Former superstar thinks WWE wasted the next Randy Orton

Charlie Haas believes Curtis Axel could have been a major star like Randy Orton if WWE booked him differently.

Axel, real name Joe Hennig, is the son of Hall of Famer “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. The 42-year-old was given the name Michael McGillicutty in 2010 before being repackaged as Curtis Axel in 2013.

Haas, a three-time WWE Tag Team Champion, cannot understand why Axel’s family history was ignored earlier in his career. Speaking to Inside The Ropes’ Liam Alexander-Stewart, he also compared the former Intercontinental Champion to fellow third-generation performer Orton.

“Joe Hennig, Curt Hennig’s son, third-generation wrestler, how in the hell can you go out and be a McGillicutty?” Haas said. “If you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin, how can you go out and get that guy over? Let him be Joe Hennig. Let him be a third-generation superstar, which he should be, up there with Randy Orton.” [17:54-18:12]

Axel received his release on April 30, 2020 after 13 years with WWE. He recently returned to the company as a producer.

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What did Curtis Axel achieve in WWE?

In 2013, it looked as though Curtis Axel was en route to fulfilling his potential as one of wrestling's brightest young stars. With Paul Heyman by his side, he recorded wins over Chris Jericho, John Cena, and Triple H before capturing the Intercontinental Championship at Payback 2013.

Unfortunately, that moment turned out to be the peak of Axel’s career. Although he won tag titles with David Otunga and Bo Dallas, the former Nexus member often struggled to receive regular television time.

His final match ended in defeat against Daniel Bryan on the February 28, 2020 episode of SmackDown.

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Please credit Inside The Ropes’ Liam Alexander-Stewart and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.