10 WWE Superstars Who Didn't Debut As Wrestlers
8. Curtis Axel
First Appearance: 31 March 2007
Official Debut: 8 June 2010
Curtis Axel's first appearance on WWE television was almost exactly like Cody Rhodes; he showed up alongside members of his family to pay tribute to his famous pro wrestling dad. In Cody's case, however, he was knee-deep in his developmental career, while Axel - then known as Joe Hennig - was still months away from being a local talent being squashed by Jesse and Festus.
After a stellar developmental run under his own name, Axel's official debut came in 2010 as part of season two of the game show version of NXT. Young Curtis was inexplicably re-dubbed "Michael McGillicutty" and began cutting comically bad promos about flutes, scuba suits, and breastfeeding. It was the moment of the genesis, you see.