5 WWE Superstars who abruptly lost their push in 2020
2020 has perhaps been the most unique year in WWE history. With 9 out of 11 months of shows taking place behind closed doors in an empty arena, the entire landscape of WWE has changed.
There were quite a few Superstars who received pushes in WWE's COVID era, but not all have sustained. These were the Superstars who abruptly lost their push in 2020.
#5 Apollo Crews - A beneficiary of WWE's pandemic era?
Apollo Crews had an underwhelming four years on the WWE main roster. Once poised to be a future top star, he had a brief run in NXT that lasted less than a year before he debuted on RAW.
Apollo Crews spent most of the four years in creative limbo, even admitting that he wasn't where he thought he would be in his WWE career. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything and WWE was suddenly forced to shift all of their shows to the Performance Center in Orlando, where they pre-taped RAW, SmackDown, and PPVs including WrestleMania 36.
There were a handful of Superstars who seemed to benefit from the situation since a lot of talent in WWE decided to take time away during the pandemic. Apollo Crews was one of those beneficiaries and rumors had suggested that Paul Heyman requested to bring him to RAW from SmackDown - with a clear plan to utilize him.
This instantly resulted in the best run of Apollo Crews' WWE career - where he suddenly found himself in a position where he was having career progression, improved promos, and higher quality matches - all of which he lacked in the four years prior.
It led to a United States Championship victory - his first title in five years with WWE. Apollo Crews feuded with The Hurt Business and overcame veteran MVP before inevitably facing Bobby Lashley - a man who gained significant momentum since splitting with Lana post-WrestleMania 36.
Bobby Lashley dethroned Apollo Crews to win the United States title and while he was the right person to win the title at the time, it also came at a cost. Since then, Apollo Crews experienced another slump in momentum and hasn't been as regularly featured as he was before.
Perhaps WWE removing Paul Heyman as the RAW Executive Director had to do with it, but the halt in Apollo Crews' push was abrupt.