Since joining the main roster in the spring of 2016, Apollo Crews has not been able to get beyond the mid-card. Whether wrestling on Monday Night Raw or on SmackDown Live , Crews has mostly been used to put over established talents by giving them a competitive match that ultimately ends for him in defeat. That remains the case up to this day, despite his status as a highly-regarded call-up from NXT more than three years ago.
In an interview with The Wrap published on Tuesday, Crews revealed that he had hoped to join WWE and “shock the world,” but at this point in his career, he feels that he “would have done much more” had he been given the proper push. Crews, who turned 32-years-old today, added that he remains “understanding,” and that he’s still willing to “trust the process” as a relatively young wrestler.
After The Wrap asked Crews if he is “satisfied” with his stint on WWE’s main roster, the SmackDown Live superstar answered in the negative, telling the publication that he wouldn’t use that word to describe his main roster experience. He did, however, have some good things to say about WWE’s recent King of the Ring revival, as he believes the tournament remains as relevant as ever even if it doesn’t have a pay-per-view of its own as it did for most of the 1990s.
“No, I don’t think anything’s diminished at all,” Crews said. “First of all, the talent that we have, in my opinion, I think it’s the greatest roster of all time as far as talent goes.”
Apollo Crews in a recent interview reveals he expected to have done more with his WWE career at this point, but he trusts the WWE process. #WWE #ApolloCrews https://t.co/WQ7G82daVp pic.twitter.com/uVhVOKHGb2
— 411 Wrestling (@411wrestling) August 21, 2019
Additionally, Crews was open about his surprise at being chosen as one of the 16 men to compete to become this year’s King of the Ring. He also told The Wrap that winning the tournament could potentially help him take his career “to the next level.”
“Instead of being stuck in the same place, it’ll help me break past that plateau and get that kick-start to possibly skyrocket my career. I’m sure that’s how most of us are looking at it.”
As noted by Wrestling Inc ., Crews was interviewed by The Wrap right before Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live , where he lost to Andrade in their first-round King of the Ring match, therefore eliminating him from the tournament. It’s not clear how he may be used on the blue brand following this disappointing loss, but as WhatCulture pointed out, there are a “number of reasons” why he hasn’t gotten a continuous push on the main roster despite his potential and athleticism.