Projecting Curtis Axel's Involvement in CM Punk's Feud with Brock Lesnar

With CM Punk and Paul Heyman officially parting ways, the group of the WWE’s “Paul Heyman” guys is now down to two: Brock Lesnar and Curtis Axel.

Although Lesnar is clearly one of the key pieces of Punk’s feud with Heyman, Axel’s role in this ongoing rivalry is less clear. 

Axel has had some involvement here and there. Most notably, he and Punk once teamed together on Raw, and he interfered in Punk’s match at Money in the Bank. 

But as the Lesnar/Heyman/Punk story develops, it remains to be seen exactly what Axel’s role will be as we move forward. 

Axel’s brief reign as WWE Intercontinental champion hasn’t been a very noteworthy one, in large part because it’s largely consisted of him feuding with The Miz in rather underwhelming fashion. Therefore, it’s absolutely imperative that—if Axel is going to become a star—he gets plenty of exposure in this feud. 

It more than makes sense for Axel to get involved in this rivalry from time to time because he is, of course, a “Paul Heyman guy.” That doesn’t just mean that Heyman’s there to help him. It means that he’s there to help Heyman, too. 

Whenever he’s called upon, Axel should undoubtedly make his presence felt in this rivalry and do so in a way that gets him more over as a heel. Because Punk is so over as a heel, that really shouldn’t be that hard, either. 

The deck is already stacked against Punk simply because of Heyman’s association with the animalistic Lesnar. Throw Axel into the equation, and that’s where things really get difficult for Punk.

An ideal situation to help cement Axel as a top heel would be for him to do deplorable and despicable things in order to shift the odds even more in the favor of Lesnar.

Since Lesnar may not appear on every episode of Raw prior to SummerSlam, Axel can be a “fill-in” of sorts, making Punk’s life miserable when Lesnar can’t.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Axel interfere in Punk’s TV matches and cost him those bouts in an attempt to get under Punk’s skin. Another logical scenario is for Axel to attack Punk in cheap fashion, whether that’s during a match or from behind after one.

The idea here is the same regardless, though: Get Axel over as a heel by making him one of Punk’s biggest nemeses. 

What the WWE shouldn’t and probably won’t do, however, is put Punk in a match against Axel prior to SummerSlam. Though it’s a logical thing to do, it’s also a waste of a potentially big match down the road. 

The fans have already bought into the Punk/Lesnar feud, as last week’s incredible promo exchange between Punk and Heyman totally sold this rivalry in the eyes of many. 

Thus, there’s no real benefit to the WWE giving us Punk vs. Axel before SummerSlam when it would be better off happening after SummerSlam.

It’s unlikely that Lesnar will stick around after SummerSlam, but the Heyman/Punk rivalry is an intense, entertaining one that shouldn’t be blown off after just one pay-per-view match. 

How does the WWE keep it going? By shifting from Punk vs. Lesnar to Punk vs. Axel once SummerSlam is in the rear-view mirror.

It’s an easy and logical transition to make, one that keeps Punk’s beef with Heyman going, but takes Lesnar out of the equation and replaces him with Axel. 

Axel isn’t getting over quite like WWE officials probably hoped he would, but making him an integral part of this Heyman/Punk/Lesnar story is a step toward changing that. Keeping his involvement at a happy medium, however, is one that benefits everyone involved.

It keeps the focus on Heyman, Punk and Lesnar like it should. But it sets up Axel for his biggest feud yet after SummerSlam. 

We know that Axel is going to make an impact in this feud because he already has, but how the WWE goes about it could either set him up for future success or doom him to fail.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!