Why Apollo Crews Needs to Return to WWE NXT
By Jay Sichler
After a string of lackluster performances and becoming virtually a jobber on Smackdown Live, it is now time for Apollo Crews to return to NXT and save his struggling WWE career.
Apollo Crews career in WWE has certainly been a wild one so far. After a short stint in NXT, the promising talent was moved to the main roster right after WrestleMania 32. Crews quickly became a fan favorite and began growing a following.
Crews was drafted by Smackdown Live during the brand extension draft as a very late round pick. With his potential upside and the fact that Crews was going to the land of opportunity, many believed Crews could’ve been a steal of a pick.
Those beliefs originally looked like it would be the case. After winning a battle royal on the first episode of Smackdown Live, Crews earned himself a spot in the six-pack challenge to earn a WWE championship opportunity at Summerslam.
While the match was ultimately won by Dolph Ziggler, Apollo showed that he could be a key player on Smackdown going forward. Soon enough later, Crews earned a shot to face The Miz at Summerslam for the Intercontinental Championship.
With his recent run of success, many people believed Crews was a shoe in to claim the championship from The Miz. However, to the shock of many Crews lost the match clean and has since been towards the bottom of the roster on Smackdown Live.
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Apollo has been nothing more than a jobber, putting over new and developing talents, just recently he lost to the returning Curt Hawkins. With his career going down the tubes on the main roster in might be time for this promising star to return to NXT.
While he had a successful time down in NXT, Crews time down on the brand was relatively short compared to others. After being on NXT for less than a year, Crews was called up to the main roster along with other developmental stars right after WrestleMania.
With him being down there for such a short period of time, Apollo wasn’t able to develop all the skills that other talents gained. One of his major flaws are his promos and his microphone skills. We have all seen that Crews is a gifted athlete in the ring, but his microphone work leaves something to be desired.
Going back to NXT, he could work with the agents down there and really freshens up his microphone work. Since he was down there for such a short period, Crews never really spoke as he was not in a main event feud against stars like Samoa Joe and Finn Balor.
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A return down there would place him in the main event picture and he could develop his skills working with talents like Bobby Roode and Austin Aires. Those two are excellent speakers and could really help Apollo sharpen his skills.
A run with the NXT Championship wouldn’t hurt either. Stars like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are all former NXT Champions. Their success down in NXT has helped them become mainstays on the main roster.
A championship run down in NXT could really bolster Crews as he would become a top draw for a brand, and would help him sharpen all of his skills. Putting him at the forefront of NXT would help developing Crews into a future main eventer on the main roster.
Apollo Crews time on the main roster has not gone the way he would’ve liked it too. However returning home to NXT for a few months could really help him. Crews could go down to NXT for 6 months pick up some skills and then return to the main roster next year.
This promising young star has some tools that could make him a star, NXT though would help establish the tools he’s missing. A return back to NXT is necessary if Apollo Crews, wishes to have a major career in WWE.