6 Ways WWE Can Save Apollo Crews
SmackDown have put his push on cruise control, but can Apollo get his WWE career back on track ?
A fall from grace is defined as a loss of status or prestige. Right now, Apollo Crews must feel like the term was coined for him. Moving to SmackDown Live as part of the WWE Brand Extension looked like a positive move for the NXT graduate and being thrust into a SummerSlam Intercontinental title match with The Miz added credibility to this train of thought. Less than three months later, that train has spectacularly derailed.
Losing to Curt Hawkins in Scotland on its own may be not seem an immediate cause for concern, but compound that with the drastic change in direction over the past several weeks and there is a growing concern that WWE does not know what to do with Apollo. Worse, could they have already given up on him altogether? When Apollo debuted on Raw he adopted the generic face smile and 'happy to be here' attitude that so many good guys start with. He carried that over to SmackDown initially, but the smile is now gone and the reception he receives from the WWE Universe is lukewarm at best.
Apollo Crews is fantastically athletic - some of the moves he can pull off are down right breathtaking for a man of his stature and build. But many former superstars with equally impressive abilities have failed at the top level due to lack of charisma or failure to connect with the fans. In some cases it boils down to being misused by creative when better opportunities were available.
We look at six potential ways Apollo can avoid following such a path and continue his development towards potential greatness ...
6. Give Him A Manager
Inexperience in a face wrestler can lead to cheesy promo's and exchanges that sound scripted - big no-nos in the eyes of the vocal fan-base. Not everyone can be a heel in the first instance so this is a barrier Apollo will need to overcome. It would not be a good idea to remove his speaking opportunities entirely (otherwise he will never improve) but in the short term, having a natural talker to feed off would only benefit him.
This does not by any stretch mean that Apollo must become a Heyman Guy or a silent destroyer. Enzo Amore has built a reputation as a fantastic talker but his ability to involve Big Cass in promos is even more commendable. Cass is nowhere near as comfortable on the stick as his partner, but Enzo masterfully protects him whilst giving him just enough involvement to connect with the crowd himself.
There are multiple directionless female superstars on SmackDown and NXT that could benefit from an association with Apollo and at present this is a dynamic that is only being used by heels (Maryse and Lana etc) so would feel fresh - and it doesn't necesstate reducing the woman in question to a valet. Even alumni on a Legends contract could step in to give Crews a credibility boost - just keep him as far away from Bob Backland as possible.