2001: Cristian became a double agent and worked for the cops to help bring down R.J. He also fell in love with Jennifer, even though her mother, Lindsay, did not approve of him. Lindsay tried to make him look like a creep by planting cameras in his apartment and broadcasting his private life on the Internet, but Jennifer disowned her mom when she learned of the scheme. Meanwhile, R.J. caught wind of Cristian's link to the police and tried to have him killed. When the hit man targeted Jennifer, Cristian ended their relationship to protect her, but the two reunited when the hit man was caught.

2002: Cristian and Al got in a fight over Jennifer, and Al wound up paralyzed. Jennifer felt guilty and broke up with Cristian to date and care for Al, who was hiding the fact that he could walk again. Cristian found out about Al's lie and busted into Jen and Al's wedding to reveal all. Cristian briefly reunited with Jennifer, but left her when he fell for Natalie. A distraught Jennifer blackmailed and slept with Al, got pregnant and guilted Cristian into marrying her, but she miscarried pre-vows and they fizzled. Natalie, however, ran off and married newcomer "Michael," who later was revealed to be Mitch Laurence. She wanted a divorce, but Mitch threatened to hurt Cristian if she did not sleep with him.

2003: Cristian rescued Natalie from Mitch, who nearly raped her, and the two eventually married. When billiards savant Natalie caught the attention of John, an undercover FBI agent claiming to be a pool scout, Cristian and John clashed. Flynn Laurence, the person who John was trying to bust, caught wind of John's investigation and kidnapped Natalie. She was eventually rescued, but Cristian went after Flynn and was shot and presumed dead.

2004: Toward the end of the year it was revealed that Cristian wasn't really dead — he'd been brainwashed and held captive by Carlo Hesser. Cris returned to Llanview "programmed" to kill Antonio and Tico Santi.

2005: Cristian killed Tico and attempted to kill Antonio, but eventually backed out of the assignment. He confessed that he wasn't Cristian at all, but was rather a "John Doe" who had been brainwashed to think he was Cristian. Whoever he was, the guy was sent to jail for killing Tico. Soon John got DNA test results that proved this John Doe actually was Cristian. Cristian regained his memory, but decided to keep his existence a secret from Natalie, who had begun a relationship with John so that she would not mourn for him while he languished in prison for the rest of his life. Cristian asked John to keep his secret and John agreed. Evangeline talked Cristian into fighting for his freedom and proving that he had been brainwashed when he committed murder. Cristian hired her to be his attorney and they grew close. Natalie learned that Cristian was really Cristian during a prison riot orchestrated by an incarcerated Carlo that also involved Cris. John helped Cristian escape the riot and obtain evidence from Carlo that proved his innocence. Cristian was released. He felt indebted to Evangeline, and was determined to win Natalie back.

2006: While sparring with John at the gym, a trainer noticed that Cristian had potential and convinced him to begin boxing professionally. He gave up on Natalie, wished her well with John and turned his attention to boxing and Evangeline. The two gradually embarked on a serious relationship. Meanwhile, Cristian quickly rose up through the boxing ranks, only to hit a snag when his manager, Vincent, fixed a fight so that he would lose, which led to the boxing commission ruling that Cristian, himself, threw the fight. Cris learned that Vincent was behind the whole thing and hired Rex to help get proof to clear his name.