Curtis Axel

Jun 2, 2010 - by Jamie Cruickshank

Real name: Joe Hennig
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 265 lbs.
Born: October 1, 1979
From: Champlin, MN
Pro debut: July 13, 2007
Trained by: Brad Rheingans
Finishing move: One-Armed Swinging Neckbreaker

Biography

– Hennig graduated with an Associates of Science Degree in Business Computer Systems and Management from North Hennepin Community College
– On July 13, 2007, Hennig & Ted DiBiase Jr defeated Branden Tatum & Dinn T Moore by DQ (Hennig’s in-ring debut)
– On October 26, 2007, Hennig wrestled a tryout match for WWE, teaming with Steve Fender in a loss to Jesse & Festus
– In early 2008, Hennig signed a WWE development deal and was assigned to FCW
– On September 11, 2008, Hennig & Heath Miller defeated Gavin Spears & Nic Nemeth to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Titles
– On February 26, 2009, Hennig defeated Eric Escobar to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Title
– On January 14, 2010, The Fortunate Sons (Hennig & Brett DiBiase) defeated The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft & Trent Baretta) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Titles
– On June 1, 2010, Hennig was announced as a competitor on NXT Season 2, using the name Michael McGillicutty
– On July 15, 2010, McGillicutty & Kaval defeated Los Aviadores (Epico & Hunico) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Titles
– On August 31, 2010, McGillicutty finished as runner up in NXT season two. Following the announcement, he and the other eliminated rookies attacked the winner Kaval
– At Hell In A Cell 2010, McGillicutty & Husky Harris (posing as fans) interfered in a match between Wade Barrett & John Cena, handing victory to Barrett
– On October 25, 2010, Wade Barrett officially unveiled McGillicutty & Harris as the newest members of The Nexus
– On November 29, 2010, McGillicutty was (kayfabe) injured by John Cena
– On December 27, 2010, McGillicutty returned to Raw as part of CM Punk’s New Nexus
– On May 23, 2011, McGillicutty & David Otunga (representing The New Nexus) defeated Kane & The Big Show to win the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On June 21, 2011, McGillicutty & Otunga defeated Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On July 26, 2011, MCGillicutty & Otunga defeated The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On August 6, 2011, McGillicutty & Otunga defeated Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– Hennig was repackaged and given a reboot on the May 20, 2013 edition of Raw using the name of Curtis Axel, the third Paul Heyman guy.
– Axel defeated Wade Barrett and The Miz at Payback ’13 in Chicago, IL, to capture the Intercontinental title.
– At Payback 14, Rybaxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel) defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust
– Following Royal Rumble ’15, Axel began referring to himself as ‘AxelMania’, eventually leading to a gimmick where he imitated Hulk Hogan
– On May 11, 2015, Axel joined forces with Macho Mandow (Damien Sandow) to form The Meta Powers. Unfortunately, the gimmick was killed off following Hulk Hogan’s real-life troubles.
– In early 2016, following months of inactivity, Axel joined the ‘Social Outcasts’ stable
– At Fastlane ’16, Axel defeated R-Truth
– In the 2016 WWE draft, Axel was allocated to Raw
– In June 2017, Axel realigned with Bo Dallas and the pair joined forces with The Miz to form ‘The Miztourage’
– On the Summerslam ’17 pre-show, Axel, Dallas & Miz defeated The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff) and Jason Jordan
– Following the 2018 Superstar Shakeup, Dallas & Axel rebranded themselves as ‘The B-Team’
– At Extreme Rules ’18, The B-Team defeated Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt to win the Raw Tag Team Titles
– On the Summerslam ’18 pre-show, The B-Team defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) to retain the Raw Tag Team Titles
– On April 30, 2020, he was released from his WWE contract, due to budget cuts stemming from the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

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