On last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw , Apollo Crews defeated Andrade to win the United States Championship, marking his first piece of gold since joining WWE . After the match, he cut a promo explaining how he was never expected to accomplish anything in the company, which may have some semblance of truth to it.
As quoted by WrestlingNews.co , Dave Meltzer discussed Crews’ win on Wrestling Observer Radio , revealing that WWE chairman Vince McMahon reportedly didn’t see him as a top star.
“Yeah, everybody thought he was gonna be a big star until he started and then they thought he couldn’t do it because Vince gave up on him. Remember, they rushed him onto the main roster right away.”
Crews has been given a long-overdue push on the red brand’s weekly show amid the COVID-19 pandemic, presumably because the roster has been depleted due to some superstars being absent. However, Paul Heyman is supposedly high on Crews , and his current run suggests that the company is finally giving him an opportunity to show what he can do.
While Meltzer’s co-host Bryan Alvarez thinks this is the best Crews has looked since being promoted to the main roster, Meltzer said he believes that his title reign will be short-lived. According to the veteran journalist, it’s not uncommon for WWE officials to change their minds about a rising talent within a quick time frame.
“I have no faith…we’ll see where it goes. They might have Andrade beat him next week.”
It remains to be seen what WWE has in mind for Crews over the coming weeks and months, but there have been reports of him joining MVP’s faction in recent weeks. While the superstar could still join the heel stable at a later date, he appears to be getting booked as a babyface champion for now.
The company reportedly had high hopes on Crews at one point, but he wasn’t given any consistent focus to gain some momentum until recently. He was promoted to the main roster before he became established on NXT, as his physique and athletic ability supposedly caught the eye of management.
However, many fans believe he was called up too soon, as he hadn’t perfected his character or received many opportunities to work on his promo skills. The lack of opportunities to showcase his personality and wrestling skills is arguably why it’s taken him so long to get a main roster push. But now that he’s getting one, he has the chance to live up to his potential.