Paul Heyman has managed some top players in WWE, including Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and CM Punk, but he's also worked with talent on a smaller scale for much shorter runs, including Curtis Axel, the son of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, in 2013, and Cesaro, who is now known as Claudio Castagnoli in AEW, in 2014. Both Axel and Cesaro never went on to achieve the heights of a Lesnar or Reigns in WWE, and on an episode of "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Heyman said he didn't think either man was ever meant to from the beginning."I don't think there was ever an overall grand scheme to move Curtis Axel all the way up the ladder," Heyman said. "Curtis Axel filled the need for there to be people around me to feed to CM Punk at the time. It's the same thing that happened to Cesaro. You look at Cesaro and he checked, especially at that moment in time, he checked every box to become a top star."Heyman said that Axel was cast as a "generic" Paul Heyman Guy, and he may as well have worn a mask and have been called whatever, since he was just going to be fed to then-babyface Punk. He said it was a shame, because Axel had a lot more to offer, and delivered in his matches against Punk, but once the assignment was over, there was no plan to propel him further."When I was told I was getting Curtis Axel, my question was, 'What are we doing with this?'" he said. "Vince [McMahon's] answer was, 'Going all the way to the top.' But I don't think Vince really felt that about him."
Heyman said that everyone who got into the ring with Cesaro in WWE came back into gorilla position asking to work with him further. He even recalled John Cena saying he could work a WrestleMania main event with the star. However, Heyman believes that he was paired with Cesaro for one reason only."Cesaro was placed in that position the day after Brock Lesnar conquered the streak so that when Brock took his hiatus, I had an excuse to be on television to say, 'My client, Brock Lesnar conquered the Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania,'" he explained. "You needed an excuse to have me out there on television. If you put me on commentary, I can't say it for two or three hours. I had to say it with him once a week. Just drill that into your head. Cesaro became the excuse to see me say the line."Heyman said by the third week he was paired with Cesaro, he understood what was going on and how it was going to play out, meaning as soon as Lesnar got back to WWE, Cesaro would be discarded. The WWE Hall of Famer said that Cesaro should have been given more time in WWE to demonstrate his skills on the microphone."That was a crime that was committed against the career of Cesaro and a crime that was committed against the audience for not allowing this gifted performer to do what, at the time, certainly, he could do better than most anybody else on the face of the planet," he said. "When you realize what he's capable of, what an opponent he could have been for Brock Lesnar."If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
