10 Wildest Wrestling Urban Legends
4. Christian Owns A Slave (He Doesn't)
Here goes nothing: Christian bought a slave home from Malaysia.
What?
Just to be clear, this isn't true, at all, but it's so bizarre. The "story" was initially posted on a fairly notable aggregate site in 2012. Or, since no record exists, a genuinely funny person concocted a sophisticated prank and attributed the story to prowrestling.net knowing that the bit wouldn't work, had they credited Dave Meltzer or Mike Johnson. "Dot net" is an inspired touch - it made the story that bit more sordid, that bit less like an obvious piss-take.
The story?
Christian attempted to bring home a "slave".
The "report" is so beautifully worded. It's a work of art. Not only did Christian do this unthinkable thing; WWE wished to fold it into his 2012 return angle. The forum poster even made up a representative of the "ASU (Anti-Slavery Union)", "Jonah Gonzalez", who admonished WWE for the "pitch".
"It's widely known that Jay Reso is a big supporter of slavery, but his employer does not have to perpetuate this."
In another exquisite detail, the poster created the Mandela Effect in his copy by making up a story within the made-up story: "Christian, whose real name is Jay Reso, made headlines last year while trying to bring home a slave purchased during a WWE sanctioned trip to Malaysia in early 2011."
The ripple effect was impressive; there are several hazily remembered "Wait, isn't there a story about Christian owning sex slaves?" posts on Reddit.
Someone idly scrolling might actually believe that Christian is looking not for his peeps but the authorities when making his entrance. The layers to this thing are magnificent. Why does Christian work so specifically well? His old "CLB" nickname, the aloof, smug demeanour?
This person applied more thought to a sh*tpost than WWE does every single storyline.