10 WWE Wrestlers Who Were Nothing Without Their Managers
2. Curtis Axel
Curtis Axel's recent release might have been separated from the Black Wednesday bloodletting, but it needn't have been.
The company saw it fit to release countless names during a time they couldn't get work elsewhere, with some already victims of a machine that had neglected them while they were still employed. Michael McGillicutty (Michael McGillicutty for f*cks sake) got one notable opportunity that he blew badly, but he was blessed with a lineage in the industry that was bullishly squeezed out of him before WWE even tried to push it.
It was very Vince McMahon to believe he could put toothpaste back in a tube. Curtis Axel was selected as a new moniker in tribute to father and grandfather Curt and Larry 'The Ax' Hennig respectively when he was rebranded alongside Paul Heyman in 2012. The name was in the same orbit as Rocky Maivia, but Joe Hennig wasn't in the same galaxy as his 'Most Electrifying' training buddy.
Heyman talked a good game, talked him up, and used CM Punk's "Paul Heyman Guy" line as if it was all Axel needed. A pathetic effort from Triple H to get him over kiboshed that, and the third generation star bounced from the gimmick into sillier ones when the experiment was acknowledged as the failure it had become.
Noble effort and all that. But far from perfect.