There are many talents in WWE who don’t receive the opportunities that many fans feel they deserve. The company has a large roster and not every superstar can be pushed, but sometimes the reason for the company’s lack of investment in certain performers is simply because Vince McMahon isn’t a fan of them. While speaking on the latest episode of his podcast — by the way of Sportskeeda — Arn Anderson revealed that Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas haven’t impressed the WWE chairman.
During the episode, Anderson focused on the duo’s match against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at the 2018 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, which they lost on the kick-off show. The Hall of Famer described Axel and Dallas as “tremendous performers,” before going on to reveal that McMahon doesn’t see much of an upside in either of them.
He also said that as soon as McMahon has made up his mind about performers, his staff won’t try to change it, which is why so many superstars have been underutilized or buried by the company.
“It only exists in his [McMahon’s] mind and he’s the boss. He makes the decisions. That’s it. When he looks at that room of creative guys, his creative team, and says, ‘Okay, I don’t like that performer or that team,’ then that’s it. That’s the kiss of death. It’s done. Boom. Over.”
B-TEAM! B-TEAM! GO, GO, GO!
Your #RAW #TagTeamChampions @TheBoDallas & @RealCurtisAxel are in action NEXT! pic.twitter.com/Sz5CjRY8dV
— WWE (@WWE) August 7, 2018
Anderson worked as a backstage agent in WWE before he was fired last year, so he does have some knowledge of the company’s behind the scenes process. Furthermore, Axel and Dallas have barely been featured on television in recent months, and when they are, they tend to lose their matches.
However, Axel and Dallas did experience a successful — albeit brief — run with the Raw Tag Team Championships in 2017, following a spell as members of The Miz’s entourage. The team became fan favorites on the red brand as a result of their underdog babyface comedy gimmick, but they dropped the titles shortly after and were quietly moved to the Friday Night SmackDown roster last year.
Dallas and Axel showed some promise early on in their careers, though. Dallas is a former NXT Champion, while Axel received a brief Intercontinental title reign under the guidance of Paul Heyman. Both superstars are also the sons of celebrated wrestling legends — Mike Rotunda and Curt Hennig, respectively.
In recent months, some underutilized superstars have returned to NXT , which could be an option for the duo down the line.