3rd Generation Star Receives WWE Producer Tryout

This former Intercontinental Champion worked this past Friday's SmackDown show.

by Andrew Pollard
Curtis Axel
WWE.com

In addition to Ariya Daivari being in the midst of a tryout as a producer for WWE, Curtis Axel is another trying out in a similar role.

Via Fightful Select, the real-life Joe Hennig was on hand to serve as a producer on this past Friday's episode of SmackDown.

As for Daivari, the good news for him is that he was handed his first solo producer assignment for the latest outing of WWE Main Event. There, the 33-year-old oversaw the Akira Tozawa vs. Apollo Crews contest.

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Initially, a new producer or tryout candidate will work alongside a more seasoned producer in putting together certain matches. With Daivari having now been trusted to work on his own, that certainly seems to bode well for this becoming a full-time gig for the Minnesota native.

For Joe Hennig, the third-generation talent is still working with veteran producers at this stage.

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In the case of Hennig, the one-time Intercontinental Champion was amongst those released by WWE on 30 April 2020. Daivari remained with the company until 25 June 2001, and has since competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, and has worked several shows for AEW.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.