Examining Curtis Axel's future in WWE

Being the son of one of the best technical wrestlers in the history of wrestling is a difficult thing. The pressure of living up to their reputation can make even the best crumble and I guess the same is the case with Curtis Axel.

As the son and grandson of Curt and Larry Henning, a lot was expected of Axel right from the beginning of his career. Would Axel have received the same spotlight had he not been part of such a family? Well, this is a doubt that many people have expressed after his current run as the Intercontinental Champion.

Curtis Axel is a really good worker inside the ring, no doubt about that. His mic skills are average at best and he has come up with a few good interviews and promos, but the thing that makes him boring that he really is, is his charisma and identity. Unlike his father who had a strong charisma and identity as Mr. Perfect, Axel isn’t able to bring about that factor that helps fans get attracted to him.

Brock Lesnar, in many ways, is very similar to Axel. He is a great worker inside the ring and can be said to have a worse set of mic skills comparatively. But he compensated everything he lacked with his charisma inside the ring and it is the same charisma and flair that Axel is unable to bring with his character.

Despite having the likes of Paul Heyman and CM Punk with him, Axel hasn’t been able to do too well as a heel during the bout. Some part of the blame must go to WWE for their poor booking as Axel was abruptly supposed to replace Lesnar, which is a tough task to ask for even from the top wrestlers. Though Axel didn’t fare too bad in the ring, he just couldn’t connect too well with the crowd. And if you can’t do it while feuding with a wrestler like CM Punk, I don’t see how else it will be possible.

All said and done, Axel at best is nothing more than a great mid-card champion. Expecting him to reach the main event status challenging the world title looks difficult as his character needs a great amount of repackaging. It is hard to imagine Axel as a good world champion with his present character and at the age of 33, it will be difficult to bring about such a big change. This is because Axel is currently in a stage where wrestlers display the best of their talent, which makes me think if we are already looking at the best of Axel.

There is no doubt that Axel is a very talented wrestler and the same has been said by several great wrestlers like William Regal, Chris Jericho and Jim Ross. However, in WWE, apart from talent inside the ring, there is one other thing that determines your success as a top level talent, and it is star power. Axel is in great need for the fans to back him as a character and his run in WWE till date has failed to make an impression. Expect him to be a great mid-card wrestler along the likes of his father, British Bulldog and R-Truth where he will have a few impressive mid-card title reigns till the end of his career.