Christian enjoyed his greatest success in the WWE after going to TNA and proving himself as a main eventer

Christian is often regarded as one of the best pure workers in the history of the wrestling business – drink that accolade in for a second.

As a man who won every single championship in the WWE except the world title by 2005, the Canadian superstar was looking for more.

2 Christian is a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer

In an exclusive chat with talkSPORT’s Will Gavin to promote his new, exciting show Knight Fight which will air on History from February 19 at 9pm, the 45-year-old opened up about why he had to leave WWE to reach the next level in his career.

“I did go to TNA when I left WWE briefly in 2005 for three years. When I went there, it was solely to prove to myself, even if it was on a smaller platform that I could carry main event matches, programmes and promos and be the face of a show. I needed to do that. I needed to gain that confidence and go back and be able to do it. It happens for different people at different times, you just have to be confident in your ability.

“I always said to myself when I walked into the arena ‘today they’re going to know how good I am’ and that was the attitude I carried with me every single time and just felt like at the end, you can’t hold talent down. If you have it, eventually it’s going to shine through and you just have to keep pushing.”

Christian would win the ECW world title and the World Heavyweight title twice each upon his return and became a sure-fire lock to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame sooner or later, if he wasn’t already.

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Captain Charisma had to make the jump and bet on himself back in 2005 and with the emergence of All Elite Wrestling, it seems like a host of WWE superstars have the same proposition on their hands.

Asked what advice he would give superstars thinking about travelling a similar route to his, Christian pointed out everyone’s journey is different.

“I would say… I would never want to steer anyone in a certain direction. If they asked me for certain advice I would tell them. I would put it on myself. What I needed to do was I needed to take a chance on myself.

WWE 2 Christian was a huge fan favourite with the WWE Universe

“I needed to bet on myself. And if you’re willing to bet on yourself then sometimes it works out and if you believe in yourself and your abilities that will be the case.”

Don’t forget to check out Christian’s fun and brutal new show Knight Fight next Tuesday: Real armour, real weapons, real fights and real people as normal people enter the world of Medieval Martial Arts, aka the Knight Fight Club.