15 Great Wrestlers Lost In WWE's Mid-Card

11. Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel is a Superstar in the middle of the hottest run of his career, thanks to ridiculous story involving his non-elimination from the Royal Rumble and the explosion of AxelMania. He has demonstrated an ability to capture the attention of the fans, especially the so-called "smart" ones, through over-the-top promo declaring his greatness. He then proceeds to lose squash matches to his fellow Superstars. WWE Creative took an idea Axel laid the groundwork for at the end of the Rumble broadcast and turned it into a delusional character who gains more and more momentum every time grabs hold of a live microphone. Outside of an in-ring confrontation with John Cena, though, Axel has been unable to parlay the surprisingly over character into anything resembling a push. For all the waves he has made, both on social media and live television, he continues to be trapped in the midcard, with no real upward movement to speak of. There was a time when WWE would capitalize on the buzz surrounding a character but in today's WWE, it feels very much as though no character will ever get a deserved push if management did not intend for it to get over.