5 Underdogs that WWE needs to push
WWE has a very large talent roster right now. Counting only the men, there are 80 Superstars on WWE's main roster (40 on RAW, 40 on SmackDown). That's a lot of talent, but you need a lot of stars when you have five hours of television to produce every week. One issue that has plagued the WWE Universe for many years is the treatment of Superstars who have proven themselves as very good wrestlers inside the ring and, importantly, always receive a loud reaction from the audience.
It all boils down to whether or not a wrestler is "over", making it a popularity contest of sorts. At least that's what would make the most sense. It turns out that's not always the case, and Superstars who make the crowds leap to their feet may lie on the backburner while others who might leave the audience sitting on their hands get all of the attention from the powers that be.
A good push and upward momentum can be beneficial to both the company and the wrestlers. Here are five Superstars who fit that criteria.
#5 Apollo Crews
Just about any time you see or hear people talking about a Superstar that needs a push or deserves a shot, the name Apollo Crews is likely to come up. Crews is a very good example of a Superstar who was transitioned from NXT to the main roster before it was his time. While WWE does have a history of using stars from NXT a lot differently when they move up in the company, it's even more difficult when someone is used differently and brought up too soon.
Apollo Crews made his debut at Takeover: Brooklyn where he defeated Tye Dillinger in under five minutes. The match was a showcase of his unbelievable in-ring prowess and the crowd responded immediately. He earned an opportunity for the NXT Championship within two months of his debut, though he would fall short of winning the gold. After only seven months in NXT and barely any losses under his belt, Crews would show up on RAW.
He started by easily defeating low-card guys but then jumped up too high, too soon. He was placed in big matches with big stars (MITB qualifiers, battle royals and six-pack challenges for WWE Title opportunities, for example) but always fell short. It made the guy look like someone who was biting off way more than he could chew.
He failed to win the Intercontinental Championship and ended up in a weird 2-on-1 feud teaming with Kalisto against Dolph Ziggler. Why were the good guys the ones with the advantage? The world may never know.
After that crazy period was over, Crews slipped further, as he began his membership in Titus Worldwide, which was a comedy team alongside Titus O'Neil. That fizzled out after a few months, and Apollo has barely made a peep since.