Curtis Axel
Joseph Curtis Hennig is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2007 to 2020, where he performed under the ring names Curtis Axel and Michael McGillicutty.
Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and performed under his real name, stylized as Joe Hennig, at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and was a one-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion and four-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion. In 2010, after he competed on NXT under the ring name Michael McGillicutty, he debuted on WWE's main roster as part of The Nexus. He then won the WWE Tag Team Championship with David Otunga once. In 2013, he reignited his career under the Curtis Axel ring name, paying tribute to his father Curt Hennig and his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship once. He then won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Bo Dallas as part of The B-Team. His tenure with the company ended in April 2020. He returned in April 2022 as a producer for three months.
Early life
Joseph Curtis Hennig was born on October 1, 1979, in Champlin, Minnesota, the son of Leonice Hennig and professional wrestler "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. He is the grandson of professional wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig. He has a younger brother named Hank, and two younger sisters named Katie and Amy, who is also a professional wrestler. He graduated from North Hennepin Community College with an Associates of Science degree in business computer systems and management.Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2007–2008)
Hennig trained under Brad Rheingans, Harley Race, and his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. He made his professional wrestling debut on July 13, 2007, in Waterloo, Iowa, for World League Wrestling, teaming with Ted DiBiase Jr. to defeat Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore by disqualification. Hennig later went on a nine-month winning streak in WLW, before suffering his first singles loss to Wade Chism.World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
Developmental territories (2007–2010)
On March 31, 2007, Hennig, along with his family, represented his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig at the 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.Hennig then signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. On September 11, 2008, Hennig and Sebastian Slater defeated Nic Nemeth and Gavin Spears to win the Florida Tag Team Championship. On October 30, Hennig and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to The New Hart Foundation. On November 20, Hennig challenged Sheamus O'Shaunessy for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship, but the match ended in a double disqualification, and 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. On February 26, 2009, Hennig defeated Escobar to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. On April 5, it was announced that Hennig had suffered a serious injury and therefore he had surrendered the Florida Heavyweight Championship. Hennig returned from injury and formed a tag team with Brett DiBiase, known as The Fortunate Sons. On January 14, 2010, The Fortunate Sons won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters. On March 13, The Fortunate Sons lost the championship to The Uso Brothers. On April 8, Hennig blamed DiBiase for the loss, and the two fought in a match to a double disqualification. At an FCW event on April 29, Hennig faced DiBiase, but DiBiase suffered a knee injury during the match, ending their storyline. On July 15, now using the ring name Michael McGillicutty, teamed with Kaval to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship from Los Aviadores, becoming a four-time tag team champion. The following day, they dropped the championships back to Los Aviadores.
McGillicutty then took part in the second season of NXT, with Kofi Kingston as his pro. He made his NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of NXT, teaming with Kingston to defeat Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon. In the first poll on June 29, McGillicutty was ranked third, behind Kaval and Percy Watson. 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. On the following episode of NXT, he moved up to first place in the second poll. After six consecutive victories, McGillicutty suffered his first loss on the August 3 episode of NXT, when he was defeated by pro The Miz. On the August 9 episode of Raw, the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match, in which McGillicutty teamed with Alex Riley and Husky Harris to defeat Kaval, Lucky Cannon, and Percy Watson. The following night on NXT, his team lost a rematch, when McGillicutty was pinned by Kaval, and in the next poll later that night, McGillicutty relinquished the first place ranking back to Kaval, slipping to second place. In the season finale on August 31, McGillicutty ended the competition in second place, being beaten by Kaval, and at the end of the show, McGillicutty attacked Kaval with the other eliminated rookies, turning heel in the process.
The Nexus (2010–2011)
On October 3, 2010, at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, a disguised McGillicutty and Husky Harris interfered in a match between John Cena and Wade Barrett, and helped Barrett win, forcing Cena to join The Nexus per the pre-match stipulation. On the following day's episode of Raw, McGillicutty and Harris' identities were revealed, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full-time members of The Nexus. The following week on Raw, McGillicutty and Harris cost Cena a match against The Miz, prompting Barrett to give them the opportunity to win membership in The Nexus. On the October 18 episode of Raw, McGillicutty and Harris failed to earn a place in The Nexus when they lost to Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match. On the following Raw, in spite of their loss, Harris and McGillicutty were inducted into The Nexus.In January 2011, CM Punk took over The Nexus and had each of its members put through an initiation, and 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 David Otunga. 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, with McGillicutty lost to Orton on the February 28 episode of Raw, and after the match Orton punted McGillicutty in the head. McGillicutty returned on the April 11 episode of Raw with the other Nexus members, preventing Orton from earning a WWE Championship match. On the May 23 episode of Raw, McGillicutty teamed with fellow Nexus member David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Big Show and Kane, with the help interference from fellow Nexus members Punk and Mason Ryan. On the July 29 episode of SmackDown, they made their only successful title defense against The Usos. After CM Punk left The Nexus when his WWE contract expired on July 17, McGillicutty and Otunga competed against Santino Marella and Zack Ryder on the August 1 episode of Raw without any Nexus gear or armbands, and with all Nexus logos removed from their TitanTron, effectively signaling the end of The Nexus. On the August 22 episode of Raw, McGillicutty and Otunga lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Air Boom, ending their reign at 91 days.
Return to NXT (2011–2013)
After his dissociation with Otunga, he would largely be confined to wrestling on Superstars and NXT from late 2011. On the October 20 episode of Superstars, McGillicutty and Drew McIntyre lost a non-title match to the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom. In late 2011, McGillicutty and Alex Riley had a series of matches on Superstars, which Riley won 2–1. On the February 23, 2012, episode of Superstars, McGillicutty defeated Riley, 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 Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam.McGillicutty made his return to NXT, appearing from January 2012 on the fifth season NXT Redemption, but not as a rookie. In February, McGillicutty mocked Tyson Kidd's lack of wrestling heritage, starting a feud on NXT Redemption. McGillicutty then beat Kidd on the February 29 episode of NXT Redemption. McGillicutty continued to insult Kidd by claiming that Kidd would never be a true 'Hart', and Kidd received a rematch on the March 21 episode of NXT Redemption, where he defeated McGillicutty. McGillicutty and Kidd faced off in a third match on the April 11 episode of NXT, resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGillicutty. McGillicutty then formed an occasional team with Johnny Curtis for the rest of 2012. On the final episode of the fifth season of NXT on June 13, McGillicutty and Curtis lost to The Usos.
After the conclusion of NXT Redemption, NXT transitioned into the renamed Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory. McGillicutty continued appearing on the rebooted NXT, losing to Tyson Kidd on the first episode on June 20. 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. McGillicutty was eliminated in the semi-finals on August 15, when he lost to eventual tournament winner Seth Rollins. On the next episode, Tyson Kidd heaped more misery on McGillicutty as he and Justin Gabriel defeated McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis, but on the September 12 episode of NXT, McGillicutty gained revenge by defeating Kidd to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship. On the October 10 episode of NXT, McGillicutty failed to win the NXT Championship from Seth Rollins. On the November 28 episode of NXT, Johnny Curtis cashed in his promised tag title shot from winning season four of NXT, with McGillicutty as his partner against Team Hell No, but Team Hell No won the match. On January 2, 2013, episode of NXT, McGillicutty turned face after saving Bo Dallas from a beating at the hands of Primo and Epico. On the next episode, Primo and Epico defeated McGillicutty and Dallas, though McGillicutty and Dallas 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. On the February 6 episode of NXT, McGillicutty and Dallas were eliminated in the semi-finals, when they lost to The Wyatt Family.