10 Wrestlers WWE Are Currently Dropping The Ball With
7. Apollo Crews
More than any other NXT call-up prior to the six made during this week’s draft, Apollo Crews was the most premature. At his best, Crews is a dazzling in-ring performer who can get over on his skillset alone, but as far as charisma and character work goes, he’s as wooden as a board.
He can eventually learn these things on the main roster, sure, but Crews would’ve undoubtedly benefitted from a longer stint honing his skills as the Performance Center.
Bringing Crews up too early was the first time WWE dropped the ball with him, and they continue to do so on the main roster. He might not be the best microphone worker in the world, but he’ll never improve if he’s never given a chance to at least try.
Instead of trying to build a character and give fans a reason to invest in Apollo Crews, WWE have reduced his role to “a guy who smiles a lot”, seriously inhibiting his growth and ability to connect with the audience simultaneously.
After drifting from a meaningless feud with The Social Outcasts to an equally meaningless feud with Sheamus, Crews is now lost in the midcard malaise. Crews is undeniably talented, and his in-ring work is always on-point, but at this point, the best course of action might be to send him back to NXT to further his development, something he clearly won’t get an opportunity to do on SmackDown.