Curtis Axel, the son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, made his first appearance on Monday Night Raw since 2019 on this week's edition of WWE's flagship program ... but he didn't have a match.
Along with several other remembers of WWE's backstage production team, Axel appeared in a segment in which Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins brawled and had to be pulled apart.
Back in April, Fightful Select reported that Axel (real name Joe Hennig) and another former WWE Superstar, Ariya Daivari, auditioned for roles as WWE producers during a recent episode of SmackDown on FOX. Per Fightful, Axel worked a tryout for the role of a producer on Friday, helping Tyson Kidd produce the women’s division match that saw Liv Morgan defeat Sasha Banks. While we don't have any official confirmation just yet, it's safe to assume that Axel got the job.
The third-generation wrestler signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2008 and reported for duty at FCW, the company's developmental territory at the time. In 2010, he was given the ring name Michael McGillicutty. He participated in the second season of the original game show incarnation of NXT with Koffing Kingston as his mentor and ultimately ended the competition as runner-up to Kaval (Low Ki)
Hennig was repackaged as Curtis Axel in 2013 and was given the legendary Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece/manager. At Payback in 2013, Axel won his first and only singles title in WWE when he defeated The Miz and defended champ Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat Match.
Along with several other now-former WWE Superstars, Axel was released by WWE in April 2020 allegedly due to budget cuts instigated by the Covid-19 pandemic. His last match was a defeat to Daniel Bryan on the February 28 edition of SmackDown.