10 WWE Stars Who Peaked Too Early
6. Curtis Axel
A classic case of "too much, too fast," Curtis Axel’s initial main roster push was very poorly conceived. Having previously competed as Michael McGillicutty, Axel took on a new moniker inspired by his legendary father and grandfather (Curt and Larry 'The Axe' Hennig) in May 2013, and debuted alongside Paul Heyman.
It was a disappointing conclusion to several weeks of build that had seen Paul E. continually hyping a soon-to-debut prospect. Axel was a relative nobody, but he was thrust into a strong position early, technically defeating Triple H in his debut match, then scoring several count-out wins over WWE Champion John Cena.
An apparent push was underway, and in June, Curtis earned two screwjob victories over ‘The Game’ in one night. Axel then became Intercontinental Champion at Payback, but the crowd weren’t responding to him, and his 156-day reign failed to capture the imagination. Losing the belt in November, Axel then entered an ill-fated tag team with Ryback, before splitting from ‘The Big Guy,’ and becoming a comedic jobber with ‘AxelMania’ after the 2015 Royal Rumble. Today, Axel is rarely seen outside of Main Event and the house show circuit.