10 Things We Learned From WWE Raw (May 22)

7. The Biggest Loser

apollo crews kalisto
WWE.com

Something, anything, for Apollo Crews to do on Monday Nights had to be better than getting drafted via a graphic and failing to even appear on the show afterwards. Or so it seemed.

As it turns out, the one thing even worse for a struggling lower card act than total non-engagement, is Titus O'Neil.

A running joke for reasons more people have forgot than even cared to remember at this point, O'Neil's entire career is now predicated on his endless failures at virtually everything he's attempted with the exception of fatherhood.

Presented as a klutz on the original incarnation of NXT, he flirted with success in the Prime Time Players before repeated feuds and reboots with partner Darren Young derailed both. That's without lingering too much on the utter, utter nonsense of 'Slater-Gator'.

The 'Titus Brand' is his latest modus operandi destined to go up in smoke, with his quasi-sports agent persona allegedly designed to turn the struggling fortunes of Apollo Crews around. The heel/babyface misalignment even played into their uneasy union, with Crews apparently non-too-chuffed initially before accepting that the odd victory may be due to Titus' enthusiastic tutelage.

Then he fell in two minutes to perennial loser Kalisto, and was berated by O'Neil in the aftermath. So that story is done. It's all meaningless and everybody's a loser, which has for too long basically been the backbone of WWE's flagship show.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.