10 Times WWE Wrestlers Stole Spotlight In Defeat

7. Triple H (Vs. Curtis Axel, WWE RAW, 20/05/13)

Triple H Concussion Raw
WWE.com

It was supposed to be Curtis Axel’s big night. Long considered one of the most underrated talents in the company, Joe Hennig had been floundering for years as Michael McGillicutty, a leftover from NXT and the New Nexus who was doing a whole lot of nothing, besides helping other people get better. Paul Heyman knew this and badgered creative for a chance to run with the son of Mr. Perfect. A new ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ was promised, and Curtis Axel was that guy.

What’s more, Axel was given the privilege of defeating none other than Triple H in his first match as a Paul Heyman Guy. Those looking at history books without anyone context may be forgiven for not seeing what went wrong here, but those who watched the match will remember that Axel himself had very little to do with anything. In fact, he won by forfeit, kind of, when Triple H got a bit too hot and had the be cooled down at ringside.

The match was an extension of Axel’s miserable debut, as he had been belittled by Hunter earlier in the night. It was a cookie-cutter case of Triple H getting the spotlight in defeat, overshadowing a younger superstar for reasons that still don’t make sense to this very day.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.