Ranking The Success Of Every WWE Star To Debut In The Crowd At NXT TakeOver
7. Apollo Crews (TakeOver: Unstoppable)
The former Uhaa Nation was the first up-and-coming star to ever be shown in the crowd at an NXT TakeOver special. Although he was shown sitting alongside Alexander Wolfe and The IIconics, it was clear that camera shot was meant mostly for him so fans could get familiar with his face ahead of his eventual debut at TakeOver: Brooklyn.
Vignettes played on NXT TV in the weeks preceding TakeOver, hyping up his anticipated arrival. Although he wasn't involved in a marquee match at the event, he still made quite the first impression in his brief-but-fun outing against Tye Dillinger, which resulted in a victory for Crews.
He suffered from an early lack of direction but eventually settled into a nice midcard role on the show. He went on to have entertaining matches with the likes Finn Bálor, Tyler Breeze and Baron Corbin before being called up to the main roster immediately following WrestleMania 32.
Although WWE definitely brought him up to the main stage sooner than they should have considering they had no plans for him, fans took notice of his impressive athleticism right off the bat. He has failed to live up to his full potential so far because of how he's been booked like an afterthought for the better part of the past three years, but there's still a chance he'll get his just due at some point.