Curtis Axel

Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler.

He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Curtis Axel.

Hennig was born on October 1, 1979, in Champlin, Minnesota, the son of Leonice Hennig and professional wrestler "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

He is the grandson of professional wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig.

He has a younger brother named Hank, and two younger sisters named Katie and Amy, who is also a professional wrestler.

He graduated from North Hennepin Community College with an Associates of Science degree in business computer systems and management.

Hennig trained under Brad Rheingans, Harley Race, and his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was a one-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion and four-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion.

He made his professional wrestling debut on July 13, 2007, in Waterloo, Iowa, for World League Wrestling (WLW), teaming with Ted Dibiase Jr.. to defeat Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore by disqualification.

Hennig later went on a nine-month winning streak in WLW, before suffering his first singles loss to Wade Chism.

On March 31, 2007, Hennig, along with his family, represented his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony by accepting the award on his behalf.

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 February 26, 2009, Hennig defeated Escobar to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.

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.

In 2010, after he competed on NXT under the ring name Michael McGillicutty, he debuted on WWE's main roster as part of The Nexus.

He then won the WWE Tag Team Championship with David Otunga once.

On January 14, 2010, The Fortunate Sons won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters (Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta).

On March 13, The Fortunate Sons lost the championship to The Uso Brothers (Jimmy and Jules).

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.

In 2013, he reignited his career under the Curtis Axel ring name, paying tribute to his father Curt Hennig and his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship once.

He then won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Bo Dallas as part of The B-Team.

His tenure with the company ended in April 2020.

He returned in April 2022 as a producer for three months.