Christian’s In-Ring Return Likely For Main Event Of WWE Raw In Unsanctioned Match

Randy Orton challenged Christian to an unsanctioned match to kick off Raw as the retired WWE Superstar appears to be set for an in-ring return of sorts.

Christian confronted a gloating Orton, sticking up for his friend Edge, before Orton challenged the former world champion to “one more match,” a phrase popularized by Christian during a heel run around 2011.

Christian has been given until the end of the night to accept the challenge.

WWE insider account @WrestleVotes, which has broken several stories in the past, teased an “unexpected event” Monday night, suggesting it would be something that “everyone will like.”

While there was initial speculation of a Donovan Dijakovic call-up, further digging into @WrestleVotes’ cryptic tweets—and a subsequent tweet from Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT—pointed toward a possible return for retired Superstar Christian. The lifelong friend of Edge, whom Randy Orton defeated by nefarious means at WWE Backlash, Christian was forced to retire in 2014 due to a history of concussions. Much like Daniel Bryan and Edge before him, it seems time has healed all wounds as WWE’s comeback generation continues to set sail.

WWE Raw’s viewership has been a mess since before the onset of COVID-19, however Raw has taken the brunt of sinking ratings across all WWE programming. Even as WWE NXT, AEW Dynamite and SmackDown saw a surge in viewership during the week of May 27—where Dynamite and WWE NXT were up double-digits while SmackDown ticked up to 2.170 million—WWE Raw started that week with only 1.735 million viewers, albeit for a holiday show.

Vince McMahon responded, in true Vince fashion, by doubling down on whom he already trusts, replacing 54-year-old ‘90s visionary Paul Heyman with 57-year-old Bruce Prichard, a longtime right-hand-man within McMahon’s inner circle. Of course, this is simply a vanity move by WWE to grandstand for shareholders as it nears the end of another quarter filled with declining key performance indicators. Given Vince McMahon’s power, the move itself is akin to Vince McMahon firing himself and naming himself as the replacement.

Christian’s likely return on free TV will generate an initial buzz, and maybe even a possible viewership bump out of curiosity stemming from earlier reports. However Raw’s long-term viewership woes is an institutional problem that can only begin to be solved with a complete overhaul of the current administration, an overhaul that is unlikely to happen as long as Vince McMahon remains at the helm.