WWE Raw Star Interested In NXT Return

"I would love to go there and work with some of the guys."

by Andrew Pollard
Apollo Crews
WWE.com

With Dolph Ziggler having last night turned up on NXT TV - not to mention AJ Styles recently making some appearances in the realm of 2.0 - could Apollo Crews be the next main roster name to appear on NXT 2.0?

Speaking to Vicente Beltran (via POST Wrestling), the former Intercontinental Champion and one-time United States Champion has talked up how he'd have interest in returning to the NXT brand. Of course, Apollo was in NXT from May 2015 until April 2016, although the brand was a very different place then to what it is nowadays.

On how he feels his initial NXT run was cut short, Crews explained:

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"NXT for me was a fantastic time as well. I feel it was cut short. I would've loved to stay there, maybe with a title, have a title reign a couple times. But I enjoyed it so much. Working with Triple H hands on, one-on-one was fantastic. He's such an amazing guy."

Continuing on, Apollo added:

"I would love to [go back to NXT]. I would love to go there and work with some of the guys that they have down there. It'd be great. I'm always open for anything, you know what I mean? And it's so much talent down there that I could mix it up with and have a good time with."

It's most certainly been a mixed bag for the former Uhaa Nation since moving to the main roster. After experiencing more lows than highs, it looked as if things were finally looking up for Apollo when he turned heel, tweaked his gimmick and began feuding with Big E last year.

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That rivalry would see Crews score a major win over E for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 37, but more recent times have seen Apollo - and his cohort Commander Azeez - back to being a more sporadic presence on WWE programming.

The last time the 34-year-old was in action was on the 17 January episode of Raw, where he was on the losing side of an eight-man tag team match. Disappointingly, the hugely talented grappler hasn't been utilised since then - including being absent entirely from this year's Royal Rumble PPV.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.