WWE's Christian to battle in triple threat at Civic Center
Matthew Thompson
Daily Mail staff
Thursday August 04, 2005

World Wrestling Entertainment describes its superstar, Christian, as smug and immensely confident.

The 31-year-old wrestler says that's an accurate assessment, even beyond the ropes.

"My character is an extension of my real self," Christian said. "Whether people want to cheer or boo, it's all up to them. As long as they're reacting in some way, it's all worth it."

Christian is one of the headliners for the WWE Smackdown non-televised event at the Charleston Civic Center Monday. The man known as "Captain Charisma" will take part in a triple threat match, facing off against Orlando Jordan and Rey Mysterio, Jr. for the U.S heavyweight title.

Christian said the match, where three men fight at the same time, takes immense focus on his part.

"Obviously, the elements are different because of the added wrestlers," he said. "You have to be more aware of your surroundings and worry about the positioning of the two other guys."

Christian fell in love with professional wrestling when he was growing up in Toronto and attended shows at the Maple Leaf Gardens sports arena.

As a teenager, he admired Canadian wrestling legends such as "The Hitman" Bret Hart and Bad News Brown and American grapplers "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.

While attending Humber College in Toronto, the 19-year-old starting frequenting a local wrestling school on the weekends. Christian honed his skills and went professional in 1994.

After battling it out for years in the independent circuits, Christian made his WWE debut in 1998, capturing the light heavyweight title in his very first match. He would go on to win many more WWE titles, including the intercontinental, European, tag team and hardcore belts.

When talking about what kinds of shows he prefers most, Christian finds advantages and disadvantages to both non-televised shows and broadcast ones.

"There's less pressure on a non-televised show and its more intimate," he said. "But on live television, you feed off the energy of the crowd and the millions of people watching at home."

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 235-pound grappler said the matches take a toll on his body, but as long as fans enjoy it, he'll keep it up.

"It's not fun when you fall or get smashed -- I mean, it hurts," he said. "But in the end it's all about entertaining the fans."

Credit: Charleston Daily Mail