Christian Is Much More Effective Without the World Heavyweight Title

After Edge retired, it seemed like Christian's time in the sun had finally come.  He had won the heavyweight title and had fulfilled his own long-time goal and also the dreams of many wrestling fans.

His title reign didn't even last two weeks.

Since then, he has had one more title run, but it too wasn't that long.  The fact that such a veteran of the company and the business to be given so little time with one of the major championships seems a travesty.

But no matter how Christan's "peeps" want to see it, the former tag team champion is better without the belt.  He doesn't need it, and in fact it only hurts his character when he has it.

Part of Christian's character is to be the wrestler who tries in vain to get the belt and fails to do so every time by just the narrowest of margins.

It makes the character believable, and it is what has made him a fan favorite—to see a character who has been with fans since the 90s continue to try and reach the brass ring only to come up short time and time again.

He is the lovable underdog that fans want to root for.  The problem is that the second he wins the title and keeps it, he loses the status that got him such adoration in the first place.  

The problem is that he has been an underdog for such a long time that it's too late for his character to evolve into something else.  He would need years to create a new feeling for his persona.  At 37 and having had an almost 20-year career in wrestling, it's time he doesn't have.

By losing the title, it infuriated the fans he did have who wanted to see him remain in the main event scene or at least battling the top wrestlers.  It made him relevant in a way keeping the title wouldn't have.

Because after beating Orton, who would he really have been able to feud with?

And honestly, who would expect such a grizzled veteran to keep soundly beating such young talent?

The worst part is that if he kept winning, he would stop young talent from getting a shot at the title. Some of that argument might be nullified by the fact that Mark Henry, who is actually older than Christian, holds the title now, but it seems like Henry is getting ready to drop the title to the much-younger Daniel Bryan.

And Christian is in a great spot.  

He is a top heel on SmackDown whose character is defined by wanting to get another match.  He may be hated by the common fan, but his "peeps" will still cheer for their overmatched hero to win the title one more time.

If he still had the title, there would be nowhere for him to go but down.

And for an underdog, there is nothing worse.