Breakdown: When he first went solo, he frequently threw tantrums. He teamed up with Diamond Dallas Page to try to curb them, but it turned into a feud. He eventually grew out of them, but briefly teased one at the end of his initial WWE run—in a triple threat WWE Championship match with Jericho and John Cena—before going to TNA.
- Villainous Legacy: He may have lost his feud with Jungle Boy but him teaching Perry to use his anger during their partnership in 2021 as well as his betrayal and corruption of Luchasaurs in 2022, Cage practically sow the seeds of Perry's Face–Heel Turn in 2023.
- We Used to Be Friends: When you betray pretty much every tag team partner you have, this is to be expected.
- Naturally, his first big feud after going solo was with Edge. Interestingly, this was a factor of their on-screen relationship for just over 9 years, with the pair reconciling when they were both face, and fittingly a few months before Edge's retirement.
- And then the start of his big solo run at the start of his "Captain Charisma" gimmick started off with a feud with the newly face Chris Jericho.
- And his Face–Heel Turn in TNA started off with him betraying Sting & a violent feud with Rhino.
- And then his Heel–Face Turn in TNA saw this happen with long-time enforcer Tomko.
- And then his there's his betrayal of "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry that kicked off his Face–Heel Turn in AEW.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Although he still works a full schedule, he tends to disappear for months at a time for no apparent reason, and sometimes with no setup.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: The Unamericans wore the stars and stripes upside down.
- Worth It: Sure, he pissed off Randy and got the crap beaten out of him, but at least he was World Champion again!
- Worthy Opponent: When Christian was the ECW Champion, Yoshi Tatsu (whom he said was going to be a future champion), Tommy Dreamer (the heart and soul and guts of ECW) and Shelton Benjamin (who he challenged at the TLC pay per view after feeling WWECW was being overlooked and knew he could steal the show with)
- Would Hit a Girl:
- Defeated Mighty Molly for the WWE Hardcore Title at WWE WrestleMania X-8.
- After being booked in a match with Trish Stratus (Love Interest of Christian's partner, Chris Jericho) in 2004, Christian told Trish he would just lie down for her, so she wouldn't get hurt. He proceeded to instigate a Curb-Stomp Battle. But with the way the angle played out this was more of a gambit on Trish's part, as in the end Trish turned, they became the couple, and Jericho became a clear face.
- Jeff Jarrett's manager Gail Kim apparently forgot about this trope in TNA, but was quickly reminded of it when she tried to interfere with Christian's title shot.
- Defeated Mighty Molly for the WWE Hardcore Title
- You Owe Me: Christian used this reasoning to try and force Frankie Kazarian to team up with him and even the odds when the Angle Alliance turned on Christian. Christian was apparently so intimidating that his demands just sent Kaz running in fear.
One More Trope!
