Apollo Crews made his NXT debut in 2015, and though he spent less than a year with the black and gold brand, he made a large enough impact to impress both the fans and those behind the scenes.
Crews exploded onto the main roster scene, defeating Tyler Breeze on Raw, then going to have quite a winning streak against several different Superstars from Heath Slater to Sheamus.
Apollo Crews has always been around, never staying away from the screen for too long, but with so many extraordinary Superstars (WWE employs over 200 in-ring performers), it’s very easy to get lost in the shuffle, no matter how talented you are.
But Apollo never let this get him down; he continued to give every opportunity his all and has recently been given a spotlight because of it. On the July 17th, 2019 edition of NXT, the Full Sail audience was treated to a surprise performance from Apollo Crews. And to make it even more special, the match was set against Kushida, one of NXT’s newest and brightest stars.
The match was just as stellar as you would expect from two performers of Kushida and Crews’ caliber, and you should absolutely go back and check it out if you missed it, but if you need even more reason to watch, just take a look at this behind the scenes video with Apollo Crews.
Like Chad Gable or Jordan Myles, Apollo Crews has the kind of magnetism you can’t help but be drawn in by, whether you’re already an Apollo fan going into it or not.
WWE captured Apollo Crews’ reactions both before and after the match with Kushida, and you can truly feel the passion he has for what he does through the screen. He talks about the match and the chance to remind everyone what he can do in the ring being exactly what he needed, as well as how grateful he is to Triple H and the rest of the NXT crew for always believing in him and his abilities.
The very next week, Apollo Crews was featured on the July 23 2019 episode of SmackDown Live in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Though he was less successful this time around, it was one of those matches where no one really lost. Shinsuke Nakamura was the one whose hand was raised by the referee in the end, but Apollo Crews gave a fantastic performance and went strike for strike in a match against the Intercontinental Champion.
Hopefully, these two matches were just the start of a renewed focus on Apollo Crews, as he is an excellent talent, both in the ring and out, but as Apollo stated himself, the fact that he is trusted to get in the ring and have great matches with rising stars is an honor in itself.
How do you feel about Apollo Crews’ NXT and SmackDown Live Spotlights? Let us know on Twitter, @TheRumbleRamble.
