BEFORE T HE BEL L PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG AMBROSIO
THIS MONTH
CURTIS AXEL WITH
PAUL HEYMAN
“To be honest with you, I’m kind of superstitious. I’ll always do the same exact thing when I prepare for a bout and get my gear on. For instance, I’ll put my left boot on first, which is kind of weird. I’m a switch-hitter in baseball, but I usually bat left-handed. I shoot left-handed when I play hockey. I’ve actually been able to hit a golf ball left-handed, too. Even when I tape my wrists, I go from left to right. Before my matches, I’ll do
a certain amount of push-ups. I’ll stretch out my legs and jump in the air to keep myself pumped up. One thing I do before every match is pray—and I pray to my dad. I talk to him. That’s one thing I’ve always done before every one of my matches. I also carry a spray bottle with me that I use to cool me of a bit. Paul Heyman knows how to fre me up. I’ll meet him up in Gorilla afer I do my routine. He’ll just say a little, but he’ll fre me up before I go to the
ring. ‘Go out there and own it,’ he’ll say. With my recent match against CM Punk, he was telling me just that, getting in my ear and instructing me to go out there and whoop some ass. He seems like a loudmouth guy when you see him on television, but one-on-one, there’s no screaming or yelling. He’s more private. What Paul does is great. I’ve had other coaches who have done the same thing. That usually does the trick.”
CURTIS AXEL 5 THINGS HE DOES PERFECTLY
“Wrestle.”
“Win.”
“Fish.”
“Any other sport you can think of...”
“Smile.”
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM (2)
What’s on the minds of the Superstars and Divas during those private moments as they prepare for in-ring combat?