Arn Anderson questions WWE's booking of latest released Superstar

Arn Anderson has questioned why WWE did not allow Curtis Axel to use his family’s history in the wrestling business as a key part of his character.

After initially debuting as Michael McGillicutty, the 40-year-old returned in 2013 as the repackaged Curtis Axel. His first name came from his father, Curt, and his surname was created to pay homage to his grandfather, Larry “The Axe” Hennig.

WWE referenced Axel’s father, Mr. Perfect, on multiple occasions after he was repackaged, most notably when he won the Intercontinental Championship at the Payback 2013 pay-per-view on Father’s Day.

However, as the years went on, the recently released Superstar portrayed various comedy characters, including a Hulk Hogan impersonator and an over-the-top member of The Social Outcasts and The B-Team.

Arn Anderson's idea for Curtis Axel

Arn Anderson believes Curtis Axel would have connected with the audience in a better way if he could speak more about his third-generation status in his WWE promos.

“His lineage was huge in this industry. Why he wasn’t able to take advantage of that, you just go that way. That was something else that guys would come up and they wouldn’t get to be who they were, who their dad was, or who their uncle was. That just makes the business bigger, that you have second and third-generation wrestlers that are doing well and you see what an edge they have.”

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Curtis Axel in WWE

The highlight of Curtis Axel’s singles career in WWE came in the aforementioned match at Payback 2013 when he won the Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat match against The Miz and Wade Barrett.

He also won the Tag Team titles with David Otunga in 2011 as part of The New Nexus, while he held the RAW Tag Team titles in 2018 with Bo Dallas.