WWE Raw 5 Takeaways: Alexa Bliss is the Star of the Show

4. This Needs to Be the Start of Something for Apollo Crews

Curt Hawkins has been busy putting on random matches with superstars, calling it his “Star Factory”, and Apollo Crews was his latest opponent. In case you forgot, Crews can go in the ring. He was out there executing dropkicks, sent Hawkins to the canvas with an Enziguri, and he won the match quickly with a spin-out powerbomb. Everything he did was crisp, and his kicks looked like a million bucks (give credit to Hawkins when it comes to selling, too). He also showed off his athleticism, doing the old Shawn Michaels kip-up at one point.

We know the WWE is pairing Apollo and Titus O’Neil together for something, and it’s clear that the end goal is to showcase some sort of character for Crews. That’s been the one thing missing since he’s been prematurely called up from NXT. They gave Crews a feud with Dolph Ziggler so he could brush up on the finer points, but this program with O’Neil is far more important. In a sense, it’s make-or-break for Crews, because it might be his only chance in the short-term to flesh out a character the crowd can actually identify.

I like Crews’ chances. He did a nice job of pulling off the “confused but hopeful” look when Titus came out to embrace him after the victory. Apollo has the ability to be a solid mid-carder in the WWE, and I hope they give him a legitimate gimmick to work with.