Rhodes, who has held the title since his Extreme Rules victory over former WWE Superstar Big Show, was cocky right up to the moment the bell rang on his unexpected title defense. When his entrance music played, Rhodes made a final statement before taking on Christian, saying he is a better man than his opponent.

Christian was unfazed, however, and his sights were set squarely on Rhodes and his Intercontinental Title.

The younger Rhodes got off to a fast start against Christian, whose stamina was called into question after his long layoff and a hard-fought Battle Royal victory earlier in the night. Rhodes was relentless, slamming his opponent into the steel stairs at ringside and then hammering away at the former champion.

But the wily veteran was able to mount a comeback and buy himself some recovery time by taking advantage of any opening Cody gave him. When Rhodes focused more on taunting his downed opponent than finishing him off, Christian was able to hit the Killswitch from out of nowhere and cover Rhodes for a shocking victory.

The match capped off an incredible night for Captain Charisma, whose ring return culminated in Intercontinental Championship gold for the fourth time in his career.

The winner of the melee, which was announced by Executive Administrator Eve in an effort to end a running dispute between Rhodes and Santino about the prestige of their respective championships, would be granted a Title Match later in the night to challenge for his choice of either the Intercontinental or the U.S. Championship.

If the announcement of the Battle Royal itself and the promise of an unexpected title match weren’t exciting enough, the sound of Christian’s entrance music sent shockwaves through the WWE Universe members in attendance.

Christian had not appeared in WWE since the March 16 episode of SmackDown, where he delivered a special edition of “The Peep Show.” Before that, Christian was taken out by WWE Champion CM Punk on Raw SuperShow just days before Captain Charisma was to take part in the six-man tag match as a member of Team Johnny at WrestleMania XXVIII. That match against Punk ended in a no contest and Christian re-aggravated a prior neck injury thanks to an overlong Anaconda Vise by the champion.

Christian’s arrival sent the WWE Universe into a frenzy, and also left Rhodes and Santino clearly shaken as the two champions exchanged a worried glance at ringside when Captain Charisma made his entrance. When the bell rang, the ring was literally overflowing with Superstars as Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson, William Regal, The Usos and others all battled for a title opportunity.

As always with over-the-top rope matches, alliances were formed and broken in record time. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were able to tag team The Great Khali, dumping the giant over the ropes and bringing a sigh of relief to the lips of Rhodes.

Competing in his first official match since Nov. 11, 2011, Christian demonstrated the absence of any “ring rust” as he tangled with and ultimately eliminated William Regal.

When The Miz eliminated Alex Riley, it was left to The Awesome One, Tyson Kidd, Otunga and Christian to duke it out. Kidd was impressive but was dumped over the top by Otunga as he and Miz battled on the apron.

Christian was then immediately double teamed by Miz and Otunga. Yet, despite months of inactivity, Captain Charisma fought his way out of trouble to eliminate Otunga. Miz and Christian were left to determine who would get a title chance later in the night, but it was the returning Christian who found an opening when The Awesome One spilled out onto the apron. A driving shoulder knocked Miz to ringside and catapulted Captain Charisma to victory.

As he departed the ring, Christian gestured to Santino, perhaps eyeing the Milan Miracle’s U.S. Championship for later in the night.

One of my personal favorites over the years has been Edge. He’s had a fantastic career, racking up 31 WWE championships as both a singles and tag-team wrestler. He was a lifelong wrestling fan and his passion drove him to becoming the star that he still is today, even after retiring a year ago due to a neck injury.

That’s one of the things I’ve always liked about him: his passion. He wears it on his sleeve and it showed in everything he did during his career whether during a match or cutting a promo.

Now, Edge is taking his right place in the WWE Hall of Fame and will headline this year’s class with the ceremony taking place on March 31 in Miami, the night before WrestleMania XXVIII.

I spoke with Edge about what he misses from not being in the WWE on a day-to-day basis anymore, the day he got the call from the company that they wanted him, what he would have done if he had not become a WWE superstar, what he would have liked to have done if his career has lasted another year including who he wanted his last match against, the build to the match between The Rock and John Cena this year and how unique it is, the talk that some guys are upset about The Rock returning, what Michael P.S. Hayes will be wearing to the Hall of Fame ceremony, an idea for him and Christian at the induction and more.

Here’s a few excerpts for the interview:

What he misses the most about not being with WWE on a day-to-day basis:

“Honestly, I don’t miss anything about being on the road. If there’s things I miss, it would be the camaraderie of some of the guys. Being able to see Kane every week or Christian every week or (Dolph) Ziggler, guys I’m good friends with and road with. I miss that. I don’t miss the travel. I don’t miss being constantly exhausted, constantly sore and feeling like a zombie. I don’t miss that at all. I wake up now and my body doesn’t hurt. I have some neck days here and there but the rest of me feels great. So I’ll get out and mountain bike 35 miles. I wouldn’t have the energy to do that when I was working. So, I don’t miss much. I miss the guys and the feeling of that crowd reaction when you have a good match but beyond that not a whole lot.”

If he starting mapping out his final year in the WWE which he was planning before the neck injury forced him to retire:

“I wanted to try and build it to Christian and I at a WrestleMania if it was possible. It looked like if I would have stuck around it would have happened before that. I think we would have got to him and I this year. I was kind of hoping that this would be the last year, the last Mania and gauge it from there. If I had another year left in me, sign for another year because my contract is up this month. I thought I’ll sit down at this year’s WrestleMania and see where I’m at. But if it could have built to where it would have been Christian and I at this year’s WrestleMania then I don’t think there would have been any other way to go. It’s like why bother, so I can do another year just to do another match that won’t mean as much to me in the final match. But I had been mentally preparing for it. I knew or assumed that it would be this year. So, it wasn’t that hard to come to terms or grips with. i think it was harder for other people. I’ve had a lot of grown men come up to me, man, I’m just so bummed, I was crying. I was like thanks but I knew what was going on in my body so it wasn’t as much of a shock to me I guess.”

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If you want to hear Edge’s full interview on Between The Ropes, you can do so here.

One of those superstars is Christian, a former World Heavyweight Champion who is returning from an ankle injury suffered last November. After 15 years of rising through the ranks, Christian finally became the top superstar on his show in April last year by winning WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship. However, since then his career was offset by multiple injuries, culminating in a high-ankle sprain.

“It was without a doubt the most frustrating injury I have had in my career,” Christian told Patch. “It was a high-ankle sprain. It was very frustrating. I tore some ligaments as well and had to rehab it for seven weeks.”

The good news for the grappler is that he said his rehab has been so successful that he was able to make it back to television last week, interjecting himself in the feud between SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long and Raw Interim General Manager John Laurinaitis.

“We are getting closer and closer to WrestleMania in Miami and the tensions are pretty high,” Christian said about Tuesday’s event. “All the top stars from SmackDown are going to be there. We have Randy Orton, The Big Show, Sheamus, the (current) World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will be there. Unfortunately, the current General Manager Teddy Long will be there, (but) I’m sure big Johnny Laurinaitis will be there as well.”

“There are always passionate fans in this area, whether it’s Madison Square Garden or Newark,” he added. “This whole area gives us great support and crowds.”

Christian will be competing in WrestleMania this year on April 1 in Miami. At last year’s event, he was in the corner of his childhood friend Edge, who defended the World Heavyweight Championship. This year, it will be Christian in the ring, as Edge, who retired right after last year’s event due to a lingering neck injury, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

“He deserves it,” Christian said of his friend’s induction. “He’s had an amazing career and when you sit back and realize what he accomplished over his career, you can put him right up there with the very best in the history of the business.”

In addition to Edge’s induction and Christian wrestling, this year’s event will also feature a main event of The Rock versus John Cena. The Rock, whose real name is Dwayne Johnson and who has transitioned into a movie star, is coming back to the ring to face the WWE’s top superstar, John Cena. This match was announced a year ago and tensions have been running high for everyone in the company.

“I don’t know who is going to win (between The Rock and Cena), it’s all up in the air,” Christian said about the match.

Next year’s WrestleMania will be coming to New Jersey’s own MetLife Stadium. This is the first time the event is being held in an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather climate. But, Christian, a native of Toronto, Canada where the winters are known to be harsh, isn’t worried about the possibility of a wrestling event in the frigid New Jersey winds.

“I have an advantage because I am a Canadian,” he said. “I think I’m used to the cold weather, so (the weather next year) might fit me pretty good. It will be cool, I know everyone is looking forward to bringing WrestleMania back to that area. It’s going to be awesome being at that stadium and that area and hopefully it won’t smell or anything like that.”

We invite all fans of WWE wrestling games in general to see our interview with the one nicknamed “Captain Charisma” Christian. We were able to discuss with the departure of his friend Edge, the World Heavyweight Championship he won and video games.

Thanks to Anais for passing this on.

“Christian is a hell of a performer in the ring, and he’s just had a hell of a run. He’s recently added a few exclamation points to his work and his promo style-but, again, there’s at least one more level for him to step up,” he feels.

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Thanks to my friend Virginia for passing this on.

On the Sept. 9 edition of SmackDown, Sheamus emerged to ridicule Christian’s continued insistence that he deserves another title opportunity, calling him a “mangy dog” and ordering him out of the ring. When the angry Superstar returned to exact revenge during his Irish foe’s match, Sheamus nearly took him out with the Celtic Cross.

One week later, Christian & Wade Barrett lost a tag team match to Sheamus & Justin Gabriel. Although it was Gabriel who got the pin on Barrett, “The Great White” invited his fuming adversary back into the ring to finish things between them. Christian, a former two-time World Heavyweight Champion, would lose major ground in the eyes of those picking the No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Title by not rising to the challenge.

Two days later at Night of Champions, Sheamus interrupted yet another plea for “one more match,” blasting his complaining prey with an earth-shattering Brogue Kick. Although this may have made things beautiful in Buffalo for the WWE Universe, it continued to lower Christian’s appearance as a serious challenger for the World Title.

His descent was only hastened one day later on Raw SuperShow, when Sheamus’ Four-Man Tag Team reigned supreme over the team that included his irate adversary.

When Christian did finally get “one more match” against the newly-crowned World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry – a Lumberjack Match on the Sept. 23 edition of SmackDown – the first Irish-born WWE Champion was there to halt his escape one more time.

This led the outmatched challenger not only to get pinned by the enraged champion, but also suffer the devastating power of The World’s Strongest Slam.

It’s futile to assume that Christian’s constant rants for “one more match” have ended with his loss to Henry. However, before he goes down that road yet again, he might want to address the red-haired roadblock that continues to thwart his golden journey.

Former world heavyweight champion Christian, meanwhile, is proud to say that Pacquiao is one of his friends.

“I am friends with the most famous Filipino ever,” said the Canadian superstar.

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However, if that pay per view is any indication the upcoming Street Fight between Christian and Orton is going to be something any fan can get ecstatic about.

“I’m looking forward to coming to Calgary and putting on a great show for all my Canadian peeps,” Christian said when asked how he felt about coming back to perform on home soil. “It will be my first time there actually to perform since, I believe, before I got injured a year ago (when he tore his pectoral muscle and had to undergo surgery). So it’s been well over a year since I’ve even had a chance to compete in my home country, so it will be great to come back.”

Even though Christian is no longer the world heavyweight champ, he can still hold his head up high for the honour he’s held twice in the last few months.

“It felt great, obviously, when I first won the world championship. You know, it took me 17 years to finally win it, and I lost it in five days,” Christian said.

“When I had envisioned my first title reign in my mind, it was going to be a long one. Obviously, that didn’t happen, so it gave me extra motivation to get it back. After that happened, I looked at it like ‘well, I’m going to regain it, then at least I’ll be able to call myself the two-time world heavyweight champion’ and that’s what I’ve done.”

As proud as he is, Christian has always been vocal about his doubts in the legitimacy of Orton’s multiple reigns.

It was such a paranoia that, before his match against Orton at Money in the Bank, he had a lawyer re-write his contract for the event to include a stipulation that if Orton got disqualified, he would lose the belt, which doesn’t regularly happen in that type of loss.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that Teddy Long wanted Randy Orton to be the face of Smack Down, when I feel like it should be me,” Christian said.

“You know, I was having some problems getting proper refereeing as you saw at Capital Punishment, where my foot was clearly underneath the rope and the referee counted three anyway.

I just feel like the situations that Teddy Long had been putting me in, plus the incompetence of the referees, that I was kind of forced, that I didn’t have any choice but to do that.”

Christian’s resourcefulness ran out at Money in the Bank, and on Tuesday, he will be the challenger instead of the defending champion like he’d hoped.

Even though Orton won their last meeting, don’t count Christian out — he’s a seasoned extreme rules veteran.

“It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve competed in many matches like that before. TLC matches, ladder matches and things like that.”

Your last match was at Wrestlemania 27 when you successfully defended the World Heavyweight Title against Alberto Del Rio. At the time you didn’t know that was going to be your last match. But looking back now, how does it feel to end your career on a high note as The Heavyweight Champion at the biggest event of the year?

Looking back now I’d have to say it would be tough to top it as a retirement. And it made it less emotional since I didn’t know it would be my last match. In a perfect world wrestling Christian at a Wrestlemania in Canada would be the ideal retirement, but the one I had is nothing to sneeze at.

The last time we saw you in the WWE was in May when Christian won the World Heavyweight Title. Now Christian has been your best-friend throughout these years, tell me about being there as he won his first World Title. And what was the first thing you told him in the ring?

My retirement didn’t feel bittersweet because I got to watch him finally realize his dream and take the opportunity my retirement presented. I’ll keep what I told him for my next book.

Since your time out of the ring, have you been paying attention what’s been going on in the WWE? If so, tell me what you think of what’s been going on (CM Punk, Christian’s 2nd Title Reign, etc.).

I haven’t watched anything besides Christian’s stuff.

Finally, I ask this to all my interviewees. What have you been watching on TV lately?

Game of Thrones, and Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO. Modern Family. How I Met Your Mother, where Barney totally stole the use of awesomeness from Christian and I . (laughs)

To red the full interview, visit TVDoneWright.com