3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 12)

4. More Unwanted IC Title Shenanigans

Apollo Crews Big E
WWE.com

Also, why are WWE persevering with Apollo Crews as an IC Title challenger?

Babyface champ Big E made Crews look like some random loser on this week's show by pointing out how many times he's beaten him. Again, booking the same thing over and over again is not character development, and it's hardly making fans trip over themselves to watch Apollo stare at the lights for E one more time.

Sorry, but Crews doesn't cut it as a prospective opponent for E at Elimination Chamber. This is such a poor use of the Intercontinental Champion generally, and it sucks to see him stuck in limbo after he and Sheamus showed the way with intense brawling during their feud late last year.

Yes, the meat of his match with Shinsuke Nakamura was fine, but it was sullied by Apollo's antics. WWE must realise soon that E needs more than this if he's going to break out of the midcard pack and eventually challenge Roman Reigns for that Universal Title.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.