We were expecting the main roster debut of some NXT superstars on the episode of Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania but not many of us expected to see Apollo Crews getting the call up so early. Apollo was relatively new in the NXT roster compared to most of his counterparts and it did raise certain eyebrows.
Despite this element of surprise, WWE gifted Apollo a win on his debut and followed it up with a solid showing in SmackDown as well. But random matches are not going to turn him into a star. From the looks of it Apollo does have the backing of Triple H and if combined with a proper angle, he could turn out to be a solid star. Here are some of the angles that WWE could make for him.
The Chris Jericho trick
Pairing every new comer with Chris Jericho is a trick that has done wonders for WWE. Jericho is currently one of the top heel workers in the company and pairing him with anyone would be a successful venture. Apollo needs to work with an experienced veteran like Jericho to raise his game and the exposure that he will get from Jericho would be overwhelming.
Another superstar who could match the brilliance of Jericho in terms of heel work is Kevin Owens but as Owens himself needs a push; Jericho fits in perfectly as the first major feud for Apollo. Jericho has a good moment after the AJ Styles storyline, making it a perfect time for him to put over Apollo.
Having a midcard title run
Midcard titles have lost its relevance due to the lack of proper storyline. While the Women’s championship has some new-found limelight, the United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship are suffering due to the lack of proper booking. Although winning the midcard championship at this point wouldn’t be a big deal, for someone like Apollo Crews it would be a good direction.
Considering that Kalisto is going nowhere with the championship, the United States Championship is something that he could carry around. WWE has kick-started a promising storyline with Zack Ryder and Miz for the Intercontinental championship and if it flops, they could put the IC title on Apollo instead of the US title.
Finding him a tag team partner
Tag team wrestling is an easy way to get under the spotlight. A string of superstars has done the same and Apollo could do it as well. There are a number of names that could be paired up with Apollo. The front runner perhaps would be Titus O’Neil. Titus is expected to return to the WWE soon and he could make a great tag team partner for Apollo.
Titus is pretty over with the fans and at some point; WWE could turn Titus and have a feud between these two to put over Apollo. A returning Damien Sandow, Neville, or Cesaro are the other names that WWE could consider while searching for a tag team partner for Apollo.
Making him a stable member
Just like the tag team scenario, Stables are also a good way to put over new talent. The best recent examples for this would perhaps be the cases of Nexus and Shield. On paper, it was a stable of unknown guys but at the end of the day, they transformed into breakout stars. WWE has a number of stables in their roster at this point and adding one more will not hurt many.
Apollo could be added to one of the current stables as well. New Day could use a fourth member and since the team is over as hell in the current situation, Apollo wouldn’t have many troubles to get over.
A Goldberg-like streak
Wrestling fans are obsessed with streaks. The Undertaker’s legendary streak at WrestleMania was something we felt emotionally attached to and so was the steak of Goldberg. On a creative note, the streak of Goldberg was something that turned the Monday Night Wars upside down. Goldberg, with his limited skill set, went on to win nearly 200 matches before Kevin Nash ended the streak abruptly.
Imagine WWE having a similar streak with Apollo Crews. It would be a sure shot success story and whenever Apollo comes down the ramp, there will be a level of excitement on whether he will win or loss. And the best part is, Apollo is far more talented than Goldberg when it comes to the in-ring work.
