Apollo Crews is at his best in NXT (Picture: WWE)
WWE star Apollo Crews is feeling confident heading into his first NXT Championship match at Deadline.
It’s been a wild wide for the 35-year-old wrestler since signing in October 2014, debuting in NXT the following summer and then being moved up to Raw just eight months later, but a return to the company’s third brand has revitalised his career.
He exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘Man, I feel like this is exactly where I should’ve been to begin with, you know what I mean? These are the spots I should’ve been in from the start.
‘I don’t feel out of place, I don’t feel any pressure – this is where I’m supposed to be, this is what I was born to do. I feel mentally prepared, physically prepared, so I’ve checked all those boxes. Now, it’s just waiting.’
Naturally, there are still feelings of ‘excitement’ and ‘nervousness’ before his first ever one-on-one with champion and rising star Bron Breakker, but Crews recognises the enormity of Saturday night’s title shot.
‘I think it’s more than that, I think it’s the fact I’ve got to have a career turnaround, which is nice because a lot of people don’t get a second chance at doing something like this,’ he reflected.
Apollo embraced his Nigerian heritage for the character (Picture: WWE)
Before he returned to NXT under the guidance of Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, which is something he pitched himself, he had last been seen appearing with a Nigerian royalty character, speaking with a thick accent, flanked by Commander Azeez and referencing his family’s Naija roots.
‘I got to have fun being a heel with the Nigerian character and tapping into that… but then it went stale for a while where it was just not much going on,’ he admitted, noting it took him a while to find his feet with the persona.
‘The first thing I’m thinking, why do I need an accent? Is my accent not any good? Growing up in a Nigerian household, we’d kinda imitate our parents.
‘Even though I didn’t grow up in Nigeria, just putting on an accent, joking around, and I grew up with a lot my friends who are also Nigerian-American. I didn’t think it would be something I wold be doing on national TV So, at first of course it was naturally uncomfortable.’
Under that character, he won the Intercontinental Championship (Picture: WWE)
There was backlash to the character from online trolls, which pushed Apollo to ignore social media, and he became ‘very comfortable’ as he ’embraced the whole character’
‘This is my job, number one, and I’m gonna make this the absolute best that it can be, because I’m the one who’s out there,’ he added. ‘In a weird way, this helped me find my voice and helped me find that comfort behind the camera and understand that it’s ok to make a fool of yourself.
‘Being put in these uncomfortable situations is the only way we can progress, right?’
Despite winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 37 with that character, it seemed to lose focus and Apollo became less of a presence on TV.
He explained: ‘It just seemed like there was nothing going on, and it never seemed to be a fault of mine. It was one of those things where it was like, okay? So whose fault is it? [laughs]
‘I feel like I’ve done everything I was asked, I’ve done everything that was needed but nothing was happening.’
Although he felt ‘more could have been done’ with the persona, it became clear that wasn’t happening, and he pitched an NXT move to reset his career and prove his skills.
‘It’s nice to have this opportunity to just be me,’ he smiled. ‘To not play a character… It’s very nice. It’s different as well too, but I’m enjoying every moment of it.’
Apollo faces Bron Breakker this weekend at NXT Deadline (Picture: WWE)
Apollo, who made his name in Dragon Gate: USA and in Preston City Wrestling here in the UK, ‘always knew it was inside’, and he’s glad to be showing what he’s made of.
He suggested missing this during his earlier NXT was down to ‘a timing thing’, with other stars in prominent positions while he ‘left NXT really abruptly’ before getting to ‘develop’ and ‘find himself’.
‘I had the skills in the ring, but I still had less time than I needed to really figure out who I was as a performer, figure out a few other things how to work that type of style and being in that type of environment,’ he said.
‘But when you have an opportunity presented in front of you like that – Triple H tells you, “Hey you’re going to Monday Night Raw tomorrow”, it’s hard to be like, “Well, actually! I think I’m gonna wait! Thank you very much but I decline you’re offer!”‘
Things could have been a lot different, but Apollo is focused on the future.
He smiled: ‘Being able to win the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania, United States Championship – who knows if any of that would’ve happened? It’s one of the things I can’t look back on because I can’t change.
‘I think about it – not often, but I’m just looking forward to the future and focusing on what’s in my control and controlling the present and trying to set up a better future.’
NXT Deadline airs tonight (December 10) at 1am on the WWE Network.
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The former Intercontinental Champion has the chance of a lifetime this weekend.
