4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 6)

4. A Champ Nobody Believes In

Apollo Crews Commander Azeez King Nakamura
WWE.com

Creative has done such a poor job with Apollo Crews since WrestleMania 37 that it's hard to take him seriously as Intercontinental Champion. Now, this writer happens to agree with sentiments from Al Snow about how wins and losses are over-analysed by the audience, but Crews is going nowhere fast.

Booking him to, y'know, look dominant every now and then would be sweet.

WWE made it clear here that Apollo would've lost by pinfall (again) had Commander Azeez not poked his nose in and interfered on the champion's behalf. That, in effect, meant 'King' Nakamura won the match by DQ and now gets an IC Title shot somewhere down the road. He's likely to win that too.

Putting the belt on Crews was never going to be enough - he needs some menace as a heel. Being brutally honest, his push and gimmick change will mean pretty much nothing if WWE take the title off him. He'll be right back at square one.

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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.