Independent circuit (2007–2008) Hennig trained under
Brad Rheingans,
Harley Race, and his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. Hennig later went on a nine-month winning streak in WLW, before suffering his first singles loss to Wade Chism. On the October 26, 2007, episode of
SmackDown, Hennig teamed with Steve Fender in a loss to
Jesse and Festus. Hennig then signed a contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to its
developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On September 11, 2008, Hennig and
Sebastian Slater defeated
Nic Nemeth and
Gavin Spears to win the
Florida Tag Team Championship. On October 30, Hennig and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to
The New Hart Foundation (
DH Smith and
TJ Wilson). On November 20, Hennig challenged
Sheamus O'Shaunessy for the
FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship, but the match ended in a double disqualification, and a rematch was made, but Hennig was again disqualified. Hennig had another chance to win the title on December 11 when he participated in a
fatal four-way match for the championship, but
Eric Escobar won the match. On April 5, it was announced that Hennig had suffered a serious injury and therefore he had surrendered the Florida Heavyweight Championship. Hennig returned from injury and formed a
tag team with
Brett DiBiase, known as The Fortunate Sons. On January 14, 2010, The Fortunate Sons won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters (
Caylen Croft and
Trent Barreta). On April 8, Hennig blamed DiBiase for the loss, and the two fought in a match to a double disqualification. At an FCW event on April 29, Hennig faced DiBiase, but DiBiase suffered a knee injury during the match, ending their storyline. On July 15, now using the
ring name Michael McGillicutty, teamed with
Kaval to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship from Los Aviadores (
Epico and
Hunico), becoming a four-time tag team champion. The following day, they
dropped the championships back to Los Aviadores. McGillicutty then took part in the
second season of
NXT, with
Kofi Kingston as his pro. He made his
NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of
NXT, teaming with Kingston to defeat
Mark Henry and
Lucky Cannon. In the first
poll on June 29, McGillicutty was ranked third, behind Kaval and
Percy Watson. On the July 20 episode of
NXT, McGillicutty earned immunity from elimination in the next poll by completing an obstacle course in the fastest time. On the following episode of
NXT, he moved up to first place in the second poll. After six consecutive victories, McGillicutty suffered his first loss on the August 3 episode of
NXT, when he was defeated by pro
The Miz. On the August 9 episode of
Raw, the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match, in which McGillicutty teamed with
Alex Riley and
Husky Harris to defeat Kaval, Lucky Cannon, and Percy Watson. The following night on
NXT, his team lost a rematch, when McGillicutty was pinned by Kaval, and in the next poll later that night, McGillicutty relinquished the first place ranking back to Kaval, slipping to second place. In the season finale on August 31, McGillicutty ended the competition in second place, being beaten by Kaval, and at the end of the show, McGillicutty attacked Kaval with the other eliminated rookies, turning
heel in the process.
The Nexus (2010–2011) in November 2010 On October 3, 2010, at the
Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, a disguised McGillicutty and Husky Harris interfered in a match between
John Cena and
Wade Barrett, and helped Barrett win, forcing Cena to join
The Nexus per the pre-match stipulation. On the following day's episode of
Raw, McGillicutty and Harris' identities were revealed, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full-time members of The Nexus. The following week on
Raw, McGillicutty and Harris cost Cena a match against The Miz, prompting Barrett to give them the opportunity to win membership in The Nexus. On the October 18 episode of
Raw, McGillicutty and Harris failed to earn a place in The Nexus when they lost to Cena and
Randy Orton in a tag team match. On the following
Raw, in spite of their loss, Harris and McGillicutty were inducted into The Nexus. in June 2011 In January 2011,
CM Punk took over The Nexus and had each of its members put through an initiation, and McGillicutty passed his initiation, a beatdown from the rest of the group, and was allowed to remain a member of Nexus, alongside Punk, Harris and
David Otunga. The following month, Punk was announced as the
WrestleMania XXVII opponent for Randy Orton, and as a result, each member of The Nexus was scheduled to face Orton in the month prior to WrestleMania, with McGillicutty lost to Orton on the February 28 episode of
Raw, and after the match Orton
punted McGillicutty in the head. McGillicutty returned on the April 11 episode of
Raw with the other Nexus members, preventing Orton from earning a
WWE Championship match. On the May 23 episode of
Raw, McGillicutty teamed with fellow Nexus member David Otunga to win the
WWE Tag Team Championship from
Big Show and Kane, with the help interference from fellow Nexus members Punk and
Mason Ryan. On the July 29 episode of
SmackDown, they made their only successful title defense against
The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso). After CM Punk left The Nexus when his WWE contract expired on July 17, McGillicutty and Otunga competed against
Santino Marella and
Zack Ryder on the August 1 episode of
Raw without any Nexus gear or armbands, and with all Nexus logos removed from their TitanTron, effectively signaling the end of The Nexus. On the August 22 episode of
Raw, McGillicutty and Otunga lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Air Boom (
Evan Bourne and
Kofi Kingston), ending their reign at 91 days.
Return to NXT (2011–2013) After his dissociation with Otunga, he would largely be confined to wrestling on
Superstars and
NXT from late 2011. On the October 20 episode of
Superstars, McGillicutty and
Drew McIntyre lost a non-title match to the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom. In late 2011, McGillicutty and Alex Riley had a series of matches on
Superstars, which Riley won 2–1. which would be his last televised win on a non-NXT show until he was repackaged as Curtis Axel in May 2013, resulting in McGillicutty losing more than twenty non-NXT matches in a row, mostly on
Superstars, but also on
Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam. McGillicutty made his return to
NXT, appearing from January 2012 on the fifth season
NXT Redemption, but not as a rookie. In February, McGillicutty mocked
Tyson Kidd's lack of wrestling heritage, starting a feud on
NXT Redemption. McGillicutty then beat Kidd on the February 29 episode of
NXT Redemption. McGillicutty continued to insult Kidd by claiming that Kidd would never be a true '
Hart', and Kidd received a rematch on the March 21 episode of
NXT Redemption, where he defeated McGillicutty. McGillicutty and Kidd faced off in a third match on the April 11 episode of
NXT, resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGillicutty. McGillicutty then formed an occasional team with
Johnny Curtis for the rest of 2012. After the conclusion of
NXT Redemption, NXT transitioned into the renamed Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory. McGillicutty continued appearing on the rebooted
NXT, losing to Tyson Kidd on the first episode on June 20. On the August 8 episode of
NXT, McGillicutty was inserted into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first
NXT Champion, where he defeated
Justin Gabriel in the quarter-finals. McGillicutty was eliminated in the semi-finals on August 15, when he lost to eventual tournament winner
Seth Rollins. On the next episode, Tyson Kidd heaped more misery on McGillicutty as he and Justin Gabriel defeated McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis, but on the September 12 episode of
NXT, McGillicutty gained revenge by defeating Kidd to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship. On the October 10 episode of
NXT, McGillicutty failed to win the NXT Championship from Seth Rollins. On the November 28 episode of
NXT, Johnny Curtis cashed in his promised tag title shot from winning season four of
NXT, with McGillicutty as his partner against
Team Hell No (
Daniel Bryan and
Kane), but Team Hell No won the match. On January 2, 2013, episode of
NXT, McGillicutty turned
face (but only within NXT) after saving
Bo Dallas from a beating at the hands of
Primo and Epico. On the next episode, Primo and Epico defeated McGillicutty and Dallas, though McGillicutty and Dallas would gain revenge when they defeated Primo and Epico in the first round of the
NXT Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champions on the January 30 episode of
NXT. On the February 6 episode of
NXT, McGillicutty and Dallas were eliminated in the semi-finals, when they lost to
The Wyatt Family (
Luke Harper and
Erick Rowan).
Intercontinental Champion (2013–2014) in July 2013 On the May 20, 2013, episode of
Raw, he was repackaged under the
ring name Curtis Axel (the name is a derivative of his father's first name, Curt, and his grandfather
Larry's nickname "The Axe"), with
Paul Heyman as his new manager, and later that night, Axel faced
Triple H in his re-debut match, winning by knockout after Triple H suffered concussion-like symptoms and collapsed outside the ring. On the May 24 episode of
SmackDown, Axel defeated
Sin Cara. Over the next two weeks on
Raw, Axel scored back-to-back non-title count-out wins over WWE Champion John Cena, due to distractions and interference by
Ryback. On the June 7 episode of
SmackDown, Axel defeated
Chris Jericho, after Jericho was distracted by CM Punk, who was, at the time another client of Paul Heyman's. Three days later on
Raw, Axel defeated Triple H twice, first by disqualification and second by forfeit. At
Payback, Axel defeated Wade Barrett and The Miz in a
triple threat match to win the
Intercontinental Championship, joining his father as the only father-son pair to have won the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Axel made his first televised title defense on the following episode of
SmackDown, defeating Barrett in a rematch. On the June 24 episode of
Raw, Axel saved CM Punk from an assault by
The Prime Time Players (
Darren Young and
Titus O'Neil), at the request of Heyman and to the dismay of Punk. This led to a tag team match the following week on
Raw, where Axel won the match for his team after he tagged himself in following Punk delivering the Go To Sleep on Darren Young and pinned him for the victory. Axel suffered his first loss since becoming Heyman's client on the July 8 episode of
Raw, when he was pinned by Chris Jericho in a non-title match. At
Money in the Bank, Axel defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship, and later that night, Heyman turned on CM Punk. Axel was set to team with Heyman in an elimination handicap match against Punk at
Night of Champions, and during the pay-per-view, Heyman begged Triple H to cancel the match, but Triple H refused, not only confirming the match, but making Axel defend the Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston, and Axel retained the title against Kingston. Later in the event, Axel was eliminated by Punk, but Heyman won the match after interference from Ryback. On the September 30 episode of
Raw, Axel was defeated by
R-Truth in a non-title match, which gave R-Truth a title match. At
Battleground, Axel defeated R-Truth to retain the Intercontinental Championship. At
Hell in a Cell, Axel was scheduled to defend his title against
Big E Langston, however, the match was cancelled due to Axel's legitimate hip injury. On the November 15 episode of
SmackDown, Heyman ended his association with Axel. On the November 18 episode of
Raw, Axel lost the title to Langston, ending his reign at 155 days. At
Survivor Series, Axel failed to regain the championship from Langston. became a tag team in December 2013 On the December 6 episode of
SmackDown, Axel and Ryback defeated WWE Tag Team Champions
Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match, earning themselves a shot at the title. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, they would compete in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they were eliminated by Cody Rhodes and Goldust. At
WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, they failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match. Axel and Ryback would continue their brief feud with Cody Rhodes and Goldust from earlier in the year at
Payback which they won, before losing the rematch at
Money in the Bank. Ryback then took time off for surgery and returned as a singles competitor later that year, ending the team.
AxelMania and The Social Outcasts (2015–2017) , he began parodying
Hulk Hogan in early 2015 At the
Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, Axel was set to enter the
Royal Rumble match at number 6, but was attacked by Erick Rowan on the entrance ramp, rendering him unable to compete. As a result of not being eliminated (having never officially entered the match), Axel trended on
Twitter following the event, and also received supportive tweets from former WWE wrestlers
Lance Storm and
Tommy Dreamer and then later from current WWE wrestlers
Xavier Woods,
Zack Ryder, and David Otunga, the latter offering his legal services. Axel was defeated by Rowan on the following week's episode of
Main Event. Axel then began an
angle where he began referring to himself as "the true winner of the Royal Rumble", claiming that he still hadn't been eliminated from the match and that he deserved a shot at
WrestleMania 31 for the
WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a result. This involved Axel interrupting segments involving the likes of
Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and
Rusev to protest his cause, and also led to Axel starting his own
hashtag, #AxelMania. At
WrestleMania 31, Axel participated in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was eliminated by multiple wrestlers. On the May 11 episode of
Raw, Axel turned face when he shook hands with
Damien Sandow (who was impersonating
Randy Savage as "Macho Mandow"), similar to the handshake of
The Mega Powers, when they formed a tag team. After this, Axel began impersonating
Hulk Hogan, while teaming with Sandow. The two were dubbed The Meta Powers. The Meta Powers were defeated by
The Ascension at
Payback (
Konnor and
Viktor). Axel and Sandow ceased their AxelMania and Macho Mandow imitations on July 24, after WWE fired Hulk Hogan and severed all ties with him. On the January 4, 2016, episode of
Raw, Axel turned heel, when he along with
Heath Slater,
Adam Rose and Bo Dallas, debuted a new stable and assisted Slater in defeating
Dolph Ziggler, calling themselves "The Social Outcasts". At
Royal Rumble, Axel would enter the Royal Rumble match at number 5, before being eliminated by
AJ Styles. On February 21 at
Fastlane, Axel defeated R-Truth, with interference from fellow The Social Outcasts members. At
WrestleMania 32, Axel participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by
Baron Corbin. In May, The Social Outcasts took time out to film
The Marine 5: Battleground. The Social Outcasts returned on the June 27 episode of
Raw, confronting
Enzo Amore and Big Cass. The following week on
Raw, The Social Outcasts were defeated by Enzo and Cass. As part of the
draft, Axel was drafted to the
Raw brand as its last draft pick, earning him the nickname
Mr. Irrelevant. After losing to the returning
Neville, Axel then joined forces with former Social Outcasts member Bo Dallas, and they were defeated by Neville and
Sami Zayn on the October 10 episode of
Raw. The following week on
Raw, Axel was attacked by Dallas after his match with Neville, thus turning face in the process. A week later, Axel received a
pop from the crowd in his home state of
Minnesota, before losing to Dallas. At
WrestleMania 33 on April 2, 2017, Axel participated in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by
Mojo Rawley.
The Miztourage and The B-Team (2017–2020) and
The Miz at
WrestleMania 34 On the June 19 episode of
Raw, Intercontinental Champion The Miz approached Axel and
Bo Dallas, offering to make them "the stars [they] deserve to be" if they become his entourage, and later that night, Axel and Dallas appeared in bear costumes during an in ring segment between Miz and his wife
Maryse, attacking Dean Ambrose, thus turning heel once again. Axel and Dallas, now dubbed
The Miztourage, began helping Miz in his matches and occasionally teamed him with him, including winning efforts against Dean Ambrose,
Heath Slater and
Rhyno on June 26 episode of
Raw and
Jason Jordan and
The Hardy Boyz (
Jeff Hardy and
Matt Hardy) at
SummerSlam. At
No Mercy, they also helped Miz to defeat Jason Jordan to retain his title. At
WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018, Axel participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was eliminated by Kane. As part of the
Superstar Shake-Up, Miz was moved to the
SmackDown brand, while Axel and Dallas remained on Raw. On the April 16 episode of
Raw, during a tag team match, Axel and Dallas turned on Miz, ending their alliance. On the May 14 episode of
Raw, the duo adopted the new team name "The B-Team" and defeated Breezango (
Tyler Breeze and
Fandango), their first win as a team since August 2017. On the June 4 episode of
Raw, The B-Team won a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for the
Raw Tag Team Championships. At
Extreme Rules, The B-Team defeated
Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. On the July 23 episode of
Raw, they successfully retained their title against Wyatt and Hardy. At
SummerSlam on August 19, The B-Team successfully retained their title against
The Revival (
Dash Wilder and
Scott Dawson). On the September 3 episode of
Raw, The B-Team lost the championships to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, ending their reign at 50 days. At
Survivor Series, The B-Team made up part of Team Raw as they took on Team SmackDown in a
10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match and Team Raw would go on to lose the match. At
WrestleMania 35 on April 7, 2019, Axel competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win the match. As part of the
Superstar Shake-up, both Axel and Dallas were moved to the SmackDown brand. On the February 28, 2020, edition of
SmackDown, Axel was defeated by Daniel Bryan, in what would be his final appearance in WWE. On April 30, he was released from his WWE contract due to budget cuts stemming from the
COVID-19 pandemic, ending his 13-year tenure with the company.
Backstage work (2022) In April 2022, Hennig was rehired by
WWE as a
producer. On the May 30, 2022, episode of
Raw, Hennig was seen as a security team member, breaking up the brawl between
Cody Rhodes and
Seth Rollins. Hennig was released 3 months later.
Return to independent circuit (2025) On May 16, 2025, Hennig made his in-ring return at the Extreme Measures 2 event held by Midwest All-Star Wrestling, teaming with
Cal Bloom to defeat The Gentlemen's Club (Aaron Arsenal and Lennox Leone) in his first match in five years. == Other media ==