Bret Hart Believes WWE Is Wasting Curtis Axel’s Talent, Axel Could Bring Back Mr. Perfect Gimmick From His Father

WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart is regarded as the best technical wrestler there is, was, or ever will be. Even though his opinion on wrestling can be a little too serious sometimes, it’s still valid and is as valuable as ever when it comes to making observations and having opinions about today’s wrestling industry and the WWE.

Recently, Hart had some thoughts about WWE’s booking and treatment of second-generation WWE superstar Curtis Axel. On his show The Sharpshooter Podcast, Bret took the time to scold WWE for wasting Axel’s talent and not truly giving him the chance to succeed in WWE the way his father, Mr. Perfect, did during his time in WWE.

You can listen to the full podcast episode right here. Below is what Bret Hart had to say about WWE’s booking of Curtis Axel:

“I wish they would do so much more with Axel. Curt’s kid. It’s just such a shame.

“I’ve never understood it from the beginning. Even the name McGillicutty or whatever that gimmick was. I just seems almost like impossible odds to turn that into any kind of successful storyline. What do you do with that? It never made a lot of sense to me. I think that he’s really a wasted talent. I think he’s a real talent. He’s every bit the athlete and the performer that his Dad was. I just always thought that he was a little bit like Cody Rhodes where it’s like they never quite gave him the right things to book him to be the star that he was.”

No one is to blame for Axel’s current position in WWE. He hasn’t had a bad career in WWE, but you could definitely question if WWE officials have undervalued his abilities and kept him around in various tag teams and The Social Outcasts because of who his father was to the industry.

When he first debuted, Axel was a stooge in CM Punk’s version of The Nexus. After some time back in WWE developmental, he emerged as a “Paul Heyman Guy” and went on to become the Intercontinental Champion. He became overshadowed by Punk and Brock Lesnar, which is no one’s fault. He just wasn’t over enough to hang with those two, and he really hasn’t been able to recover on WWE programming since then.

He’s been in a few tag teams, and he’s currently in The Social Outcasts trio. You never know what the future will hold in WWE, but it’s going to take an overhaul for Curtis Axel to become a major player in WWE. Axel and WWE have never denied his ties to Curt Henning, but there is a difference between WWE acknowledging his family legacy and embracing it fully.

One bold possibility is for Curtis Axel to bring back the Mr. Perfect gimmick to a new generation of WWE fans. There is no one else who could utilize the gimmick in WWE, and it could be a new direction for Axel. If it were done properly and the WWE Universe embraced it, Axel being the new Mr. Perfect could make him a force in the midcard after the WWE Draft.

For older WWE fans, the use of the gimmick would be nostalgic, and it would be fresh again for the new generation of the WWE Universe. Of course, the gimmick could fail miserably because it isn’t an original idea. However, there is a lot of potential and Curtis Axel is a very good wrestler. His skills in the ring would be able to match the gimmick if he could learn to truly sell the character on the microphone.

Maybe, Bret Hart has a really good point. There is a lot more potential for Curtis Axel to succeed in WWE. He may have more to offer the WWE fans than being a member of The Social Outcasts, but he has options for character development in WWE. It would be a bold move for Curtis Axel and WWE to bring back Mr. Perfect, and it may fail. On the other hand, it could work too.

[Image via WWE]