Christian ladder match is a top-rung 'cringe' for Shakedown (9/17)
07:29 PM CDT on Thursday, September 16, 2004


Sunday was a day of cringe for The Shakedown. Cowboys' defense: Cringe. Trying to cram 250 pages of reading in on Pre-Colonial Economies of Sub-Saharan Africa: Cringe. Watching Christian work a ladder match only weeks removed from returning from a major back injury: Major cringe.

The Shakedown has heard all the arguments. No, he wasn't forced to come back. No, he wasn't forced to work a ladder match. No, he wasn't forced to choose this line of work. Still, The Shakedown felt somewhat creepy for watching a man bump all over the ring at Sunday's "Unforgiven" pay-per-view not long after getting back into the game after missing almost a year with a major back injury.

Chris Jericho was a perfect opponent for Christian on Sunday. With the exception of the Lionsault, few take better care of their opponents than Jericho. But, did the E really need to put on a ladder match in Christian's first big event back?

Watching the match was a The Shakedown callback. There were the callbacks to the great ladder matches Edge and Christian had with the Hardys and Dudleys. But, there were also callbacks to how much these guys risk every time they get in the ring.

Unlike many other forms of entertainment, wrestlers have no guarantees. If you hurt your back and miss a year, you better hope the electric bill isn't very high. Guys like Triple H, Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle don't have to worry about missing meals if they get hurt, but it really could be an issue for a mid-carder like Christian. It's especially an issue if you're a lower-card guy.

Wrestlers get paid when they work. They get cuts of house-show attendance, merchandise and, where you make your real money, pay-per-view buys. All wrestlers work for themselves. They sell their services to the E via a mutually agreed upon contract. That contract always contains the "downside guarantee" clause. This is where the big-time negotiating comes in. This is where you want to be a horse's rear.

This is the amount you will get paid if you're hurt or if some random act of God happens that forces you off shows. These numbers have been historically low. And, while they have gotten better depending on the talent asking for them to be higher, that is still a fact of wrestling life.

When WCW was around and bidding intensified for wrestlers, the higher "downside guarantee" almost always won out. Give someone a high guarantee and you've got yourself a wrestler.

Christian didn't get his electricity turned off or have his cell phone yanked while he was gone. But, there were a few less steak dinners in the budget. That's the price of being a wrestler. The rules are laid out for you before you join the ranks. Don't like them, don't join. It's not like there's another big company waiting around to give you big cash.

The boys love what they're doing or they wouldn't have agreed to play by the rules. As fans, all you can do is appreciate the guys you're watching and understand what is on the line in every match. In no other form or entertainment is the line between big cash and a big bummer so thin.

Credit: Dallasnews.com