WWE Gimmicks That FAILED The HARDEST Every Year (1985-2025)
13. Curtis Axel Is A ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ (2013)
Paul Heyman is one of the greatest managers in wrestling history, but he isn't a miracle worker. Sure, Heyman showed he could accentuate strengths and hide weaknesses whilst booking the original ECW. That was impressive, and he's gone on to arguably best the likes of Bobby Heenan, Paul Bearer and Jimmy Hart as WWE's finest ringside mouthpiece.
Again though, not a miracle worker.
Even the best managers need someone to bounce off of, or somebody who's easily (and believably) hyped. That was never the case when WWE experimented with Curtis Axel in 2013 and decided that Mr. Perfect's kid was ripe for a push to the moon. To get there, Paul was installed as his gaffer, and everyone reasoned that Heyman's magic touch would see them through.
There was just one glaring flaw in the plan: Axel was a midcarder with imposter syndrome whenever he was working opposite top names like Triple H, John Cena or Chris Jericho. Fans found it difficult to separate his Michael McGillicutty silliness on NXT with a relentless march on Raw, and no amount of Heyman promos claiming he was the second coming could ever change that.
Curtis won the Intercontinental Title from Wade Barrett (in a Triple Threat also involving The Miz) at Payback 2013, then held it for approx 5 months before dropping the belt from Big E in November. It was a nondescript title reign, to be blunt, and it never made sense that Heyman dropped Axel before he'd lost the IC strap. He was toast once that alliance got scrapped.