Axel’s Debut Greases a Squeaky Wheel

Curtis Axel- the new Paul Heyman guy?

Really?

The kid happens to be a third generation performer, with a good look and a competent skill set, but the new Heyman guy?

He could be, but not the way the WWE develops talent today. In this all or nothing style WWE creative tends to have with a performer today, it’s hard to let a superstar find a “sweet spot.” Performers the likes of Mark Henry and CM Punk took years to develop their characters and went through stages of ineffectiveness, hardship and regret, to only develop into the stars they are today. Have the new breed of WWE stars, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, even Sheamus gone through any similar trials and tribulations?

In the WWE, it’s either you’re hot or you’re not. The middle ground is Kofi Kingston, who gets put in matches every week and even in a loss, he gets to go through his signature offense. Antonio Cesaro is in a similar spot. He went from being a champion to essentially a jobber, despite the fact that he’s one of the best workers in the company. Ted DiBiase just disappeared. Tensai went from a wrecking machine to a dancing queen. What ever happened to a guy working up the ladder and establishing a reputation before a real title shot?

This is the real problem. Not Axel. Not Ziggler, not even a guy like Brodus Clay. The WWE has forgotten how to successfully develop talent. The fact that Ryback is even in the title picture presents a huge problem. The fact that his angle with Mark Henry never picked up steam only proves it. Even though they fed him a heart helping of scrubs for months, Ryback never beat a real worker; he never had to struggle. Everything was given to him.

With a three-hour show, the WWE has a serious opportunity to develop and fine-tune the undercard, instead of shooting these guys through to the main event. Because in the end, the result is someone like Ryback, whom the company wants fans to take seriously, but they ultimately don’t. Like a character in a soap opera, fans need to find reasons to become emotionally invested, over time.

Regardless of the how they win, stars need to connect with fans, through intriguing promo and angles, as well as convincing performances in the ring. Ryback hasn’t done that yet. But he isn’t Axel. He hasn’t been touted as Paul Heyman’s new guy. While Axel has ability, a match with Triple H in his “debut” sets the bar unusually high. There’s no margin for error. The fact that Triple H slapped him around and their match didn’t end, why should anyone take him seriously?

Wouldn’t it be better for Axel to feed on the same guys fighting for a spot before he fights Triple H? And why Triple H? He wouldn’t put Sheamus over, why Axel? In the end, it’s just another attempt to make someone capable of filling time and not someone who could steal our imagination. Sad too, considering that Axel, with the right creative decisions, could be just as solid a performer as his forefathers.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14267 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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