So What? Curtis Axel Edition

[Jdulemba1001]

Alright so I havent done one of these in a while. Sometime real life gets in the way of wrestling. (I hate it when that happens.) So here we go again. Curtis Axel. The son of Mr Perfect. 3rd generation. Great pedigree, and I just dont care. So tell me, am I missing something? Does Axel have it? I dont think so, but ive been proven wrong before. So dear posters, I ask the question. In the case of Curtis Axel, So What?

 

[DHInc]

I think it's just he's lost in Paul Heyman's feud with CM Punk also with the addition of Ryback and Big E Langston he just looks out of place.

So unless he splits from the shadow of Paul Heyman and Ryback and starts defending the Intercontinental Championship i think he'll just be a forgettable member of the Heyman guys.

 

[Slash-LN]

It seems like a lot of people here don't like him. I can understand that because he hasn't done anything outstanding so far in his career.

I said in another thread that I was a fan of Hennig and I want to like Curtis. I liked the Foreign Exchange stuff with Santino where Santino was trying to touch his beard. It was fun.

I don't have the hate for the guy that a lot of people seem to have. He has a big shadow over him. His dad was one of the great wrestlers that people like me grew up watching. That sucks for him because people expect him to be what his dad was.

He seems like a nice enough guy and I don't hate him but I do get that there's nothing remarkably special about him either. He's just kind of there.

Overall I do like him. I hope he succeeds but it's not because I think he has hidden talent that people don't see.

 

[The Eighties]

I think he's pretty good in the ring, I've enjoyed most of his matches, but so far there has been little to no spark from him as far as personality goes, he's the kind of wrestler that gets referred to as a good hand rather than a star IMO.

I think it's worth persevering with him due to his ring talent but he might be best put in a tag team with someone who has charisma but maybe lacks ability inside the ring, that type of combo could unearth some personality in the way Kazarian did when he and Daniels became a duo in TNA.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I'm a fan of Curtis Axel now. He's good in the ring and I think once he develops more personality and mic skills and what not he can be a major player in the future. Idk to me he seems to have "it" but he just hasn't tapped in to it yet but once he does he's gonna be big...I hope I'm right about the guy because who doesn't want more future stars.

 

[eazup]

i think hes a guy who was put too high on the card way too fast. it seems strange that with all the other 2nd and 3rd generation guys that've been forgotten on the card, that he would be so esteemed .his ringwork is a little above average, but he has ZERO personality on the mic and not alot in the ring. and he completely lacks a gimmick to build on.

this just makes no sense to me. which, to be fair, is on par witht he WWE recently

Axel can definitely be something down the road, but i would draft him no higher than Wade Barrett or Cody Rhodes, and i would rather put over Sandow or Ziggler (what happened there, by the way??)

and toward that point, they are dragging down Heyman by attaching Axel and Ryback (midcard guys faking it til they make it) and Lesnar as a less-than-part-time guy , which, by extension, is weakening Punk with a feud against guys i just dont believe would be manhandling him so much.

 

[SkyCommanderWinky]

I don't see anything wrong with him at his end. On the WWE's end, it seems everything they do with him is an afterthought. His was an afterthought when he fought against Triple H because he was essentially just a stand in for Brock. He was an afterthought in Punk vs Heyman. WWE forgot to put him in a match at Night Of Champions where he could defend his IC Championship and booked him to face Kofi last minute *cough*afterthought*cough*. His match with R Truth at Battleground was an afterthought. His current feud with Big E is an afterthought.

I think sticking him with Heyman right when he debuted has hindered him more than it has helped him. He never got a chance to establish a character for himself. Brock, CM Punk and Ryback were all well established before becoming "Heyman Guys". Heyman needs to shut up more and let Axel develop a character.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Axel's biggest problem, in my eyes, is that he's been the third wheel in the Punk/Heyman program. I knew that Axel would be overshadowed in this angle if he was a part of it or that he'd ultimately be CM Punk's whipping boy if it was a singles feud. Unfortunately, it's what frequently happens these days when a mid-card champion feuds with a main event level talent whether that talent is champion at the time or not.

With that being said, I've got no real problems with Axel. I think he's been a solid heel, mid-card champion who puts on entertaining matches. I honestly do think things could improve for him once his involvement in this feud with Punk is finished. I don't see Axel as a main eventer, but that's fine in my eyes.

It's pretty much a common IWC that someone's no good or has a lousy career if they don't wind up as a main eventer for whatever reason. Another such philosophy involves the constant comparison to beloved stars of the past, particularly those they themselves grew up watching. If they feel the guy doesn't measure up to the warm & squishy feelings generated by their childhood greats, he'll often be labeled as a failure. As with so many other well known POVs of internet fans, they're unrealistic and pretty closed minded because, contrary to popular internet belief, not every mid-card champion goes to be a main eventer. Also, every mid-card champ won't be thought of as one of the "all time greats." It's true that guys like Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam & Stone Cold Steve Austin held the title and either made it to bigger things or should have made it to bigger things. There's the other side of that coin, however, when consider other former IC champs like Don Muraco, Tito Santana, Greg The Hammer Valentine, The Mountie, Marty Jannetty, Ahmed Johnson, Ken Shamrock, Val Venis, Carlito, D'Lo Brown and Umaga. Some of those guys still had respectable careers even if they didn't make it to that main event level.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

So the theme of your gimmick thread is...to explain why you should care about a certain WWE Superstar? Well, the honest answer is, if he hasn't gotten himself over in your eyes, there's nothing I can say to change your mind. I mean sure, he's a pretty decent wrestler. Sure, he's worked some great matches in recent months and carried the title well despite being under-booked in comparison to Dean Ambrose and the US title. And sure, he's playing second fiddle to Ryback in the Heyman camp, but still doing his part extremely well.

I like Axel. I like Axel with Paul Heyman, more importantly - he doesn't have to talk, and I'm fine with that. He's a decent wrestler that pulls out not terrible performances from people like The Miz, who I often don't care about at all. And he's got Heyman, which makes him much more interesting immediately. But if the character isn't working for you, it's not working for you. I'm not gonna just talk about his positives, and suddenly you'll fall in love with him. Keep an open mind, think for yourself, and if you don't like him, you don't like him. Fortunately, you're not required to be in love with everyone with the WWE tries to put over.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Axel's biggest problem isn't being a 3rd wheel it's just that people are intent on doing him down. Not everyone is gonna be the main event, not everyone needs to be. They need strong, talented guys to make those who do get over to that top level look like gods... Curt Hennig was one of those guys and his son has learned from the best in that respect. He may never get that run his dad missed but he is a valuable member of the roster...not the most important or maybe even in the top 10... but he is in the mix and far further along in his career than his father and grandfather were at the same point... that alone deserves credit.

 

[Jdulemba1001]

1-2-3 Killam, dont be too sure. The point of my thread is to find out if theres something out there that I just dont see. People on the thread in the past have made some solid points. Im not stubborn, if someone noticed something that I havent then im open to that. Axel hasnt done it for me yet, but I hope he does.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Axel's biggest problem, in my eyes, is that he's been the third wheel in the Punk/Heyman program.

It's true; if they didn't need a raw talent for Paul Heyman to mold .....someone who could do his bidding and try to take down Punk....it's debatable whether Axel would have emerged from the lost souls who were banished to Never Never Land the past few years.

Yes, a bunch of people on this forum find Axel to be a fabulous ring worker, but if he's so great, why was he buried for so long? Plainly, WWE needs to build new stars and the idea of taking them from their own stock of performers is a good one. Still, when John Cena first joined the company, there was no keeping him down in Purgatory, was there? It was evident Cena needed to be featured immediately upon arrival in the big time. Curtis Axel had been tried and trained, failing to make any type of impact when they featured him earlier in his WWE tenure. What suddenly made him so irresistible?

I admit to mixed feelings about him because tomorrow's stars have to come from somewhere, and the notion of using the people already employed by WWE instead of hiring new ones does have appeal.

Still, taking Curtis Axel and giving him victories over John Cena and Triple H right off the bat..... then installing him as Intercontinental Champion soon after he arrives, goes against the grain.

 

[MCMG]

Curtis Axel definitely has potential. I think he is very good in the ring and that shows. The problem is that he has been secondary to Punk/Heyman. That is unfortunate but his time will come. The next few weeks could be significant for him. I think he has to drop the IC title and progress with his career. Option one is to drop the belt and move on as a heel, with Heyman, and challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship. The other option is to move away from Heyman (heel or face) and see where that takes him. I'm definitely in favour of the former but he needs a change.

Essentially, he is a very talented individual with a fantastic manager. He could be move beyond being a mid-carder but that will take time.

 

[#MrScissorsKick]

Didn't read any above posters so I'm commenting on this. I used to be a hater of Curtis Axel. I didn't think the guy was any good. I thought it was one of WWE's tricks of randomly throwing guys out on the scene for us to care about. Axel has impressed me greatly, and although he rarely defends his title unless it's at a PPV, he's been one of the better booked Intercontinental Champions that the WWE has had in quite some time. I asked KB why Axel sucks on the mic. KB said it was because Axel hasn't had a chance to speak. Think about it. It's all Heyman. I don't think that Axel will be with Heyman forever which gives Curtis Axel some freshening up to cut some promos on his own. He's learned from CM Punk and Paul Heyman. Those are two of the best mic workers that the WWE has had. Hopefully in the near future, Axel can add some mic work to his character. Anyways, I went to the SmackDown taping on September 24th and on Main Event he had a match (I believe it was with Justin Gabriel, don't quote me on that) and I was amazed at what this guy could do. I'm slowly becoming a Curtis Axel fan because of his solid ring work. IT helps that he has a solid look going for him along with his heritage of being a 3rd generation wrestler. I think Axel has a lot going for him and has quite the future ahead of him. I know the IWC will hate this but I don't really care, I believe Axel, right now, has a better future ahead of him than the Shield. Like it or not, Axel is the 3rd highest champion in the WWE. He has shoes to fill in order to climb the ladder and get to that Main Event picture. Yet if anyone has been groomed and seasoned to get there, Curtis Axel is the guy to look for in the very near future. I think bright things are certainly ahead of Mr. Curtis Axel.

 

[Jaffa]

Curtis Axel is so great in the ring you all just underapprcriate him wa wa wa wa wa wa wa. Curtis Axel is just a heel version of Tyson Kidd reasonably good in the ring not the best by some distance. But can either of you remember anything interesting exciting their character has said or done in the time since they have debuted. This is what separates guys like Axel from guys like Jericho, I'd say Jericho was a bit better in the ring than Axel but that's not why Jericho is a star, it's because he is actually enjoyable unlike Axel. You could argue but hey it's because of this Punk/Heyman feud going on that's why he isn't able to shine. He wasn't able to shine in NXT, Nexus or any other opportunity he has been given.