Major return on RAW; Triple H injured

Michael Mcgillicutty

It had been teased for several weeks via Twitter and Facebook that current WWE manager Paul Heyman was in the process of introducing a “third Paul Heyman guy” to his stable on TV. While he teased it for a long time, he never made any clear hints as to who the third man would be, keeping everyone in suspense. He also never mentioned when exactly he would reveal his new charge, which built up the suspense even more.

Well, the mystery is now over. Paul Heyman introduced his new charge tonight on RAW, and while certainly unexpected, there’s plenty of potential here.

Heyman revealed his third man as former WWE Tag Team Champion Michael McGillicutty, a wrestler who has not been seen on WWE television in nearly a year, plying his trade in NXT. In fact, he had been gone so long that many felt he was headed for the unemployment line. Well, not only is he getting another chance, he is being completely repackaged as well. Dropping what some have considered one of the worst wrestling names in history, McGillicutty is now going by the moniker “Curtis Axel”. This is a tribute to both his father and grandfather, his father being Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig and grandfather Larry “The Axe” Hennig.

While Axel has always had the ability, definitely inheriting some of his dad’s in-ring abilities, his mic skills have been a major weakness. Fortunately, this pairing with Heyman will help a lot. Heyman not only has a knack for hiding the weaknesses of wrestlers while accentuating their strengths, he is an excellent mouthpiece. Heyman has been one of the best managers in a speaking sense for over twenty years, and spending time around him is only going to help Axel get more comfortable on the mic.

Thanks to this new gimmick, Axel is already off to a great start. He faced Triple H in tonight’s main event on RAW, and actually looked dominant in the process, with the match ending in a no-contest when the two would not stop brawling outside of the ring.

Unfortunately, this leads me to the second part of this article. During the brawl, Triple H was reportedly legitimately injured, more or less unconscious on his feet. After the show, he apparently began having dizzy spells, and it was said by more than one witness that he had no recollection of what had just happened. It’s hard to say how this will play out in his current storyline with Heyman and Axel, but it’s highly unlikely Axel will suffer any punishment as a result. Accidents happen, and with Triple H facing Brock Lesnar in a brutal cage match the night before, an injury is not completely unexpected, especially when you consider that Triple H only wrestles a few times per year.