Yes, that's precisely why I said, "This isn't Math 55: compared to Rudin and Halmos, Axler is a very accessible introduction to linear algebra for those who are ready for linear algebra."

How do you propose to teach linear algebra beyond basic matrix operations and Gaussian elimination if you're not teaching any theory? You can take some disparate tools from linear algebra (just like you can with analysis to make calculus), but The presentation of learning the mechanical tools of linear algebra versus the theory of linear algebra is a false dichotomy. Axler's textbook is a very nice compromise that provides students an understanding of why things are the way they are while still teaching them how to work through the numerical motions of things. You need not go so far as reading Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces if you want to avoid theory, but you need enough of it to put the mechanical operations in some kind of context.