10 Wrestlers Fans Have No Idea What They're Truly Capable Of

7. Apollo Crews

Shinsuke Nakamura Intercontinental Title
WWE.com

The process of becoming a regular TV presence in WWE is the oddest sh*t in 2021.

Basically, a WWE wrestler is ruined by stop/start pushes and banishment to catering and or Main Event. Fans are subsequently conditioned to receive them as just guys, by which point, when they can be trusted to work the vacant polish of the in-house style, they get booked frequently. It's wildly counterproductive.

Apollo Crews is the...beneficiary of a bizarre approach, and he works an ill-fitting heel role in the ring that is a caricature in promo segments. He is woefully miscast. His best work is stunning, and at 34, he must still be capable of the preposterous feats of strength that transitioned, with jaw-dropping seamlessness, into standing aerial assaults. Uhaa Nation was a mind-blowing GIF sensation who, in WWE, rest holds his way into the next dulled high spot.

The machinations of WWE creative don't allow for a performer like Crews to get over as the performer of old. Physical angles, mouthpieces, an investable series of wins: none of this really happens, meaning that Crews has to overcompensate for his lack of natural verbal skills with nonsense that has contrived to fly under burial radar.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!