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I admit that when I saw Christian coming out, I too did a double-take. Initially, I was a bit frustrated due to the lack of hype and being placed on the "C" show. But then I started to think it over and realized - in the big picture, this is actually smarter than the original plans for Christian to be Jeff Hardy's stalker.

I think the people tonight were kind of it into it. Not a massive "Stone Cold" reaction, but they reacted nonetheless. However, this is exactly why putting him in ECW was the safe - and probably logical - thing to do. When Chris Jericho came back last year, fans just weren't into it. It took months before fans started to care about Jericho. And, with all due respect to Christian, he was never the caliber of Jericho.

The fact is since Christian left WWE in 2005, there has been a massive turnover of fans. Really, a lot of the fans (not a majority, but a significant number) were learning to walk when he left. I actually think they had his best interest at heart as they didn't want to cut him off prematurely by setting him up to fail right out the gate by shoving him into a huge program that could have been met with apathy. I honestly believe the current arrangement is better: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy at WM will draw more than Jeff vs. Christian would have, and Christian can re-establish himself on ECW.

Stephan

***

I was going to watch ECW, but I decided to watch "Fringe" on FOX instead. I flipped to Sci-Fi and there was Christian. I wanted to kick myself.

Dan

Powell's POV: I think there are plenty of people feeling that way today, Dan.

***

Tuesday night, after months of speculation and rumors, Christian Cage made his return to WWE television with a surprise debut on ECW. Personally I’m not a Christian fan and never have been but I can understand why his appearance on ECW would be a bitter pill for his more devoted followers to swallow, especially given the recent speculation of a major role on Smackdown alongside his storyline brother Edge and long time rivals Matt and Jeff Hardy. However I honestly believe that as things stand right now ECW is easily the best place for Christian and his best chance for prolonged success within the WWE.

For a moment lets hypothetically say that Christian returned to WWE television on Smackdown. What would he do? If he’d been revealed as Jeff Hardy’s mystery attacker what would his long term future on the brand be? He would once again find himself aligned with Edge and playing second fiddle to Smackdown’s biggest heel and quite probably relegated to a mid card position or worse still jobbing to whoever Edge was feuding with that month, essentially he’d become Chavo Guerrero. It is also worth remembering that heel or face there’s very little chance that Christian could compete with the star power currently at play on Smackdown. He would be the third heel of the brand (at best) and as things stand would struggle to break into the mix as a main event face. The situation would be even worse had he been brought back on Raw.

Now take a moment to contrast that with his prospects on ECW, within the space of a minute he became the brands top face and walked into what will likely become a WrestleMania title match. He is, for the foreseeable future the primary focus of Tuesday nights for the WWE and that means he’ll have the chance to shine and show not just WWE management but the WWE fans what he can do. It is worth remembering that whilst he held titles in TNA the vast majority of the WWE fan base don’t watch or care about TNA, he needs to be established as a credible star on WWE television and that would never happen on Raw or Smackdown because he’d just be overshadowed by the bigger, better and more capable stars.

It is also worth mentioning that by returning to ECW Christian has also walked into a feud with Jack Swagger, this is important for one simple reason - the WWE is incredibly high on Swagger and for good reason. If Christian is able to produce a great feud and strong series of matches with Swagger that make the ECW Champion look like a star his stock within the WWE is going skyrocket. Lets not forget that by making Swagger look like a star Tommy Dreamer went from forgotten after thought to having a long term storyline that keeps him on television every week.

Christian Cage fans may not have had an ECW return at the top of their wish list for his WWE comeback but in truth its easily the best thing the WWE could do with him right now and represents his best chance of long term success within the company. You may not get the immediate big match payoff taking this route but genuine main event talent is rarely created overnight, it takes time and consistent build something Christian would not be afford anywhere but ECW, a brand that has in recent weeks been crying out for a credible face challenger.

Forget that you wanted him to feud with Jeff Hardy or work with Edge on Smackdown those were short term instant pay-offs that would have gotten him nowhere in the long term. His return to ECW is not some form of punishment for going to TNA, its going where the company truly needs him and where he gets the best chance to shine. And remember that CM Punk, John Morrison and The Miz have gone from being ‘just’ ECW acts to key figures on WWE television and that Jack Swagger will be doing the same. If you have the talent and make the most of the opportunities you’re given on ECW you’ll move onto bigger and better things. Christian has been given a big opportunity. Whether he has the talent required I'm not yet convinced.

Alex Roberts

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