The wrestling world was shaken up once again last week on the first episode of AEW Rampage, when Christian Cage shockingly defeated Kenny Omega to win the Impact World Championship. While Christian is mostly seen as a WWE guy, he actually has a lot of history with Impact Wrestling or, as it was called at the time, TNA.
Christian made his debut in TNA at Genesis 2005 and went on to become a staple of TNA programming in the following years, he won the NWA World Championship twice and was a featured star throughout his run. Christian Cage’s debut in TNA gave the promotion a name recognition they didn’t have before and his arrival started the trend of bigger names joining the company. It could be said that the rise of TNA all started with Christian Cage and his run in TNA was one of the most successful runs in company history.
After leaving TNA, Christian went on to return to WWE, where he would achieve more success, including winning the World Heavyweight Championship twice before unfortunately having to retire.
The State Of Christian Cage In 2021
2021 has been a year that has turned the wrestling world upside down, and the first shocking moment of the year happened when Christian made his grand return. He surprised everybody by entering the 2021 Royal Rumble and shared an emotional reunion with his old tag team partner, Edge. Just when everybody had thought they had Christian’s plans all figured out, with many fans were speculating on the potential matches Christian could have in WWE, tag team matches with Edge were a given, Christian decided to surprise everybody once more.
When AEW announced a Hall Of Fame level signing at AEW Revolution, Christian Cage answered the call, ditching those speculated future matches in WWE in favor of wrestling for AEW. Since debuting for AEW, Christian has gone on to have great matches with the likes of Kazarian, Powerhouse Hobbs as well as tag matches with Jungle Boy. Though Christian Cage’s biggest match so far was on AEW Rampage where he faced Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship in a match many expected Omega to win.
Except he didn't and Christian pulled off the shocking upset.
Christian Cage will now defend the Impact World Championship at Impact Wrestling’s Emergence show against Brian Myers, in a match with a surprising amount of history. While they may not have an onscreen personal relationship, both men have deep ties to the Rated R Superstar, Edge. Christian’s relationship with Edge goes without saying, while Brian Myers, the former Curt Hawkins, got his start in WWE as one of the Edge-heads with Matt Cardona. Brian Myers has recently been playing up that history on episodes of Impact, using a number of Edge’s moves in his matches.
How Good Will Christian Cage Be In Impact Wrestling?
Will Christian Cage make the same impact that he did before?
Well, possibly.
Christian Cage is still contracted to AEW, as was Kenny Omega while he was Impact World Champion. While it wasn’t advertised much on AEW, Kenny Omega was making regular appearances on Impact Wrestling and defended the Impact World Championship on multiple occasions. It stands to reason that Christian Cage will do the same thing.
In an interview after his victory on AEW Rampage, Christian Cage explained his relationship with Impact Wrestling and why he wanted to win the Impact World Championship.
“Well, I mean, I’m pretty beat up, but it’s a pretty surreal moment, to be honest with you. You know, I put myself kind of behind the 8-ball a little bit where I said, you know, that I was going to, without a doubt, beat Kenny for the IMPACT Championship and I was going to be in the IMPACT Zone this coming week I would look like, pretty much, an idiot if I didn’t follow through on that, right? But it feels damn good and like I said, my roots run deep with IMPACT, and I thought it was my duty to win this back for the IMPACT fans and because the company means so much to me. So it’s back home where it belongs.”
It is clear the Impact World Championship and Impact Wrestling as a whole means a lot to Christian Cage and getting an opportunity like this after it was thought he would never wrestle again must be a surreal feeling. It is no surprise that Christian Cage will now want to make an impact in Impact Wrestling just like he did before, and this time the impact may not just be felt on Impact Wrestling but across the wrestling world as a whole.