10 Future WWE Champions That Would Be A Sign Of The Apocalypse
8. Curtis Axel
Over the past decade, WWE has seen an influx of disappointing second-generation wrestlers, but perhaps no apple fell as far from the tree as Curtis Axel. Debuting with the career-killing name of Michael McGillicutty on NXT in 2010, the solid (yet bland) worker quickly exposed himself as, to put it generously, not the greatest promo in the world. Still, he was eventually put into the Nexus, winning the Tag Team Titles with David Otunga.
McGillicutty all but faded away from WWE until 2013, when he was reintroduced as Curtis Axel. Triple H, allegedly, was high on the son of Mr. Perfect -- so much so, that he squashed the up-and-comer twice on television. This inauspicious debut left Axel looking weak, and even a subsequent Intercontinental Title win didn't save him.
Again, Axel faded away, but after being robbed of his spot in the 2015 Royal Rumble, his insistence that he hadn't been eliminated morphed into a new gimmick -- Axelmania. Axel began impersonating Hulk Hogan, and for the first time in his career, fans actually started to care about him. Still, that doesn't change the fact that he's less likely to get a run as champion than the real Hogan.