Why was Apollo Crews called up?

[Hem]

On the RAW after Wrestlemania, the biggest Raw of the year, we saw several debuts and the least impactful one was that of Apollo Crews who basically won a squash match.

Since then, Crews has followed the zame routine of having quick matches and minimal mic time.

While Crews is one of the best athletes on the main roster right now and has moves in his arsenal that not many can pull off with the ease which he can...why was he called up?

Apollo spent very little time in WWEs development brand, NXT and I think fast tracking him to the main roster really damaged him.

Crews is not ready to be on the main roster. He only has one part of being a good performer down perfect and thats the wrestling ability. I don't see how he cuts good promos or has a good character which would allow him to be on the roster right now.

You can say that a guy like Baron Corbin has little experience in Wrestling but he has a big feud already but thats because Corbin has a little bit of everything. He can have good matches, cut decent promos and best of all he is tremendous in his character.

Apollo Crews is just a great athletic guy who has jo character and smiles way too much.

I think 6 more months or maybe even a year down in NXT could have done wonders for Apollo. I believe that had he stayed down there and come up later he would have been able to debut against a guy like Sheamus and be fully ready for anything.

With the way things are going right now, I just see Apollo Crews reaching a few IC runs at most..

What do you guys think will happen with Crews in his career? Who will his first feud be? Will he ever be a top guy?

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Because Triple H loves Apollo Crews. Simple as that. He even changed Crews special move for him, which was a great idea I might add. Trust in Triple H, he knows what's good for wrestling.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He was treading water in NXT and was already established as a bit part player. Best to get him on the main roster before that sticks.

 

[armenta541]

It's basically the same build up that Ryback had. Except Ryback was squashing guys who were barely good enough to be jobbers on NXT. He did that for months, and there were always superstars watching and giving him props on his dominance. That's what I see when I look at Apollo Crews now. At least they don't have to call up local nobodies for him to squash. It's only been about a month since WrestleMania... Have some Patience.

 

[MERPER]

I like the guy in the ring, he's got impressive skills... what the long-term future holds for him I have no clue...

Eventually we're going to have to get used to a lot of guys on the roster not being very important. Once the injury issues subside and guys get healthy, the roster is very deep. Only so much TV time out there. Only so many championships.

This is why I think a brand split again isn't too far off. Split the roster to give guys more opportunities.

 

[bjarvis]

There is nothing about Crews that I like. The guy is athletic sure, but we've seen muscular athletic superstars before.

So then you need character. And while he has buckets of charisma and charm, he is as boring as a bucket of nails. He constantly performs a move and smiles and that's it. Because of that, it distracts from his matches.

I could see Corbin getting the US Title around SummerSlam, holding it til Mania, where Crews wins the title off Corbin, 1 on 1.

 

[Navi]

I've been wondering why he was called up as well. I have no problem with Crews other than the fact there is a lack of gimmick happening. He's solid in the ring, but other than that, he hasn't been given a chance to show much of his personality. Well other than he smiles a lot and appears to be a very happy guy.

Maybe the rumours of a brand split are true and they are padding the roster in case it happens.

 

[d_henderson1810]

On the RAW after Wrestlemania, the biggest Raw of the year, we saw several debuts and the least impactful one was that of Apollo Crews who basically won a squash match.

Since then, Crews has followed the zame routine of having quick matches and minimal mic time.

While Crews is one of the best athletes on the main roster right now and has moves in his arsenal that not many can pull off with the ease which he can...why was he called up?

Apollo spent very little time in WWEs development brand, NXT and I think fast tracking him to the main roster really damaged him.

Crews is not ready to be on the main roster. He only has one part of being a good performer down perfect and thats the wrestling ability. I don't see how he cuts good promos or has a good character which would allow him to be on the roster right now.

You can say that a guy like Baron Corbin has little experience in Wrestling but he has a big feud already but thats because Corbin has a little bit of everything. He can have good matches, cut decent promos and best of all he is tremendous in his character.

Apollo Crews is just a great athletic guy who has jo character and smiles way too much.

I think 6 more months or maybe even a year down in NXT could have done wonders for Apollo. I believe that had he stayed down there and come up later he would have been able to debut against a guy like Sheamus and be fully ready for anything.

With the way things are going right now, I just see Apollo Crews reaching a few IC runs at most..

What do you guys think will happen with Crews in his career? Who will his first feud be? Will he ever be a top guy?

Who says that you have to be a maestro on the mike to get over?

Crews looks to me like a modern-day Bobby Lashley. If you remember, Lashley didn't cut many promos either, since he had the body of a greek god, and a speaking voice like Michael Jackson.

However, that didn't stop Vince having wet dreams about him, and the chairman even had a feud with Mr Lashley, he was so high on him.

Masked Kane didn't have stickwork in his early years, Chris Benoit lasted 20 years wrestling around the world without cutting a decent promo, Brock Lesnar's voice sounds akin to a ******ed six-year-old girl, yet he has Heyman, so doesn't need to speak. Undertaker (Mortician version) hardly spoke, and had Paul Bearer say what the Dead Man needed to say.

Big guys don't always need to talk on the mike. They just need to be intimidating. No-one watches Brock Lesnar and says "Well yeah, he beat the Streak, he dominates all competition, but if he only cut promos like the Rock, he would be a superstar".

I see Crews as a future WWE Champion. Maybe not this year, maybe not yet, but down the track, he has the look and in-ring charisma to carry it off, and if he needs someone to speak for him, it won't stop him going to the top.

 

[@smarkmouth]

Maybe I'm grasping here, but it feels like Crews is being deliberately thrown into a sink or swim scenario. Despite having a great look, solid mic skills and the ability tell a story in the ring with accents of flashy maneuvers, he didn't quite connect in NXT. Not in the way their other stars that have moved to the main roster connected, anyway. Could be that "they" weren't seeing him push hard enough down in NXT, and want to see if the brighter lights and larger audiences will do the trick. Again, maybe I'm grasping.

Despite that missing connection, I think they must see potential in Crews. Rightfully so! Hopefully he realizes that potential on the main roster.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

I think Apollo is great in the ring, but like others said he needs to develop a character fast. This whole 5 tool athlete thing only carry him so far. I know not many people like Sheamus, but at least he has a character. He's the Celtic Warrior and he is good in the ring as well as gets resounding boos. Apollo is kind of just running through the motions right now. He seems more like a spot performer to me. With Neville hurt they brought him up to fill that void. When Neville comes back I see him moving up the ladder because he has a character.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Well he's big, athletic, and looks like a million bucks. Once Vince laid eyes on Apollo, I doubt it took much convincing to call him up.

I enjoy watching Apollo wrestle, he just needs an actual persona beyond "smiling guy amazed by his own tron graphics". It was cute early on and it still has some charm, but now he needs something more substantial. What strikes me as odd is that it seemed like he was beginning to show a bit of serious edge during his mini rivalry with Finn Balor, but he didn't appear on NXT much after that so it never grew into anything.

He just needs his first serious feud to help flesh out his personality. He doesn't need to be an elaborate character like Bray Wyatt or something. Just give him a defining quirk that separates him from the pack.

While it stinks to a degree, the NXT fans who are burned out on Apollo's "Happy Guy" stuff will have to be patient. Apollo is brand new to the whopping majority that is the average WWE audience, which basically renews the expiration date on his current persona. Crews will probably be grinning and going "Oh wow, look at my name on the screen!" for the foreseeable future. I just hope the fans don't turn on him by then.

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

Hmmmm....as I read the comments I see a common theme here. Most seem to like garbage like Corbin and Neville but DON'T like the black guy Crews. Veiled racism at it's finest. Corbin and Neville haven't shown nothing! Corbin is just another random big guy with a jelly belly. He sounds dumb with his stupid "End of Days" gimmick. Neville is the true definition of spot monkey with ZERO character!

ACH from ROH is more talented than all three. Hopefully ACH lands in a great promotion like TNA. I would love to see a major talent like ACH wrestling Bennett, EC-3, Everett, and Trevor Lee.

 

[Hem]

Who says that you have to be a maestro on the mike to get over?

Crews looks to me like a modern-day Bobby Lashley. If you remember, Lashley didn't cut many promos either, since he had the body of a greek god, and a speaking voice like Michael Jackson.

However, that didn't stop Vince having wet dreams about him, and the chairman even had a feud with Mr Lashley, he was so high on him.

Masked Kane didn't have stickwork in his early years, Chris Benoit lasted 20 years wrestling around the world without cutting a decent promo, Brock Lesnar's voice sounds akin to a ******ed six-year-old girl, yet he has Heyman, so doesn't need to speak. Undertaker (Mortician version) hardly spoke, and had Paul Bearer say what the Dead Man needed to say.

Big guys don't always need to talk on the mike. They just need to be intimidating. No-one watches Brock Lesnar and says "Well yeah, he beat the Streak, he dominates all competition, but if he only cut promos like the Rock, he would be a superstar".

I see Crews as a future WWE Champion. Maybe not this year, maybe not yet, but down the track, he has the look and in-ring charisma to carry it off, and if he needs someone to speak for him, it won't stop him going to the top.

I like how you compare him to Bobby, Brock, Taker & Kane but the biggest difference between him and them is that they have a character that doesn't need them to be vocal.

I'm not saying Crews needs to open Raw like HHH does with a 15 minute promo, I'm saying he needs to do something to get people ingested and that is get a character.

 

[BigLuther]

I like how you compare him to Bobby, Brock, Taker & Kane but the biggest difference between him and them is that they have a character that doesn't need them to be vocal.

I'm not saying Crews needs to open Raw like HHH does with a 15 minute promo, I'm saying he needs to do something to get people ingested and that is get a character.

Actually the biggest difference between Crews and those four is at least 50 pounds and 4 inches of height. Crews isn't a "big guy." He's 6'1, 240lbs, which isn't anywhere near Lashley or Brock, so those comparisons are completely moot. He's stocky, sure, but not a traditional wrestling big guy by any means. Lashley comparisons are just ignorant, honestly.

Crews is QUICK for a 240-pounder and that's what people will notice about him. He's really got a unique mix of power and speed that doesn't come along too often. I do agree that his personality is bland at the moment, but that doesn't mean he'll be stuck forever. Give his character some time to develop and something will click. Lots of big talents aren't home-run personalities right off the bat.

 

[Kizzani]

Yeah you are going to hate this response. But it is what I got for you and this is only my personal opinion, nothing is based on any facts other than what I can see with my own two eyes.

Mark Henry is old ( in wrestling terms) R-Truth is a stupid show horse gimmick machine, and Darren Young is well you know. (which I care less about but I am in the 1%) which leads to ZERO dark pigmented singles wrestlers.
Titus O'Neil seemed like he was getting pushed but his incident and has stated he will be leaving as soon as his contract is up. So the shallowness of the WWE is simply shown, just to have a singles wrestlers who is black is thier goal and they will try and push that.

At this point there is so many people claiming they don't get a push due to skin color the WWE is trying everything they can to change this viewpoint...Even if only for TV.
Crews is not ready and it is clear to so many people.
There is ZERO reason to bring him up right now.

Why not just push O'Neil and hope he re-signs. No reason to sink another talent. Or maybe that is thier idea....oh you think we do things based on Skin color let us shove crews down your throat until you hate him like you hate Roman, Cena or Batista. Maybe then the fans will realize they push who they want based on Basis towards the person and what they want to see.

I personally don't think the WWE is racist, even as much as I mock them for it. I do think it is based on talent and in my opinion Booker T was alright, but Not FIVE TIME....FIVE TIME......Five...STFU you tool...then you want me to cheer when you do a crappy spin up and look at your OJ simpson gloves....PASS!!!.
Titus O'neil on the other, should be a tank like Brock Lesnar and that would be a storyline I want to follow.....Have o'Neil come out and just decimate Jericho......Decimate Ambrose (Sorry Ambrose is a lifer, he will be the Shawn Michaels of his time....Us title, IC title, World title....he has a strong future a loss to Titus will not tarnish his lengthy run) Just have him run through people. The Beast vs The Gator......Shoot if you really want him to get over.....take out Vince and then Roman.

 

[Hem]

Yeah you are going to hate this response. But it is what I got for you and this is only my personal opinion, nothing is based on any facts other than what I can see with my own two eyes.

Mark Henry is old ( in wrestling terms) R-Truth is a stupid show horse gimmick machine, and Darren Young is well you know. (which I care less about but I am in the 1%) which leads to ZERO dark pigmented singles wrestlers.
Titus O'Neil seemed like he was getting pushed but his incident and has stated he will be leaving as soon as his contract is up. So the shallowness of the WWE is simply shown, just to have a singles wrestlers who is black is thier goal and they will try and push that.

At this point there is so many people claiming they don't get a push due to skin color the WWE is trying everything they can to change this viewpoint...Even if only for TV.
Crews is not ready and it is clear to so many people.
There is ZERO reason to bring him up right now.

Why not just push O'Neil and hope he re-signs. No reason to sink another talent. Or maybe that is thier idea....oh you think we do things based on Skin color let us shove crews down your throat until you hate him like you hate Roman, Cena or Batista. Maybe then the fans will realize they push who they want based on Basis towards the person and what they want to see.

I personally don't think the WWE is racist, even as much as I mock them for it. I do think it is based on talent and in my opinion Booker T was alright, but Not FIVE TIME....FIVE TIME......Five...STFU you tool...then you want me to cheer when you do a crappy spin up and look at your OJ simpson gloves....PASS!!!.
Titus O'neil on the other, should be a tank like Brock Lesnar and that would be a storyline I want to follow.....Have o'Neil come out and just decimate Jericho......Decimate Ambrose (Sorry Ambrose is a lifer, he will be the Shawn Michaels of his time....Us title, IC title, World title....he has a strong future a loss to Titus will not tarnish his lengthy run) Just have him run through people. The Beast vs The Gator......Shoot if you really want him to get over.....take out Vince and then Roman.

So he was called up because he's black? Is that basically what you mean? If so then I guess I totally disagree with you. Even when WWE had a roster full of colored wrestlers it never made them any different.

I guess only time will tell if he has any purpose or will just take a Ryback like push up the card.


Just a thought but I think the best way to showcase his abilities and hide his flaws would be to allign him in the Bullet Club.

 

[Kizzani]

So he was called up because he's black? Is that basically what you mean? If so then I guess I totally disagree with you. Even when WWE had a roster full of colored wrestlers it never made them any different.

Yea, I am pretty much saying that. I think WWE is trying to fix a mess they made, whether it is only in the eyes of public opinion or not. Same reason they cut ties with Hulk Hogan, Refuse to acknowledge Benoit or the even more recent Chyna events (prior to her passing) They want to distance themselves from bad press.
Let me make this 100% clear, I hope I am wrong. I hope he shines, I don't see it but I don't to see anyone fail at their dream...Well unless your name is Phillip Brooks....But hey no one is perfect.

Just a thought but I think the best way to showcase his abilities and hide his flaws would be to allign him in the Bullet Club.

I agree, having him be part of a team, would help him get much needed help and experience.

But like you said only time will tell.

If you would have told me John Cena was going to be where he is back when he first came out I would have laughed at you until you quit talking forever. I am sure many of us have been wrong about who will be future stars and future flops. I fully expected Matt Morgan to be a top guy by now...not sure where he went wrong.

 

[Hem]

If you would have told me John Cena was going to be where he is back when he first came out I would have laughed at you until you quit talking forever. I am sure many of us have been wrong about who will be future stars and future flops. I fully expected Matt Morgan to be a top guy by now...not sure where he went wrong.

Speaking of John Cena, just read that he has been announced to return on May 30th so that got me thinking about what he would be doing and my initial thought was fight the bullet club but would it be a good idea for John to take Apollo under his wings and be an on-screen mentor character for him while also being an active wrestler?

Gives Crews a huge rub without pushing him too fast and allows him to be associated with one of the greatest this industry has ever had. Thus giving him the character boost as he is currently the student of the man on the top of the mountain and the eventual heel turn would just be gold.

 

[@smarkmouth]

WWE seeks a diverse representation of race on screen. Apollo Crews is talented, and deserves a chance to prove himself on the main roster. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive. I'm surprised to see that the conversation is going this way.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I like how you compare him to Bobby, Brock, Taker & Kane but the biggest difference between him and them is that they have a character that doesn't need them to be vocal.

I'm not saying Crews needs to open Raw like HHH does with a 15 minute promo, I'm saying he needs to do something to get people ingested and that is get a character.

Well, so far, what I have seen of Crews is that he dominates his matches and cleans up his opponent in no time.

So maybe he should be a more technical-based Goldberg.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Actually the biggest difference between Crews and those four is at least 50 pounds and 4 inches of height. Crews isn't a "big guy." He's 6'1, 240lbs, which isn't anywhere near Lashley or Brock, so those comparisons are completely moot. He's stocky, sure, but not a traditional wrestling big guy by any means. Lashley comparisons are just ignorant, honestly.

Crews is QUICK for a 240-pounder and that's what people will notice about him. He's really got a unique mix of power and speed that doesn't come along too often. I do agree that his personality is bland at the moment, but that doesn't mean he'll be stuck forever. Give his character some time to develop and something will click. Lots of big talents aren't home-run personalities right off the bat.

Okay, then, then how did Chris Benoit get over, when he hadn't cut a memorable promo?

Because he worked hard, had been around a long time, and delivered every time in the ring. He didn't need to "talk the talk" he "walked the walk" (in the ring anyway).

Yet Benoit got pushed and won the World Title.

Besides, like I said, maybe have Crews have a manager, who can speak for him. Maybe make him a "Paul Heyman" guy, and have Heyman give him a rub on the mike (maybe even have Crews and Brock in the same stable, and professional jealousies arise). A manager like Heyman and a feud with Brock (where he can hold his own, before copping an F5) could make him look good.

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

Yeah you are going to hate this response. But it is what I got for you and this is only my personal opinion, nothing is based on any facts other than what I can see with my own two eyes.

Mark Henry is old ( in wrestling terms) R-Truth is a stupid show horse gimmick machine, and Darren Young is well you know. (which I care less about but I am in the 1%) which leads to ZERO dark pigmented singles wrestlers.
Titus O'Neil seemed like he was getting pushed but his incident and has stated he will be leaving as soon as his contract is up. So the shallowness of the WWE is simply shown, just to have a singles wrestlers who is black is thier goal and they will try and push that.

At this point there is so many people claiming they don't get a push due to skin color the WWE is trying everything they can to change this viewpoint...Even if only for TV.
Crews is not ready and it is clear to so many people.
There is ZERO reason to bring him up right now.

Why not just push O'Neil and hope he re-signs. No reason to sink another talent. Or maybe that is thier idea....oh you think we do things based on Skin color let us shove crews down your throat until you hate him like you hate Roman, Cena or Batista. Maybe then the fans will realize they push who they want based on Basis towards the person and what they want to see.

I personally don't think the WWE is racist, even as much as I mock them for it. I do think it is based on talent and in my opinion Booker T was alright, but Not FIVE TIME....FIVE TIME......Five...STFU you tool...then you want me to cheer when you do a crappy spin up and look at your OJ simpson gloves....PASS!!!.
Titus O'neil on the other, should be a tank like Brock Lesnar and that would be a storyline I want to follow.....Have o'Neil come out and just decimate Jericho......Decimate Ambrose (Sorry Ambrose is a lifer, he will be the Shawn Michaels of his time....Us title, IC title, World title....he has a strong future a loss to Titus will not tarnish his lengthy run) Just have him run through people. The Beast vs The Gator......Shoot if you really want him to get over.....take out Vince and then Roman.

Put me in the camp that WWE is racist...and Vince is the grand wizard. Take a look at the women's divison. Without a doubt, Sasha is the clear and away the best talent. However, Vince decides to put the belt on Charolette and lets that scrub keep the belt at WrestleMania. Yea...WWE is racist!

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I don't know who Apollo Crews is. I know he's jacked, smiles a lot, and does incredible things in the ring. That's it. What happened to vignettes? Even though he's already debuted, do vignettes introducing us to this character before his matches or something. Pre-taped things where you don't need him to sink or swim on the mic right away.

Come up with a CHARACTER, not a gimmick, but a character. A personality trait of some kind. And "happy to be here" doesn't count.

 

[stingray11214]

Why was Crews called up? here is something that many of you probably do not know:

Moose's contract with RoH is nearly done.

Though Crews has more experience, Moose's upside is incredible. Trips wanted Moose to go into Tough Enough as a ringer. however, Moose opted for RoH. And, Moose has excelled in RoH. Moose and Crews have the same blueprint. Can do the same things. They have the same body type. They are both very flexible in the ring. Moose just turned 32, Crews will be 29 in August. If Crews blows up, Trips goes hit the rewind button and sign Moose. He has long been high on him. If Crews blows up on the Main Roster, he goes for Moose

 

[rerun406]

Regarding the original topic, I'm beginning to ask myself this same question after ever Apollo Crews match up.

From the August NXT Takeover in Brooklyn till now I've watched every NXT event, and just last week watched all 10 episodes of Breaking Ground (great show BTW)

and to me it just doesn't add up. The higher ups at WWE are obviously very high on Apollo, and he's tremendously talented don't get me wrong

but right now, simply being good in the ring isn't enough for Apollo. He needs more of an edge/character. The smiling/happy go luck babyface isn't working

**and maybe I'm reading too much into this, but on Breaking Ground, Apollo said he wanted to meet expectations. Why not exceed those expectations?