Christian at Nightmare Weekend

With no disrespect intended, when I first saw Christian I never thought would have such a legendary career. I figured he would be good, but he has proven to be one of the greats of his era.

I first saw Christian when he was teaming with his childhood pal Edge. They went on to have a Hall of Fame career as a tag team, but they weren't done. Each has gone on to individual HOF careers.

Whether good or bad, Christian excels in the ring and on the mic. His latest run in All Elite Wrestling shows he is still at the top of his game. He is one of the best reasons to watch AEW.

I have met him many times, with the latest being at GalaxyCon Nightmare Weekend. He had one of the longest lines all weekend, but we had a chance to meet him late Saturday. Tony asked him how he liked being the bad guy in AEW. He replied he loved it. He enjoyed being a jerk.

Of course, he is anything but a jerk in person. Having met him many times, I have never seen him be anything but great.

Christian must be nearing the end of his full-time career. Watch him and enjoy it while it lasts.

For more info on Christian, go to allelitewrestling.com. Also, check galaxycon.com for all of their conventions.

Tony, Christian and me in Rosemont, IL-May 2025.

Friend Encounters: Gangrel, Christian and Heather Owens

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

Squared Circle Expo III was a couple weeks back, but those who attended are still talking about it. Of course Heather Owens was there. She is one of the fabulous foursome who run it.

Heather talked about it on The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast - Ep. 38 Hardcore Heather Owens. A friend from our time together at Resistance Pro, Tommy Else and I were very happy to talk to the #classybroad about all of her projects.

During the interview, Heather declared she was retired from wrestling. Then, she was announced as a participant in an eight women match at SCX III. Heather came out and delivered stunners to everyone in the ring, stunning the fans. Then, recently, she announced she would face Shawna Reed on May 20 in Lima Ohio. Is Heather getting the itch? Are these random matches? I hope the former, but I think the latter. Either way, it's good to see Heather in the ring whooping butts.

SCX is a fantastic event, featuring 50+ wrestlers of the past and present. SCX debuted in 2021 and has somehow gotten better each year. How could they top it next year? I have no idea, but I bet they will. I know how hard Heather, Ed, Adolfo and Carrie work on SCX and I know the pride they take. This is a convention for fans and the fans love it.

At SCX III, Heather tried forming a new Brood when she posed with Gangrel and Christian. A woman would have fit in nicely with that group. Seeing the Zombie Heather shirt at Pro Wrestling Tees, I think Heather could have pulled it off.

I am sure the group is already planning SCX IV. For more info and updates, go to SquaredCircleX.com.

Gangrel, Heather Owens and Christian in Indianapolis, IN-April 2023.

Friendly Encounters: Christian, Lita, Dallas Page and Michael Kingston

This is a weekly series featuring my friends who have met celebrities.

Michael Kingston is the creator of Headlocked, a cool wrestling comic, and gets to hang out with wrestling legends. How cool is that? Of course, Michael is also very hard-working. Any success he has has been well-earned.

Headlocked was created because Michael wasn't happy with the other comics that featured wrestling. Despite wrestling and comics having an overlapping fanbase, nobody had captured the wrestling world as it is. Headlocked is "an HBO-style drama chronicling an aspiring wrestler’s coming of age in the wrestling business."

Jerry "The King" Lawler jumped on board as the cover artist. Headlocked Kickstarter campaigns produced great results. Other wrestlers contributed content. It grew quickly in popularity.

Michael has worked very hard promoting, including several appearances at various comic cons. He is usually joined by several wrestlers at each appearance. One such occasion was at a comic con in New York last year, when Christian, Lita and Diamond Dallas Page were at his booth. That's a lot of star power.

It's more than just bringing in big names for appearances though. These wrestling legends are behind Headlocked. They believe in it and in Michael.

I've known Michael for several years, having met him at a comic con before Headlocked was an actual reality. I knew from his passion it would happen, just like I know it will continue to grow and become more successful.

One of the best parts is that Michael is a good guy. He puts a lot of effort into his work and into promoting it. He also spends time with eager writers like me. Michael has always had time for me and I appreciate and support his efforts.

One of my life goals is to appear in some way in Headlocked. I am sure I will get that chance with future Kickstarter projects.

I will keep providing updates on Michael's work here, but you can also check out HeadlockedComic.com for more info on Michael and the comic. You can also follow Headlocked Comic on Facebook.

Christian, Michael Kingston, Lita and Dallas Page in New York, NY-October 2017.

Friendly Encounters: Christian and Michael Kingston

This is a weekly series featuring my friends who have met celebrities.

Michael Kingston is living the dream.  He is the creator of Headlocked, his alternative to the campy, supernatural and just bad wrestling comics.

Headlocked features Mike Hartmann, a young theater major who drops out of school to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.  Debuting in 2008, Headlocked quickly garnered praise from the wrestling community, including many famous wrestlers.

Jerry "The King" Lawler was one such fan.  He signed on as the permanent cover artist.  The King has appeared at many comic cons with Kingston to promote Headlocked.

Other star wrestlers who have contributed to the series include Rob Van Dam, Hurricane Helms, Ken Anderson, Christopher Daniels, Booker T, AJ Styles, John Morrison, Tony Atlas and more.  More wrestlers are seemingly jumping on board every day.

At comic cons, Kingston's Headlocked booth is often the most popular attraction.  It has featured a virtual Hall of Fame of wrestlers at one point or another.  I have met many great wrestlers at Kingston's booth.  I have also had the honor of interviewing him.  That interview can be found at On the Beat with Michael Kingston of Headlocked.

I started by writing that Kingston is living the dream and I have detailed his success and his colleagues.  None of this diminishes the work he puts into this project, both producing and promoting.  The success of Headlocked isn't an accident.  Kingston is a tireless worker, who happens to be in a fun environment surrounded by larger-than-life wrestling legends.

Kingston is also a good guy and I am happy for his success.  I started following him several years ago and I look forward to the continuing saga and success of Headlocked.

Christian is one of the wrestling stars who checked out Headlocked at a comic con last year.  I encourage everyone to follow Christian's lead and check out Kingston's creations at HeadlockedComic.com for more info on this great series.

Christian and Michael Kingston in New York, New York, October 2017.

Copeland and Reso...Edge and Christian

Adam Copeland and Jay Reso have been friends for a long time. They made their professional wrestling debut in the early 90's and won some independent tag titles before signing with the WWF (now WWE) in 1998.
Once in the WWF, the duo became known as Edge and Christian. Originally part of a gothic stable known as the Brood, the duo eventually ventured on their own and started to rise to the top of the tag team ranks. Edge and Christian went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship 7 times.
Like most tag teams, they eventually split and feuded for a while.
Edge went on to major success in the WWE, winning the tag titles 5 more times (with different partners) and the WWE Championship 4 times and the World Heavyweight Championship 4 times. He is currently one of the major stars on the WWE Smackdown roster.
Christian left the WWE for TNA, where he became a singles champion, winning the Heavyweight Championship twice. Christian recently returned to the WWE and made his redebut on the ECW show.
I met the duo at the Pillman Memorial Event in 2001. This was just before the team split. In retrospect, they seemed so young, but had done so much as a team.
Edge and Christian have succeeded where many have failed. They have switched from a great tag team to excellent singles wrestlers on the rise to greatness.
When I met them, they were extremely funny and outgoing. They were having fun with their fans (or their peeps, as they liked to say).

Edge and Christian and me in Cincinnati, OH-August 2001.