The Wrestling 5&1 05.25.13: Paige vs. Candice Michelle!

Jam packed Wrestling 5&1 this week as Tony & I dig deep into the repackaging of Michael McGillicutty as Curtis Axel, whether or not Triple H is the problem with wrestling or the solution for wrestling, a look back at how today’s fan views chooses to remember (or not remember) Chris Benoit, Ivelisse’s recent Greg DeMarco Show interview and more!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

2 Point Perspective: The Genesis of Axel? (Part 1)
By Greg DeMarco

Monday’s RAW featured a return to prominence for the man formerly known as Michael McGillicutty, now known as Curtis Axel. As I tend to watch RAW on a delay, I read of Axel’s repackaging on Twitter before I saw it. The initial reaction was mixed, and I was keen on the idea, still needing to see it unfold on my television. After seeing it on my television, I am…unsure?

Unsure is about the only thing I can think of. I’ve long been a supporter of “Joe Hennig,” and was excited to hear that he was getting his chance. Pairing him with Heyman made him immediately look like a star. Watching him against Triple H was reminiscent of a midcarder stepping up to a main eventer, only to get pushed back down again.

So the jury is still out for me. I can’t look forward and see where he fits in. He isn’t going to feud with Triple H, he was really an afterthought for his injury angle. But he also didn’t get the win, so any issue he has with Trips ends with no resolution.

I also can’t place him going backwards, either. As a part of NXT, he performed well, but cut the terrible “Genesis of McGillicutty” promo that will never be forgotten.

Wow, I forgot how terrible that was!

On top of it are the comparisons created by the “Curtis Axel” name, as well as the pairing with Paul Heyman.

Curtis – the given name of his father, Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig
Had he come up in a different generation, Mr. Perfect would have been a multi-time world champion—and I’m not talking about the AWA. His talent was ahead of its time, and he is remembered as one of the greatest in-ring competitors to ever lace up a pair of boots.

Can Curtis Axel live up to that?

Axel – based on his grandfather Larry “The Axe” Hennig’s moniker
If being the son of Mr. Perfect weren’t enough, he’s also the grandson of Larry “The Ax” Hennig, a former world tag team champion and a very recognizable name in the world of professional wrestling. Larry Hennig’s tag team successes came with men like Harley Race, against men like Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel. Curtis Axel is also a former world tag team champion—with David Otunga!

The name “Curtis Axel” is a tribute, much like the name “Rocky Maivia”
I immediately thought this myself, along with about a billion others on Twitter. And I don’t think this is a good thing. The Rock is a good wrestler and an amazing promo artist. Do we really need to watch that Genesis of McGillicutty promo again? The last thing we need to do is bring up The Rock when watching pretty much any modern day wrestler.

Can Curtis Axel live up to that?

Curtis Axel is paired with Paul Heyman, the third “Paul Heyman Guy”
Curtis Axel showed up on Raw this Monday, introduced by Paul Heyman. Heyman did an amazing job of building him up, but Heyman himself had to play off of the crowd’s lack of enthusiasm in repeating Curtis Axel’s name to everyone.

By the way, who are the first two Paul Heyman guys? Well, even though CM Punk coined the phrase during his famous July 2011 Raw promo, sitting on the stage in Las Vegas, Brock Lesnar was the first Paul Heyman Guy. That very same CM Punk would become the second Paul Heyman Guy. And now #3 is…Curtis Axel?

Can Curtis Axel live up to that?

The one thing Axel has going for him is opportunity. The simple act of pairing him with Paul Heyman shows that someone is in his corner. He’s going to have every opportunity to make it in this business, and if he has what it takes, he will. I’m just really worried that he doesn’t in fact have what it takes.

You Decide: Can Curtis Axel live up to that?

Check out Part 2 of ym 2-Point Perspective on Curtis Axel, right after Versus!

Triple H: Do We Have A problem Here?
By Tony Acero

Monday Night, we saw the debut of a new(ish?) superstar go head to head with the man , Triple Due to the nature of the match, the promo that preceded it, and the past of Triple H, there were many people huffing and puffing about the severity of Triple H’s ego, and just how damaging it is to other superstars – particularly a newly debuting one. While I cannot disagree with the assessment – and I’ll even go so far as to say that I agree, to an extent – there is something much more interesting about Raw and its “new” debut which leads me to believe that the “Triple H Problem” truly didn’t matter here.

I explained my distaste for the entire segment of Paul Heyman’s new guy in the Rs when I said:

I strongly considered this entire segment a missed opportunity for someone we hardly know – or have never seen – just like Brock, just like CM Punk (And yes, we can argue that we ALL knew who CM Punk was previously, but I’m referring to the WWE Audience), and instead, we go to someone that we have already seen…and simply were not impressed. This is not a knock on Curt’s abilities. I recapped NXT. I had to watch him on a weekly basis. He was off and on, hot and cold, intense and boring. He never found the medium, and although it was only a short time, I could see that he still hasn’t found it. So, in an effort to build a new superstar, a possible ground-breaking and top of the line man, a catapulted main eventer, a front-of-the-line – even if forced – dude that is larger than life both figuratively and perhaps literally and we get this…[the promo you see in Greg’s point above.]

I stand by my assessment that although Curt may be great in the ring, and have the backing of The Rock and Triple H, allegedly (although RAW may show otherwise), the comparisons that were made were unjust and the entire segment fell flat. Let me elaborate on the Punk and Brock comparisons. The night Brock Lesnar debut in 2002, he interrupted a Hardcore match, demolished three superstars, and made the already Hardcore match between Maven, Spike and Al Snow seems tame in comparison. None of these three were a big deal, but Brock was, and he had the stature to be a big deal. Then we have CM Punk, who – like I mentioned – already had a huge following. In some cases, he didn’t need the backing of Heyman. His “debut” against Justin Credible was in the right environment at the right time, and the crowd went nuts. It took a while for Punk to get off of his feet, but the crowd was firmly behind him.

What does this mean? It means Heyman’s little promo about how we, the WWE Universe, treated Brock and Punk the same way when they debut was simply…bullshit. The crowd hates Paul Heyman, not the man that was standing next to him. We’ve seen him before, and he didn’t impress. Maybe he will in the future. Maybe they’ll build him up to be something. Maybe. But that’s where the premise of this point comes into play (yay, alliteration…)

The Triple H Problem
As I mentioned in the Rs, I wasn’t really upset with the snide remark of H’s, tellin McG to shush while adults were talking. It’s Triple H, it’s his attitude. It’s…expected. I wasn’t even too bothered with a slap to the face, as – again – it’s Triple h, it’s his attitude. It’s…expected. What bothered me was the booking. The entirety of it all. The fact that they built up a possible NEW debut, gave us someone who was anything BUT, then proceeded to have him mean little-to-nothing by the end of the show, because the focus was on the man who we laud as being able to change the landscape of the wrestling world. Why, oh WHY did we end with the focus on Triple H, with NO notice of the man in the middle of the ring that they spent the entire week – and show – building up?! I wrote in the Rs that it could have easily been as simple as a 10-count, and officially giving the McG the win, but after thinking about it, I really don’t think that would have helped either.

I think Greg DeMarco, in a text, defined the program efficiently enough when he said, “Fucking Stone Cold could have laid down for Curtis Axel and then shared beers with him and it would have flopped.”

I can’t say that I disagree…

You Decide: Is Triple H really doing any harm? Is he doing any good?

Let me hear your responses, and…BRING ON THE GIRLS!

But we’re not quite ready to enshrine her, as we need to see what space she occupies!

Paige tackles a classic this week, as she goes one-on-one with Candice Michelle as The Battle of the Bang returns!

VERSUS

Voting ends Tuesday night and you can vote once every hour!

2 Point Perspective: Is Lineage Enough for Curtis Axel?
By Greg DeMarco

In part 1, I asked some burning questions about the expectations that are going to be placed on Curtis Axel thanks to being Mr. Perfect’s son, Larry Hennig’s grandson and the third Heyman Guy. I expressed concern that he can’t live up to those expectations. But it’s the first one that shines bright in my second point.

After three years in the WWE, Curtis Axel is best known as one thing and one thing only: the son of Mr. Perfect.

Now take a look at a guy like Cody Rhodes. When was the last time Cody Rhodes made an entrance and was merely looked at as Dusty Rhodes’ son? Yet when we see Curtis Axel, all we think of is Mr. Perfect. That’s not because he hasn’t been given an opportunity, and it’s not the fault of his late father. It’s because whether it be Curtis Axel or Michael McGillicutty, the man hasn’t ever given us a reason to care—a reason to view him as other than Mr. Perfect’s son.

When I look at Randy Orton, I don’t think of “Cowboy” Bob Orton.

The Rock never gave me visions of Rocky Johnson.

Hell, Ted Dibiase, a guy who has accomplished about as much as Curtis Axel, doesn’t immediately me think of “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, and he has the same damn name!

Bo Dallas doesn’t make me think of Mike Rotunda (he just makes me think he sucks).

Kane never makes me go back to Paul Bearer…

(Okay, bad example.)

There’s nothing wrong with being “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig’s son. There’s nothing wrong with being Larry “The Axe” Hennig’s grandson. Those are both great things, things that Curtis Axel should be proud of. But it doesn’t make you a top rate talent.

Curtis Axel has to live on his own, and he’s had plenty of opportunity to do just that.

And how’d that go? (Exactly.)

Later in his career, Phil Jackson only accepted coaching positions where he had superstars at his disposal, which is why every attempt to bring him back lately has gone awry.

Paul Heyman is much the same,. He has done great things with Brock Lesnar, and amazing things with CM Punk. Both men had defined personas—being a “Heyman Guy” didn’t define them, it enhanced them.

Curtis Axel is the opposite. His persona is a mix of being linked to Paul Heyman, Larry Hennig and “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. On his own, Curtis Axel really doesn’t have a persona—some might say it’s because he hasn’t had the chance to grow one, others (like me) might say his chance was squandered away by bland & boring promos and average in-ring work.

Paul Heyman’s newest client should have been someone with a character Heyman could enhance…someone who has achieved some success but has the chance to do so much more.

Who? Well, that’s why I’m here!

Cody Rhodes: Cody Rhodes is the perfect candidate to be a Heyman Guy. In the past, he’s seemed on the cusp of a main event push. His “Dashing” persona was well played, and morphed into the “Beautiful Disaster” persona that followed. Teaming with Damien Sandow seemed like a perfect fit, but the creative juices never really flowed in their direction. Cody’s promo skills could be accented by Heyman, and his ability to break into the main event picture would give the duo a hook to start with. Plus, he’d be way more believable in a match with Triple H!

Damien Sandow: The former Aaron Idol has come an amazingly long way since being repackaged—it’s an amazing transformation, really. Sandow seemed like a lock to move up the card, as his promo abilities combined with his character to become an easy heat machine with any crowd. A partnership with Cody Rhodes was viewed as a way to “save” the tag team division, but much like I noted above, creative didn’t pull the trigger on a title change while they were regularly teaming up. As a “Heyman Guy,” Sandow would be afforded the opportunity to shine, as Heyman would be the perfect representative to back up Sandow’s claims about the company, the crowd or his opponent. Given his “martyr” role against DeGeneration X at RAW1000, a match against Triple H would have been easy to build and believable in its execution.

Antonio Cesaro: The last of my three candidates for the third “Heyman Guy,” Cesaro is the in the midst of the most misinterpreted push in all of wrestling. If you combine every report of his push, Vince McMahon “loves Cesaro due to a match he had against Randy Orton, so he depushed him because he’s boring.” (That’s not a direct quote, it’s a parody. Smell the sarcasm!) Much like Rhodes and Sandow, Cesaro has no defined angle or storyline at this time, making him a perfect candidate for Heyman’s representation. Being left off of the WrestleMania 29 card and the lack of high profile matches in the past few weeks would have given the duo plenty of ammunition for his initial push as Heyman’s client.

In short, there are plenty of “guys” who would have made better “Heyman Guys.” Despite his lienase and his manager, Curtis Axel seems to have very little going for him. Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow or Antonio Cesaro would have been great candidates to fill the role.

You Decide: Is Curtis Axel really anything more than Mr. Perfect’s son? Were there better candidates for the third “Heyman Guy?”

FREE WRITE!
By Tony Acero

I told Greg to make me a graphic without telling me who, or what, it would be about so that I could flex my wings in terms of on-the-spot writing. He sent me what you see above, and my immediate reaction was…”what the fuck is Perry Saturn wearing? Lord…

Anyways, it appears I may have bit off more than I could chew, because I had nothing after that, and was stuck with the Joan Rivers feeling of wanting to simply point out how bad that outfit is on Saturn – and any other poor soul who would be willing to wear it. Then I remembered just how important that dude in the center is to wrestling, and I figured what better column to tear open a wound that never seems to heal than the 5&1. After all, we’re just two smug pricks, ain’t we?

Chris Benoit or Chris Benoit?

To separate a man’s life from his entertainment is something that is continuously harder and harder to maintain. The advent of social media has made it so that private life is no longer an existing factor of an actor, rapper, sports star, or WWE superstar. It has created an entitled world in which we feel we deserve to know everything, from who a President cheats with, to what Kim Kardashian is eating for breakfast. Now, I am aware some may not see the tie into the Benoit saga – which is infinitely worse than Kim NOT fellating a banana before eating it – but it’s there. It’s because of this societal closeness that we have with entertainers that we are unable to separate the man from the body of work in which he has left us.

Chris Benoit, the man, was obviously hardly that. He was a monster who killed his family in a fit of rage, and denied a child’s life to fully develop. He was mentally unstable, ill, and one of the most tragic – if not the most tragic – stories in the history of all wrestling. He will most likely never be forgiven, and depending on whatever deity you believe in, he’s in for an eternity of some shit or he’s going to come back as the scum under the toilet wax-ring.

Chris Benoit, the wrestler, was a technical machine. He was vicious, he was crisp, he was quick, he was unique, and he was bad ass. He was a joy to watch, and a continuous bright light on a show that really got me into the WRESTLING side of the WWE. He never had a bad match, and was just…spot on all the damned time. He, and the rest of the Radicalz, were wild and a shot of sweetness that the WWE maybe didn’t need, but damned sure took.

The erased mentions of all things Benoit is fine by me, namely because the WWE is a publicly traded company, and any bad things that can be prevented, should be. On that same note, however, we fans don’t have to do the same thing. I mean, y’all can choose to do whatever you want, I ain’t tellin you that you must remember the name: Chris Benoit! I suppose all I’m trying to get at is that he did exist, and it’s up to us – not the WWE – to decide whether we want to acknowledge that existence or not.

You Decide: How do you choose to or choose not to remember Chris Benoit?

Listen to the latest edition of The Greg DeMarco Show, as special guest Ivelisse Velez joins Greg and Patrick O’Dowd to talk about WWE Tough Enough, wrestling in FCW/NXT, and her TNA Gut Check tryout! Also hear the lowdown on her career in Puerto Rico and her moniker “The Huntress.” All this, plus WWE Extreme Rules reaction, Chad Perry, Tony Acero and a huge announcement about the guest for our May 26 2-Year Anniversary Show! And don’t miss Leanne Marie chiming in for Patrick’s birthday and Su Yung’s surprise call from Japan!

Ivelisse was quick to address her release from the WWE:
“The release … the rumors, they’re just rumors … no matter what I say, I could say it 100 times: no I don’t have a bad attitude … I know for sure that since day one since I started my career I always seek to approach my work as professional as possible. I’ve heard it all. … People close to me, people that work with me can testify to that … my work is everything to me, it’s all I know. I gave up scholarships from school and I was an honor student and I gave up all of it to go on this voyage with complete odds against me … Of course I’m going to approach it with all my heart.”

She expanded upon her character traits:
“I am a very assertive person … in a man’s world they’re not very used to that. … A woman being assertive and not being walked over. … Maybe it came from that, I don’t know.”

On her portrayal on Tough Enough:
“It was a very hard experience in the sense that a lot of the things that were on TV or things that didn’t make TV that probably should have. … I’m very grateful that opportunity, but I feel, honestly, that it could have portrayed in a little bit more realistic way of how things really happened. … they never showed the diagnosis of my leg, then I ended up looking like a wimp. … Nobody ended up knowing the gravity of the injury to my leg. … I was going to continue … Doctor [had to tell me] that I can’t continue or they have to tear my leg off. … You tell them because I am not going to, because I’ll rip my leg off and then I can’t have a career.”

On her FCW/NXT experience:
“It’s really frustrating to hear that [that you’re ready to be on television] and then you don’t [get used on television]. … That was mostly the hardest part. … You feel so ready but it’s a whole different ballgame—it’s not just having the skills or the talent or the look. You can have I all but there’s so much more to it there. … We’re all human and sometimes people make mistakes, and people sometimes mix personal with business and you get the backlash of that. It took me a long time to register what happened. … It’s tough.”

On her TNA Gut Check tryout:
“Definitely it was a surprise to me as well. … In my head I thought there was no reason for me not to. I felt that Lei D’Tapa was great, too, and she has a lot of potential. At least I thought I was ready now. … They would have benefited from signing us both. … I’m happy for Lei D’Tapa, she’s a great girl, she’s humble. … I’m sure everyone felt like TNA could’ve benefited from both of us. … The whole thing, they were really good at that—at all moments, we never knew. … I had no clue what was going to happen at any moment. … Everyone knows both of these girls should be here. … That was my real reaction, I was just speechless. … When I heard that crowd…I feel like, equally, we both created that with our hard work into the match. … It wasn’t just her! … And then I didn’t even make it to the ring. … I was like “damn, really?” … From wrestlers and fans, it was a big reaction. A lot of people agreed that both of us had a lot to bring to the table. The only difference is I could bring it now. … I’m ready now.”

Ivelisse also talks about her return to TNA, going back home to Puerto Rico to win a championship for WWL, being a member of Shine Wrestling’s Valkyrie & her upcoming match for Shine Wrestling at Shine 10 and the origin of her “Huntress” persona.

Listen here:

Tune in Sunday, May 26 at 10 pm eastern time as we celebrate two years on air with OVW talent and TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page, Tony posted this pic for all to comment on…

And the commenter with the most “likes”???

Kai Lewis!

Kai Lewis: He’s cashing in money in the bank NOW?!

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