Full Career Retrospective and Greatest Moments for Christian

A consistent star throughout WWE's Attitude, Ruthless Aggression and PG Eras, Christian achieved significant success as both a singles and tag team Superstar, capturing championships at every level of competition possible.

But as with so many great workers in the past, his accomplishments were always overshadowed by former tag team partner Edge, who went on to achieve tremendous feats as a perennial main event attraction.

Still, throughout his in-ring career in both WWE and TNA Wrestling, the Toronto native repeatedly demonstrated the ability to adapt to the scenario he was in, using outstanding comic timing to deliver some of the most humorous moments in WWE history, then turning around and amplifying the rage and violence when necessary, proving that he was not a one-trick pony in the process.

Whether he was a tag team champion, an intercontinental champion or the heavyweight champion of the world, Christian could always deliver an entertaining product.

With his future in doubt following numerous injuries, including concussions, let's relive the greatest moments in the career of wrestling's Captain Charisma with this full retrospective.

The Brood

Christian made his WWE debut in September 1998, costing storyline brother Edge a match against Owen Hart at the In Your House: Breakdown pay-per-view then revealing an alliance with Edge's nemesis, Gangrel.

In a year that featured Kane and The Undertaker embroiled in a heated feud (both literally and figuratively), the decision was made somewhere along the line not to venture down that path again, and Edge suddenly forgave his younger sibling and aligned himself with his enemy.

Together, the threesome entered arenas across the country through a ring of fire as The Brood, a trio of vampires straight out of The Lost Boys.

But their partnership was not meant to be. Eventually, Gangrel betrayed the team, joining up with The Hardy Boyz as the relationship between him and his partners got even more convoluted.

Left on their own, Christian and "brother" Edge set out to prove their greatness as a tag team.

They did just that.

Totally Reeking of Awesomeness

The October 1999 No Mercy pay-per-view featured the first-ever Tag Team Ladder match between Christian, Edge and The Hardy Boyz. In one night, the undercard tandems elevated themselves in the eyes of fans and management, delivering a Match of the Year contender that wowed the fans in Cleveland thanks to the death-defying stunts the four competitors were willing to execute in the name of recognition.

Months later, The Dudley Boyz were thrown into the mix, and the three teams again captured the attention and imaginations of the audience at large with another terrific Ladder match. This time, Christian and Edge captured the tag titles and simultaneously became the heel centerpieces of the tag team division.

Cocky, arrogant and often hilarious, the team entertained millions with their antics.

Whether they were telling people that they "totally reek of awesomeness" or referring to the opposition as "chumpstains," they were completely off the wall, but fans loved it. Christian and Edge became the cool heels, the ones fans could be unashamed to quote.

The wrestling business has at tendency to let teams run their course before splitting them up, though, and Christian and Edge's fate was no different.

The two engaged in a two-month rivalry that saw Christian capture his first WWE Intercontinental Championship before dropping it right back to his sibling a month later, thus bringing to an end one of the greatest and most entertaining teams in the long and illustrious history of Vince McMahon's sports-entertainment empire.

The Un-Americans, Vitamin C and the Intercontinental Championship

After wallowing away, lost in the shuffle, Christian found himself paired with Lance Storm, Test and William Regal in the faction known as The Un-Americans.

The foursome denounced the USA, like so many other generic foreign heels did, but never really crossed the line that would have guaranteed them the necessary heat to maintain a faction of this kind.

Eventually the group disbanded, and Christian partnered with Chris Jericho to form another wildly entertaining tag team. They quickly became tag team champions in October 2002 and followed that victory up by becoming two of the most over heels on the Raw brand, feuding with the immensely popular Booker T and Goldust.

Jericho's feud with Shawn Michels in early 2003 would again leave Christian on his own. But rather than fall off the radar or be saddled with some D-level feud, he remained an integral part of television, capturing the reinstated intercontinental title and again feuding with Booker T.

As 2003 came to an end, however, Christian found himself at odds with yet another tag team partner—this time over a woman.

Love Triangle and Leaving WWE

Christian watched as Jericho developed feelings for Trish Stratus, which occurred on the heels of a $1 (Canadian!) bet over who could bed the Diva of his choice first.

What started as a sleazy wager evolved into a close friendship between Y2J and Stratus, a relationship that threatened the partnership Christian had developed with his best bud.

Jealous, he attacked Trish then ultimately turned on Jericho, igniting a heated rivalry that culminated in a match at WrestleMania XX.

But all was not as it seemed. In fact, Christian and Stratus had manipulated the situation, engaging in a torrid affair the entire time. At The Showcase of the Immortals, they revealed their relationship, leaving Jericho broken and defeated.

The heels would get their comeuppance weeks later at the Backlash pay-per-view, when Jericho defeated them in a 2-on-1 Handicap match.

A back injury would hamper the remainder of Christian's year, while a lack of desire to continue running the proverbial treadmill of booking in WWE, which never allowed him to advance past a certain point, left him questioning the decision to stay when his contract ran out the following summer.

No longer willing to waste his talents on repetitive matches, Christian opted to leave WWE and venture south to Florida and Jeff Jarrett's TNA Wrestling promotion.

TNA Wrestling and the Heavyweight Title

TNA presented Christian with a brand new lease on his career.

From the moment he walked in the door, he was treated like a main event talent. He competed against the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and Kurt Angle during his time there. More importantly, he set a precedent for other WWE Superstars unhappy with their positions in the company by becoming the first former Vince McMahon-produced talent to willingly jump ship.

As Christian Cage, a moniker under which he competed during his time on the independent circuit, Christian again showcased the ability to succeed as both a babyface and a heel.

One of his greatest feuds came in 2006 against Abyss.

The Monster attacked Christian at his own home, leading to a passionate and intense rivalry that ended when the self-proclaimed "Instant Classic" defeated his mask-wearing foe in a Full Metal Mayhem match.

Whether he was waging war with former Olympians, violent, masked heavyweights or lifelong friends such as Rhyno, Christian became one of the faces of the TNA brand.

In 2008, after nearly three years with the company, Christian realized that there was still one thing he had never accomplished in WWE: becoming a legitimate main event star.

With the opportunity to return to the company that made him a Superstar within reach, he returned to WWE in 2009.

ECW

Upon his return, Christian was set up to be the leader of the ECW brand. He defeated Jack Swagger at the 2009 Backlash pay-per-view to capture the ECW Championship, then carried it on two separate occasions, bringing prestige to what was essentially a C-level heavyweight title.

Unfortunately, WWE had booked the brand into the ground, taking it as far away from what ECW used to be as possible before putting it out of its misery in early 2010.

Suddenly, Christian found himself back on SmackDown with the opportunity to achieve the success he so desperately wanted.

World Heavyweight Champion, the Orton Feud and "One More Match"

When Edge suffered a debilitating neck injury that forced him into premature retirement, Christian benefited.

He was thrust into a Ladder match against Alberto Del Rio for the vacated world championship at the 2011 Extreme Rules pay-per-view and, with the help of The Rated-R Superstar, would win the gold. But it never truly felt like Christian's title from the start.

Even as he stood atop the ladder, tears rolling down both his and his best friend's faces, one could not help but think he benefited only because of his relationship with the former champion.

That feeling was confirmed two days later at the SmackDown tapings, when Christian lost the title to Randy Orton.

The loss infuriated fans but was part of a plan to both turn Christian heel and create a rivalry atop the SmackDown brand that could carry it for months.

And it did.

Christian would regain the title at July's Money in the Bank pay-per-view, but only after spitting in Orton's face, enraging him enough that he got himself disqualified. According to a pre-match stipulation, that decision meant that Captain Charisma would win the gold.

Their feud came to a conclusion at SummerSlam, when they battled in a No Holds Barred match.

In what was a phenomenal bout that stole the show out from underneath the evening's main event, Christian lost the title back to Orton following an RKO onto the steel steps.

It was the end of Christian's main event run, a stretch that resulted in some truly outstanding television thanks to the relative freshness of the character and performer.

Injuries and Legacy

Unfortunately, injuries would plague Christian over the four years that have followed his main event run with Orton.

He has made numerous returns, winning the intercontinental title and feuding with Cody Rhodes, then engaging Sheamus in several battles. But he has been unable to maintain any momentum thanks to new, career-threatening injuries.

Recently, he has appeared as part of the WWE Network pre-show panels and has even hosted Raw and SmackDown.

He has not yet returned to the ring in well over a year since he last competed inside the squared circle.

If Christian has wrestled his last match, he has left the WWE Universe with a plethora of moments the likes of which fans may never see again.

A Superstar allowed to develop his own identity during the most creatively rewarding era in WWE history, he rose to stardom through hard work and dedication to his craft.

One of the most decorated and celebrated stars of his generation, Christian is a future Hall of Famer.