4 Ups & 11 Downs From WWE Raw (Nov 22)

7. Apollo Shows Up, Ducks Out

Wait a second. Apollo Crews has been part of Raw for nearly two months now. He finally shows up with a chance to compete for the United States Championship and he… passes?

Crews came out to answer Damian Priest’s open challenge, but instead dressed down the champ. Priest told him to throw down for the title, at which point Apollo declined. This is after he walked out to the ring during the open challenge.

None of this makes sense. Why would you do any of that? Damian wasn’t prepared for Crews, so it made perfect sense for a heel to take advantage of that. Commander Azeez talked up how Crews would liberate the US title, so it was even more confusing that Apollo demurred. Sami Zayn would snag the shot and then lose to Priest.

It felt like the entire purpose was to remind fans that Apollo was alive and he’s now a Nigerian warrior, which he wasn’t the last time he was on Raw. It was exposition for the sake of exposition in advance of his next appearance when he presumably would challenge for the title.

Still, it’s dumb all around.