Curtis axel

**Joseph Curtis "Joe" Hennig**[4] (born October 1, 1979)[1] is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name **Curtis Axel**. Hennig debuted in WWE in 2010, joining The Nexus under the ring name **Michael McGillicutty**. He had previously wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was part of the second season of *WWE NXT*. In 2011, Hennig won the WWE Tag Team Championship with David Otunga as a member of The New Nexus.[6] In May 2013, Hennig reignited his career under his current ring name Curtis Axel, paying tribute to his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig and his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

## Professional wrestling career

### World League Wrestling (2007–2008)

Hennig made his professional debut on July 13, 2007 in Waterloo, Iowa for World League Wrestling (WLW), teaming with Ted DiBiase, Jr. to defeat Dinn T. Moore and Branden Tatum by disqualification.[4][2] Hennig later went on a nine-month winning streak in WLW before suffering his first singles loss to "Wild" Wade Chism.[2]

### World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

#### Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2010)

Hennig as one half of the FCW Florida Tag Team Champions in 2010.

On March 31, 2007, Hennig along with his mother, siblings, and his
grandfather represented his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig at the 2007
 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony by accepting the award on his behalf. On the October 26, 2007 episode of *SmackDown*, Hennig teamed with Steve Fender in a loss to Jesse and Festus.[7]

Hennig signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On September 11, 2008, Hennig and Sebastian Slater defeated Nic Nemeth and Gavin Spears to win the Florida Tag Team Championship.[4] On October 30, Hennig and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson).[8]

On November 20, Hennig challenged Sheamus O'Shaunessy for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship,
 but the match ended in a double disqualification. A rematch was made,
but Hennig was again disqualified. Hennig had another chance to win the
title on December 11 when he participated in a fatal four-way match for the championship, but Eric Escobar
 won the match and the title in the process. Hennig defeated Escobar on
February 26 at a television taping and won the FCW Florida Heavyweight
Championship.[9]
 On the April 5, 2009 episode of FCW it was announced that Hennig had
suffered a serious injury and therefore he had surrendered the Florida
Heavyweight Championship.[*citation needed*]

After recovering, Hennig made his return to FCW in late June.[10] Soon afterwards, he formed a tag team with Brett DiBiase known as The Fortunate Sons. On January 14, 2010, The Sons won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters.[11] On March 13, The Fortunate Sons lost the championship to The Uso Brothers (Jimmy and Jules).[12]
 At the April 8 FCW television tapings, Hennig blamed DiBiase for the
loss, and in a match at the tapings, the two fought to a double
disqualification.[13] At an FCW event on April 29, DiBiase faced Hennig again, but suffered a knee injury during the match, ending their feud.[14][15] On July 15 Hennig, now using the name Michael McGillicutty, teamed with Kaval to win the tag team titles for the fourth time from *Los Aviadores* (Hunico and Epico).[16] The following day, on July 16, *Los Aviadores* regained the championship.[17]

#### NXT and The Nexus (2010–2011)

Main article: The Nexus

Hennig took part in the second season of *NXT*, using the ring name Michael McGillicutty, with Kofi Kingston as his pro.[3] He made his *NXT* debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match.[18] He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of *NXT*, teaming with Kingston in a tag team match, where they defeated Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon.[19] In the first poll on June 29, McGillicutty was ranked third, behind Kaval and Percy Watson.[20] On the July 20 episode of *NXT*, McGillicutty earned immunity from elimination in the next poll by completing an obstacle course in the fastest time.[21][22] On the following episode of *NXT*, he moved up to first place in the second poll.[23] After six consecutive victories, McGillicutty suffered his first loss on the August 3 episode of *NXT*, when he was defeated by pro The Miz.[24] On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on *Raw*, in which McGillicutty teamed with Husky Harris and Alex Riley to defeat Lucky Cannon, Kaval and Percy Watson.[25] The following night on *NXT*,

```
his team lost a rematch when McGillicutty was pinned by Kaval. In the

```

next poll later that night, McGillicutty relinquished the first place
ranking back to Kaval, slipping to second place.[26]
 In the season finale on August 31, McGillicutty ended the competition
in second place, being beaten by Kaval. At the end of the show,
McGillicutty turned heel by attacking Kaval with the other eliminated rookies.[27]

In October 2010, at Hell in a Cell, McGillicutty and Husky Harris disguised themselves as fans and interfered during the match between John Cena and Wade Barrett. This allowed Barrett to pin Cena and win the match, forcing Cena to join The Nexus per the pre-match stipulation.[28] McGillicutty's and Harris' identities were revealed on the following day's episode of *Raw*, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full-time members of The Nexus.[29]
 The following week, McGillicutty and Harris interfered in a match
between Cena and The Miz, costing Cena the match and prompting Barrett
to give them the opportunity to win membership in The Nexus.[30] On the October 18 episode of *Raw*, McGillicutty and Harris were unable to earn a place in The Nexus when they lost to Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match.[31] Despite this, Barrett confirmed both he and Harris were members on the October 25 episode of *Raw*.[32]

McGillicutty as part of the Nexus in December 2010, at the *Tribute to the Troops* event.

McGillicutty (looking over the shoulder of CM Punk) as part of the New Nexus.

In January 2011 CM Punk
 took over The Nexus and had each of its members put through an
initiation. McGillicutty passed his initiation, a beatdown from the rest
 of the group, and was allowed to remain a member of Nexus, alongside
Punk, Harris and Otunga.[33] The following month, Punk was announced as the WrestleMania XXVII

```
opponent for Randy Orton, and as a result, each member of The Nexus was
scheduled to face Orton in the month prior to WrestleMania.

```

McGillicutty faced and lost to Orton on the February 28 episode of *Raw*, and after the match Orton punted McGillicutty in the head.[34]
 The angle was used to write McGillicutty off television as he was
scheduled to be sent back to Florida Championship Wrestling to be
repackaged.[35] Despite this, McGillicutty returned on the April 11 episode of *Raw* with the other New Nexus members, preventing Orton from earning a WWE Championship match.[36][37]

On the May 23 episode of *Raw*, McGillicutty teamed with fellow Nexus member David Otunga

```
to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Kane and The Big Show with

```

the help interference from fellow New Nexus members Ryan and Punk.[38][39] They made their only successful title defense against The Usos on the July 29 edition of *SmackDown*.[40] After CM Punk left the New Nexus when his WWE contract expired on July 17, Otunga and McGillicutty competed against Santino Marella and Zack Ryder on the August 1 edition of *Raw*
 without any Nexus gear or armbands, and with all Nexus logos removed
from their TitanTron, effectively signaling the end of the New Nexus.[41][42] On the August 22 episode of *Raw*, Otunga and McGillicutty lost the Tag Team Championship to Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne).[43] After a minor feud with Jerry Lawler, the duo parted ways.

#### Return to NXT (2011–2012)

After his dissociation with Otunga, McGillicutty from late 2011 to mid-2013 would largely be confined to wrestling on the *WWE Superstars* and *WWE NXT* shows.[44][45][46] On the October 20 episode of *Superstars*, McGillicutty and Drew McIntyre lost a non-title match to the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne).[47] In late 2011, McGillicutty and Alex Riley had a series of matches on *Superstars* which Riley won 2-1.[44] On the February 23, 2012 episode of *Superstars*, McGillicutty defeated Riley,[48]
 which would be his last televised win on a non-NXT show until he was
repackaged as Curtis Axel in May 2013, resulting in McGillicutty losing
more than twenty non-NXT matches in a row, mostly on *Superstars* but also on *WWE Main Event and WWE Saturday Morning Slam.[45][46][49]*

Meanwhile, McGillicutty made his return to NXT, appearing from January 2012 on the fifth season *NXT Redemption*, but not as a Rookie.[50] In late February 2012, McGillicutty mocked Tyson Kidd's lack of wrestling heritage, starting a feud on *NXT Redemption*.[51] McGillicutty then beat Kidd on the February 29 episode of *NXT Redemption*.[52] McGillicutty continued to insult Kidd by claiming that Kidd would never be a true 'Hart',[53] and Kidd received a rematch on the March 21 edition of *NXT Redemption*, where he defeated McGillicutty.[54] Kidd and McGillicutty faced off in a third match on the April 11 episode of *NXT*, resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGillicutty.[55] McGillicutty then formed an occasional team with Johnny Curtis for the rest of 2012.[45] On the final episode of the fifth season of *NXT* on June 13, Curtis and McGillicutty lost to the Usos.[56]

After the conclusion of *NXT Redemption*, NXT transitioned into the renamed Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory.[57] McGillicutty continued appearing on the rebooted *WWE NXT*, losing to rival Tyson Kidd on the first episode on June 20.[58] McGillicutty then pinned Kidd in a six-man tag match on the July 4 episode.[59] Two weeks later, McGillicutty's and his occasional partner Johnny Curtis defeated Bo Dallas and Derrick Bateman.[60] On the August 8 episode of *NXT*, McGillicutty was inserted into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first NXT Champion, where he defeated Justin Gabriel in the quarter-finals.[61] However, McGillicutty was eliminated in the semi-finals on August 15 when he lost to eventual tournament winner Seth Rollins.[62][63] On the next episode, Kidd heaped more misery on McGillicutty as he and Gabriel defeated Curtis and McGillicutty,[64] but on the September 12 episode of *NXT*, McGillicutty gained revenge by defeating Kidd to become the #1 contender to the NXT Championship.[65] On the October 10 episode of *NXT*, McGillicutty lost the title match to champion Seth Rollins.[66] Then on the November 28 episode of *NXT*, Curtis finally cashed in his promised tag title shot from winning season four of *NXT* with McGillicutty as his partner against Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan), but Team Hell No won the match.[67]

In 2013, McGillicutty turned face (but only within NXT)[68] after saving Bo Dallas from a beating at the hands of Primo and Epico.[69] On the next episode, Primo and Epico defeated Dallas and McGillicutty,[70] though Dallas and McGillicutty would gain revenge when they defeated Primo and Epico in the first round of the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament to crown the inaugural champions on the January 30 episode of *NXT*.[71] On the February 6 episode of *NXT*, Dallas and McGillicutty were eliminated in the semi-finals when they lost to the Wyatt Family (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan).[72]

#### Paul Heyman Guy; Intercontinental Champion (2012–2013)

On the May 20, 2013, episode of *Raw*, Hennig was repackaged under the ring name Curtis Axel, with Paul Heyman as his new manager. The name is a derivative of his father's first name, Curt, and his grandfather Larry's nickname "The Axe". Later that night, Axel wrestled Triple H

```
in his re-debut match, which ended with a victory for Axel via knockout
after Triple H suffered concussion-like symptoms and collapsed outside

```

the ring.[73] On the May 24 edition of *SmackDown*, Axel defeated Sin Cara.[74] Over the next two weeks on *Raw*, Axel scored back-to-back non-title count-out wins over WWE Champion John Cena due to distractions and an interference by Ryback.[75][76] Axel defeated Chris Jericho

```
with a roll-up after Jericho was distracted by CM Punk's music playing,
but was attacked by him following the victory on the June 7 *SmackDown*.[77] Three days later on *Raw*,
Axel defeated Triple H twice in one night when during their first match
of the night Vince McMahon appeared and ended the match with Triple H

```

losing by disqualification. Moments after, however, Triple H demanded
the match be restarted, but - like the first time - McMahon came back
and ended the match with a Triple H forfeit, despite Triple H having no
such intentions.[78] On June 16 at Payback,

```
Axel defeated Wade Barrett and The Miz in a triple threat match to win

```

the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title in WWE.
Axel's win saw him join his father "Mr Perfect" as the only father-son
pair to have won the WWE Intercontinental Championship.[79] Axel made his first televised title defense on the following episode of *SmackDown*, defeating Barrett in a rematch.[80] On the June 24 *Raw*, Axel saved Paul Heyman's former client CM Punk from an assault by the Prime Time Players, at the request of Heyman and to the dismay of Punk.[81] This led to a tag team match the following week on *Raw*, where Axel won the match the for his team after he tagged himself in following Punk delivering the *Go To Sleep* on Darren Young and pinned him for the victory.[82] Axel suffered his first loss since becoming Heyman's client on the July 8 episode of *Raw*, when he was pinned by Chris Jericho in a non-title match.[83] Six days later at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Axel defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship.[84] Axel made another title defense on the following episode of *SmackDown*, defeating Chris Jericho.[85]

Axel then feuded with CM Punk alongside Paul Heyman. Axel was set to
team with Heyman in an elimination handicap match against Punk at Night of Champions.
 During the pay-per-view, Heyman begged Triple H to cancel the match,
but Triple H refused, not only confirming the match, but making Axel
defend his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston, who had
beaten him twice. Axel would defeat Kingston and retain the title, but
he would be eliminated by Punk later in the night, leaving Heyman alone
to fight Punk by himself. Ryback would then later interfere in the match
 by slamming Punk through a table. On the September 30 episode of *Raw* he was defeated by R-Truth in a non-title match, which gave him a title match at Battleground. On October 6 at Battleground he would defeat R-Truth and successfully retained the Intercontinental Championship. The next night on *Raw*
 Axel teamed up with Ryback to face R-Truth and CM Punk. R-Truth picked
up the victory for his team, pinning Axel. On the October 11 *SmackDown* Axel once again retained the Intercontinental Championship against R-Truth. At Hell in a Cell, Axel was scheduled to defend his title against Big E Langston, however the match was cancelled due to Curtis' legitimate hip injury.[86] The match was rescheduled for the November 18 episode of *Raw*, where Axel would lose the title to Langston, ending his reign at 155 days. At Survivor Series, Axel would challenge Langston to a rematch in a losing effort.

#### RybAxel (2013–2014)

Both Paul Heyman Guys, Axel (left) and Ryback became a tag team in October 2013.

On the October 7 episode of *Raw*, Axel and Ryback formed as a team, after they both ended their alliance with Paul Heyman. That same night, they were defeated by CM Punk and R-Truth. They would then begin to go under the name, **RybAxel**. On the December 6 episode of *SmackDown*, RybAxel would defeat Goldust and Cody Rhodes in a non-title match, earning themselves a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs,

```
RybAxel would compete in a Fatal Four Way tag team elimination match

```

for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they were the first team
eliminated by Goldust and Rhodes. At Elimination Chamber, RybAxel were accompanied to the ring by Axel's grandfather, Larry Hennig, in a losing effort against Goldust and Rhodes. On the March 28, 2014 episode of *SmackDown*, RybAxel, along with other tag teams, attacked The Shield under orders from Kane and were rewarded with a WWE Tag Team Championship shot on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show which they lost. On the April 14 episode of *Raw*, along with nine other superstars, they would attack The Shield again under orders from Triple H. On the April 28 episode of *Raw*, RybAxel would challenge The Usos

```
for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. RybAxel would

```

continue their short feud with Goldust and Rhodes from earlier in the
year at Payback, which RybAxel won, before losing the rematch at Money in the Bank. Shortly after, Ryback took time off for surgery, leaving Axel to compete by himself. At Battleground, Axel competed in a 19-man battle royal for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship which was won by The Miz. On the November 6 episode of *Superstars*,

```
Ryback, after returning from injury, would tell Axel that he needs to

```

focus on his singles career, officially ending the team. On the November

```
28 episode of *SmackDown*, Axel competed in a 20-man Battle Royal for the WWE United States Championship in a losing effort.

```

#### Royal Rumble controversy (2015–present)

On the December 18 episode of *NXT*, Axel would approach NXT General Manager William Regal,

```
telling him that he "wants in", with Regal insuring Axel that he may

```

have a spot for him in the future. On the January 8, 2015 episode of *NXT*, Axel would get his opportunity, in a losing effort against Hideo Itami.[87]

At Royal Rumble, Axel was set to enter the Rumble match at #6, but was attacked by Erick Rowan
 on the entrance ramp and was unable to compete. However, he did not
officially lose his second Rumble appearance, having entered in 2011
under Michael McGillicutty.[88] Axel then referred to himself as "the true winner of the Royal Rumble" and trended on Twitter causing staff to tweet[89] and vlog[90] about a possible Rumble redemption.[91]

Axel received supportive tweets from former WWE Superstars Lance Storm[92] and Tommy Dreamer[93] and then later from current WWE Superstars Xavier Woods,[94] Zack Ryder[95] and David Otunga, the latter offering his legal services.[96]

On the February 2 episode of *Raw* when Axel voiced his complaints, he was assaulted by Dean Ambrose

```
who threw Axel over the top rope declaring "now you're eliminated".

```

Afterward in an interview Axel protested that he still wasn't eliminated

```
from the Royal Rumble match, and that he still deserved a shot at Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[97] WWE would later report that he does have grounds to demand a title match at WrestleMania,[98] as going over the top rope is the only way by the rules to be officially eliminated.[99][100]

```

## Personal life

Hennig is a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig and his father Curt Hennig were both professional wrestlers.[10][101] His sister Amy is also a professional wrestler.[4] He has two other siblings who are not wrestlers.[102] Hennig and his wife had a son, Brock, in June 2009.[10] He enjoys ice fishing[103] and fantasy football. He won *WWE Magazine* '​s Fantasy Football League for the 2011 NFL season.[104]

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ **As Curtis Axel**
		- *Axehole*[105] (Hangman's facebuster)[106]
		- *Perfect-Plex* (Bridging fisherman suplex)[107] – adopted from his father
		- *Turning Heads* (Running one-armed swinging neckbreaker)[108][109] – early 2013
	+ **As Joe Hennig**
		- *Hennig-Plex* (Bridging fisherman suplex)[110] – adopted from his father
	+ **As Michael McGillicutty**
		- *McGillicutter*[111][112] (Running one-armed swinging neckbreaker)[113][114]

* **Signature moves**
	+ Backbreaker[109][115]
	+ Belly to back suplex[110][116][117]
	+ Diving pointed elbow drop[118]
	+ Diving crossbody[119]
	+ Dropkick[110]
	+ Feint clothesline transitioned into a clothesline to the back of the opponent's head[109][115]
	+ Rolling neck snap,[120] sometimes from the second rope[121] – adopted from his father
	+ Running knee smash to a bent over opponent[122]
	+ Saito suplex[123]
	+ Sliding clothesline[119]

* **With David Otunga**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- Backbreaker hold / Diving elbow drop combination[124]
	+ **Double team signature moves**
		- Inverted atomic drop (Otunga) / Dropkick (McGillicutty) combination[124]
		- Running back elbow (McGillicutty) / Body avalanche (Otunga) combination to a cornered opponent[124]

* **Managers**
	+ Paul Heyman[3]
	+ Larry Hennig

* **Nicknames**
	+ "**The Axe Man**"
	+ "Paul Heyman Guy"

* **Entrance themes**
	+ "We Are One" by 12 Stones[125] (October 3, 2010 – July 21, 2011; Used while a part of The Nexus)
	+ "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage[126] (December 27, 2010 – August 22, 2011; Used while a part of The New Nexus)
	+ "Death Blow" from VideoHelper Production Library[127] (July 22, 2011 - August 22, 2011; Used while teaming with David Otunga)
	+ "All About the Power" performed by S-Preme and composed by Jim Johnston[128] (July 29, 2011 – August 22, 2011; Used while teaming with David Otunga)
	+ "And the Horse He Rode in On" by Reluctant Hero[129] (October 6, 2011 – May 16, 2013)
	+ **"Reborn"** by CFO$[130] (May 20, 2013–present)
	+ "Meat On the Perfect Table" by Jim Johnston[131] (March 31, 2014 – August 26, 2014; used while teaming with Ryback)

## Championships and accomplishments

Axel as the WWE Intercontinental Champion in 2013.

* **Florida Championship Wrestling**
	+ FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
	+ FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Gabe Tuft (1), Heath Miller (1), Brett DiBiase (1)[11] and Kaval (1)[11]

* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI Rookie of the Year (2008)[132]
	+ PWI Feud of the Year (2010) The Nexus vs. WWE[133]
	+ PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) as part of The Nexus[134]
	+ PWI ranked him #**47** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013[135]

* **World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE**
	+ WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)[136]
	+ WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with David Otunga[