JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When your legacy is perfection, success is natural. That was reality for Joe Hennig or as wrestling fans knew him better: Curtis Axel.
The son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig and the grandson of Larry “The Axe” Hennig, it wasn’t a surprise when Joe Hennig first arrived in the squared circle.
To fans nationally it happened around 2010 when he joined the WWE “Nexus” stable. It was the hottest heel stable at the time in the company, filled with “bad guys” looking to dethrone the veteran WWE heroes.
With perfect genetics (get it) it was no surprise he was a success in the global company where his dad was argued to be the greatest pure wrestler of his era if not all time.
But Joe’s journey into wrestling wasn’t as guaranteed as you might think. It tangentially involved another famous wrestler who grew up in the wrestling world, Randy Orton.
“So, when I was younger, my father said ‘I don’t want you to do this. I want you to find something else,' but as I got older like high school age, he started working with Randy Orton,” said Hennig. “Was like ‘Hey are you still interested?’ And I said yes, and I was like really starting to get into it.”
At that point, it was roughly 1996 when Hennig was becoming an adult and his dad was back in WCW.
“I’m getting bigger. I was always kind of small when I was in school, then I started getting bigger,” he said.
One of the men instrumental in his training was Brad Rheingans, the former Minnesota Olympian who trained ring greats such as Curt Hennig, Big Van Vader and Brock Lesnar.
But Joe’s journey to training hit a tragic roadblock in February 2003 when Curt Hennig passed away. Eventually, it was Rheingans who sought him out.
“Eventually, Brad contacted me. I went there. Eventually, I went to Harley Race’s school in Missouri,” Joe Hennig said.
Then when he finally arrived in WWE, he took on a name he wasn’t a fan of: Michael McGillicutty. If you’ve forgotten that name, there’s probably a reason.
“First of all, I would do anything it took to get rid of Michael McGillicutty,” he said. “Curtis Axel was something me and Paul Heyman kind of played with. We wanted to be called Curtis Mayhem, not Curtis Axel. Vince (McMahon) went with Curtis Axel.”
Curtis was like his dad, Curt, and Axel was like his grandfather, “The Axe.”
When Hennig finally started with Nexus, he did it alongside another revered wrestler, the late Wyndham Rotunda, who eventually became Bray Wyatt. (Going Ringside previously spoke with the mother of Rotunda’s children JoJo Offerman here.)
“That was cool man. We didn’t know what we were doing. The next show they’re saying, ‘You guys are going to be new members of the Nexus,’” said Joe Hennig.
Following that Joe spent several years with WWE, until eventually leaving the company in 2022. Since then, he said, he’s been busy with his children but indicated a wrestling return may be in the not-too-distant future.
“Getting the itch again. And I’ve actually been training in the ring taking a few bumps, so I’m slowly inching my way to make a return,” Joe Hennig said.
Also, wrestling broadcaster McKenzie Mitchell appears on this episode. Click here to read more.