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Ryback issues statement regarding the arrest of his former tag team partner Curtis Axel

Aaron Rift

Former WWE star Joseph Hennig, known to wrestling fans as Curtis Axel, was arrested in Anoka County, Minnesota on May 17th 2026. The 46-year-old former WWE star was charged with DUI, refusing to submit to a chemical test, obstructing the legal process, possessing an open bottle of alcohol in his vehicle, and disorderly conduct.

Axel’s former tag-team partner Ryback reacted to the news with the following post via Twitter/X…

“My run with Curtis Axel, Joe Hennig, as RybAxel was one of the most interesting periods of my WWE career. We were used constantly, booked on every house show, wrestled for the WWE Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions, main evented parts of a European tour against The Shield alongside Randy Orton, and even got a two-pack action figure together, which I’m actually very proud of.

While it wasn’t a time when I was featured as heavily as I had been before or would be afterward, it was one of the most enjoyable runs of my career. Working with Joe was easy. The chemistry was real, and I genuinely believe our backstage vignettes were some of the best promo work either of us ever did. Unfortunately, much of that material never reached the audience the way it would today. This was before WWE heavily utilized social media, and a lot of our content lived on WWE.com rather than television.

To this day, I believe the RybAxel breakup is one of the greatest tag team breakups most fans never saw.

Joe Hennig is a great man and a great father to his three boys. None of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes in life. I’m not condoning poor decisions, but I thank God nobody was injured or killed. My hope is that this becomes a setback that ultimately propels Joe forward to continue learning, growing, and becoming an even better version of himself.

He has a lot to offer not only the wrestling business, but the world.

Wishing you the best, Joe.

And that’s the last bite. Feed Me More!”

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