This Monday wrestling fans were clamoring over who could be the next WWE star to get an incredible opportunity to be taken under the wing and managed by one of the greatest minds in wrestling history. Some thought perhaps ECW stand out RVD could be making his long awaited return to the WWE! Others pondered which up and comer would fit the bill… Corey Graves? Kassius Ohno? Maybe even former US Champion Antionio Cesaro? After Heyman greased up the audience building up the unveiling of a guy who will be put in the same position CM Punk and Brock Lesnar were forged under. You could hear the gasp of the crowd as everybody held their breathe! Set your DVR’s said Heyman, this should be epic! Then all that tension leads to…. Micheal McGillicutty. And just as loud as the crowds gasp before it a sigh rang over the crowd. Those weren’t heel boo’s you heard, those were large collections of the audience asking “WHO!?”
The third generation star formerly known as Micheal McGillicutty is the new “Chosen One!” He has replaced what many fans find as the worst name in wrestling with a brand new name as well… Curtis Axel. Yes, he managed to find a new name every bit as bad as the original! Further proving this kid doesn’t get it, he debuted looking EXACTLY the same. He came out with the same hair, beard, and even ring gear! The thought of a visual transformation to go with the repackaging never crossed his mind? Paul Heyman tries to polish this turd over the mic, which leads to HHH confronting Heyman and Axel. Axel gets in Trips face and for a moment he appears legit, until those thoughts were quickly washed away when HHH bitch slapped him and he sat on the ground like a total coward. Way to build him up creative! He looked very intimidating there, might as well had Heyman get in HHH’s face!
That is cool though, because HHH v Axel is book to main event the show. HHH has been selling some symptoms lingering from his match with Lesnar the night before presumably to give him an excuse to put Axel over, right? HA! Have you watched WWE in the last decade? It is just a ploy to make HHH look even stronger. So the match takes place and while Axel gets in a little bit of offense the spotlight quickly turns to HHH, SURPRISE! Despite Axel “debuting “ and competing in his first match that likely half the audience has seen since McGilli-Tunga brought the tag titles to a new low. So, HHH is trying to sell a concussion but proves the reason his film career plummeted like it was Drew Macintyre after a hotel altercation… He is selling it as a stroke. I tend to believe in a third theory, HHH just happened to fall victim to witnessing a McGillicutty match and began falling into an uncontrollable deep sleep. His first dose of “Third Generation Nyquil” CURTIS AXEL. The bell rings and it is like taking roofies.
Overall the show ends with everyone worried about HHH’s fake injury and Axel is backburnered to the point where he doesn’t even appear on camera the last 5 minutes. Wouldn’t it have made sense to have Axel beat down a dying HHH and throw him in the ring for the pin? Although that might have resulted in a heel receiving heat that isn’t out of being so bad that the fans just hate him. In all seriousness, if WWE are going to write out the last remaining part timer, wouldn’t it have made sense to leave the focus on the new star who is going to be around all year? It is no wonder WWE programing is nearly unwatchable. It was horrible even with The Rock, Taker, HHH, Lesnar, and a slew of others who will vanish until their next Mania pay day. The ending of RAW should have left me feeling that starting this moment...from now...from this moment on...this'll be the moment...starting now...Of the GENESIS OF McGILLICUTTY!!!
[WRITERS NOTE: WATCH THIS VIDEO NOW! If you haven't seen it prepare for something incredible, if you have, relive the glory]
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61Y4y0XBKUM
For those unfamiliar with Joe Hennig/Michael McGillicutty/Curtis Axel looking to get the details on him, here they are:
Never in all my days have I seen a wrestler rest on the laurels of his father’s credentials like Joe Hennig. Everyone cries about his stupid names and blame them for his shortcomings but it is only a name! He just needs his dad’s last name so we can be reminded we are supposed to like Joe Hennig because he is the son of an amazing wrestler that we all loved as children. If you think having a really bad name is going to cripple your success all I want to say to you is CM PUNK!?
If you are one of the people whose whole world was shattered by my claim that the name isn’t his problem, you might be wondering why I think he has floundered off TV for so long. Well, I will break down my thoughts:
• Name – From Michael McGillicutty to Curtis Axel… If you won’t give him the Hennig name to leech off of then just call him AXEL. The name has no flow and the Curtis part makes him sound like a geek.
• Finisher –Swinging Neckbreaker- Sorry, that’s what it is, but he spins around a bit more to land on his stomach. Again everyone wants him to use his fathers finisher The Perfect Plex. Further proving everything he tries to do on his own accord is a massive train wreck.
• In Ring – Joe Hennig = Charlie Haas. A mediocre technical wrestler with some hard hitting moves that can’t generate a reaction from the crowd. He can’t tell an effective story, or work the camera. For WWE standards this probably puts him above average in the ring but if you are looking for a modern day Mr. Perfect, you would be better off looking in the direction of Dolph Ziggler. Still if WWE have him start using the Perfect Plex and have Heyman and the announcers sell his application of the move it will probably go over well.
• Mic Work – Gives the Great Khali a run for his money for the worst in the company. At least Khali uses English as a second language and might be a shaved Sasquatch.
Now I fully expect to take heat for essentially burying Joe Hennig from some kid who thought Alex Riley was AWESOME and changes his Twitter avatar to whatever wrestler he has a man crush on that week. Don’t hate me for being honest but to me the WWE just wasted a huge push on bland a guy who has dropped the ball in the past and who hasn’t taken any measures to improve his weaknesses in the last 2 years. This was a push that could have taken somebody to mainstay main event status but with Curtis Axel the push will likely replicate Jack Swaggers’. Look at the similarities… Bring a jobber back on TV to push them relying heavily on a strong manager. Sure, Swagger’s push may have been soured by the “WEED THE PEOPLE” incident but I just don’t think Swagger has the ability to work a crowd. Ultimately people are reacting to Zeb Colter and in Axel’s case the people will be reacting to Heyman. The matches will be an after thought, which with Lesnar and Punk the matches were always as strong as Heyman’s mic work.
Remember it isn’t the push that matters it is the staying power. Paul Heyman is a genius and if anyone can take Curtis Axel from being a Charlie Haas to a Chris Benoit it is Paul Heyman. Axel has enough talent in the ring to pull off a small Swagger push with ease but I don’t think he can rely too heavily on Heyman if he wants to stay there. So far Axel lacks a lot of key elements to his game but if he is a quick learner we could watch him grow leaps and bounds in the coming weeks. While I don’t love the idea of Curtis Axel getting this push, ultimately this is sink or swim for Joe Hennig and it will likely be the most entertaining portion of WWE programming besides The Shield segments.
That said let me know what you think of Curtis Axel! Is he the right choice for the push? Does he have the talent to take the ball and run with it? Will we be singing his praises for years to come? Is Heyman good enough to make Curtis Axel the future of WWE?
If I get some good replies I will try to do a follow up to this column highlighting the replies.
Twitter: @BloatOfHippos
Email: DougGarbark@live.com
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