10 Cruiserweight Wrestling Champions Who Later Won World Titles

4. Christian

If Christian hadn’t been in his legendary tag team with Edge, his legacy in the business would be more talked about amongst fans. The issue is you’re always going to compare him and his accomplishments to Edge. And that’s why for years, when Edge was seen as the big-time money performer that would headline pay per views for years, Christian was put in the mid-card to entertain in WWE.

In his debut match Christian won the Light Heavyweight Championship. He would later win a plethora of other titles too, winning the Intercontinental Championship 4 times and Tag Team Championship a staggering 9 times. But WWE never really got behind him in his first run with the company. They teased using him as a headliner in his John Cena feud in 2005 only to get Chris Jericho involved to attract more interest, not believing a singular Cena vs. Christian feud could draw.

Christian knew his worth though, leaving WWE for TNA and winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship there. He then returned to WWE in 2009 and won the ECW Heavyweight Championship. Then at Extreme Rules (2011) he climbed the literal ladder to win the biggest title of his career in the World Championship.