Christian is not the Marty Jannetty of the team

In the history of professional wrestling whenever a dominate tag team breaks up it's typically because one partner has outgrown the tag team and is on his way to singles glory.  Ever since the the Rockers broke up on the only episode of The Barber Shop that anyone remembers, and Shawn Michaels went onto superstardom and Marty Jannetty fizzled, teams are always compared to them.

For instance The Steiner Brothers, Scott (the Michaels) would go on to become World Heavyweight Champion while Rick (the Jannetty) would win the television championship and flounder on the lower mid-card.

Another example would be Harlem Heat, Booker T (Michaels) would become a six time world champion between WCW & WWE and win multiple other championships.  Stevie Ray (Jannetty) well he still wrestled after Harlem Heat broke up.

Many have compared Edge & Christian to Michael & Jannetty with Edge taking the Michaels roll in the team.  Edge had an amazing wrestling career and was forced to retire from the ring due to spinal stenosis in 2011.  He got an amazing and emotional send off, his story has been told repeatedly in his book and in DVD documentary home video release and he was inducted into the 2012 Hall of Fame.  In 2020 he made a surprise return at the Royal Rumble, and received an amazing reception from the crowd and a moment that will be played over and over again.  The internet also exploded and he was trending on all social media. 

Some would say that, that would make Christian the Jannetty but I'm here to tell you that Christian is no Marty Jannetty.  Christian started wrestling after Edge and he came into the WWE after Edge did, but as a team the revolutionized tag team wrestling together.

After Edge he would win the tag titles twice more, once with Lance Storm and once with Chris Jericho.  As a singles he won the Intercontinental Championship 4 times, the European Championship, Light Heavyweight Championship, Hardcore Championship, is a two time WW-ECW Champion and a two time World Heavyweight Champion.

Christian also did something that Edge never did, in 2005 he left the WWE and signed with TNA Wrestling where he twice won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.  In 2008 he wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom II.  

Christian also retired from injuries he sustained in 2014, however his retirement was quiet and there was no send off or grand emotional moment.  Christian has easily had a Hall of Fame career and yet he has not been inducted, nor has he had a WWE home video release, however he does have a TNA Home Video release.  

In 2021 Christian made his return to the ring at the fan-less Royal Rumble, I was ecstatic, however the internet didn't explode and he wasn't trending on social media, which is a crime.  Christian is a wrestler that doesn't get the respect he deserves from the fans, the wrestlers know how good he is, what he's contributed, and that he deserves all the accolades he has coming to him.

I'm very excited for Captain Charisma to get this final run and I hope he finally gets the recognition that he deserves including a WWE Championship title run. 

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page, check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network and while your at it pick up my book over at Amazon in Kindle or Paperback.

Until next time!!

The Undertaker: Matches I've Watched Live

At the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania XXXVI we saw a version of the Undertaker that we haven't seen in a long long time.  It was an awesome match, even my wife who doesn't care for wrestling enjoyed it.  Sunday after night 2 of Mania was over they had a First Look at The Undertaker: The Last Ride.

This leads me to believe that this will be Taker's last year in the ring, some thing the Boneyard match was his last.  Undertaker debuted at the 1990 Survivor Series so I think his last match should be at the 2020 Survivor Series 30 years later.


August 15, 1995 
WWF Television Taping, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine

This was a marathon television taping of Wrestling Challenge, Superstars, & Action Zone.  I attended this show with my buddy Jay and his brother Scott. Undertaker appeared twice this night.  Summerslam 1995 was just 12 days away which featured  casket match between Undertaker and Kama.  The first appearance saw Undertaker at ringside with Paul Bearer and the casket he made for Kama being interviewed by Dok Hendrix.

Taker vs. Kama from SummerSlam 1995

The second time we say him that night was the main event of the evening in a dark match, and the 26th match of the night.  In this match The Undertaker defeated Kama: The Supreme Fighting Machine in a casket match.

March 1, 1996
WWF House Show, The Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

World Champion: Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. The Undertaker

I attended this show with my pal Rob and Mom & Dad.  It was a solid show with great talent like Godwins, Bodydonnas, Triple H, Owen Hart, Goldust, "Ringmaster" Steve Austin Savio Vega, Davey Boy Smith, Shawn Michaels, and more.

Surprisingly this was not the main even of the evening, that honor went to HBK vs. Smith.  Bret was out first and then Undertaker took and exceptionally long time to get to the ring.  He wasn't wearing his hat or coat and just his wrestling gear.  It was a good match and in the end Bret Hart retained his championship by count-out after Goldust ran down and gave Taker a piledriver on the floor.

I took these pictures on a film camera back in the day and then took a picture of the picture with my camera phone to post them here.

March 28, 1998
WrestleMania XIV, Fleetcenter, Boston, MA

The Undertaker vs. Kane with Paul Bearer

I really don't have to say a whole lot about this event, it's where the Austin era began!  This was my first Pay-Per-View, we had seats in the front row of the balcony, but Jay and I didn't care.  We were overlooking the entrance way so we got a great view of Taker's entrance with the druids.

This was the first epic battle between the Brother's of Destruction, this was also the first time that Kane tombstoned Pete Rose.  Undertaker defeated Kane after three tombstone piledrivers, the last one looks real bad as Kane's head was low.  After the match Kane tombstoned Taker on a steel chair.  This win seven on the Undertaker's WrestleMania win streak.

July 11, 2005
Smackdown! Brand House Show, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine

The Undertaker vs. Muhammad Hassan with Daivari

I attended this show with my buddy Rood  Hassan was a talented wrestler who was saddled with a wrong gimmick at the wrong time.  After this match he would only have two more matches in the WWE before leaving wrestling.

On this night even with the help of Daivari and the Shane Twins in black garb Hassan fell victim to the tombstone piledriver.

I took these pictures on a film camera back in the day and then took a picture of the picture with my camera phone to post them here.

December 10, 2005
Smackdown! Brand House Show, The Colisee, Lewiston, ME

The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton with "Cowboy" Bob Orton

This was the first time WWE ever had a show at this venue, also two days before this show I bought my first digital camera and sitting in the fourth row I got some great shots!  I went to this show alone, and it was a last minute decisions because two days later my buddy Rood and I went to Boston for Monday Night Raw.  I took these pictures.

This was a super fun show with a lot of great talent on the card.  Taker and Orton main evented in a very good match that saw Undertaker get the win after a tombstone piledriver.

On the way home I stopped at Burger King on the highway in Litchfield, I used to work there.  My camera battery was beyond dead so I have no proof however, I met Sylvain Grenier, Kid Kash, Steve Keirn, and Arn Anderson!

March 30, 2008
WrestleMania XXIV, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL

World Heavyweight Champion: Edge vs. The Undertaker

I attended this show with my buddies Jay & Rood, we bought Silver Packages from WWE as we had heard the rumor that this was going to be Ric Flair's final match and we didn't want to miss that.

You can read all about our adventures in these two posts: this first post was written in 2008 and posted on Facebook Note.  The second post was written a few years later for a different blog of mine.  You can read all about out travels down, the hotel, going to Universal Studios, a crazy bloody indy show, The Hall of Fame, and of course Mania itself.

This was an amazing night of wrestling, we had awesome seats, and it was a truly excellent adventure!  Taker's entrance was amazing!  The best one that I have experienced live complete with flames shooting 40 feet into the air!  Beyond words.

The match was the main event and it was well deserved.  The Undertaker captured the World Championship after submitting Edge.  This was win sixteen of his WrestleMania win streak.  I took these pictures from my seat.

November 23, 2008
Survivor Series, TD Garden, Boston, MA

Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. The Big Show

I attended this show with Rood, two PPV's in one year!  This show featured a dark match, three singles matches and three survivor series matches.  I am a strong believer that Survivor Series should be nothing but Survivor Series matches.

I enjoyed this show, but if I'm being honest when I sat down the write this I had remembered every Undertaker match except this one.  I remember this show and have talked about it often, I can recall every match except this match.

Undertaker got the win when the casket was standing upright and Taker irish-whipped Big Show into the open casket which fell over and the lid fell shut.  This is probably why I don't remember the match.  I took these pictures from my seat, there are more at the bottom of the post.

All in all I have seen the Undertaker wrestle live seven times.  His record is 6 - 1 with his only loss being by count-out.  I saw his win two casket matches, compete at two WrestleMania's and watched him win the World Heavyweight Championship.

If this is Taker's last year and if I never get to see him live again I'm okay with that.  I feel very fortunate that I got to witness Taker live several times and in some significant matches at that.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network.

Until next time