Former Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel Released From WWE

Curtis Axel, a former Intercontinental Champion and two time tag team champion, was the latest [...]

By Connor Casey

Curtis Axel, a former Intercontinental Champion and two time tag team champion, was the latest victim of WWE's cost-cutting measures on Thursday when he was released from his WWE contract. Axel, real name Joe Hennig, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Mr. Perfect and first signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2008. After training in Florida Championship Wrestling he arrived on the national stage as Michael McGillicutty for the second season of NXT (back when it was a competition show). From there he would see several character changes and repackages, but he always stayed in either the midcard or tag team divisions.

"WWE has come to terms on the release of Curtis Axel," WWE wrote in a statement. "We wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

After a brief run as Intercontinental Champion and henchman for Paul Heyman, Axel floated around the midcard for several years before becoming The Miz's lackey as part of the Miztourage. He and Bo Dallas eventually split from Miz and became known as The B Team, a pair of lovable losers who gained enough popularity with fans to earn a run with the Raw Tag Team Championships in 2018. After their reign was over the pair started showing up on television less and less. Axel's last WWE match came on Feb. 28, when he lost to Daniel Bryan on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Axel is just the latest of the 30+ wrestlers WWE has released since announcing some cost-cutting procedures back on April 15.

Here's a full list of every wrestler who has been released since then:

  • Rusev
  • Drake Maverick
  • Karl Anderson
  • Luke Gallows
  • EC3
  • Curt Hawkins
  • Heath Slater
  • Eric Young
  • Lio Rush
  • Aiden English
  • Sarah Logan
  • Erick Rowan
  • Primo
  • Epico
  • Mike Kanellis
  • Maria Kanellis
  • Zack Ryder
  • No Way Jose
  • Deonna Purrazzo
  • Aleksandar Jaksic
  • MJ Jenkins
  • Dan Matha
  • Alyssa Marino
  • Taynara Conti
  • Nick Comoroto
  • Cezar Bononi
  • Tino Sabbatelli
  • Kassius Ohno (Reportedly)
  • Mohamed Fahim
  • Marcos Gomes
  • Faisal Kurdi
  • Hussain Aldagal
  • Yifeng (Rocky)
  • Cain Velasquez
  • Curtis Axel
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