Former champion explains WWE absence for more than 90 days
A WWE Superstar who returned to the ring last week has now disclosed that he had suffered an injury.
Apollo Crews competed in the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam in August, then had a tag match on a Main Event taping two days later. He had since been taking time off to heal up.
Sharing the message on his social media, Crews also noted that he is fine now. He returned to the ring on the November 6 Main Event taping, taking a pinfall loss to Imperium's Ludwig Kaiser.
"Had a little injury that kept me out for a few months. Felt great being back in the ring. 💎," Apollo Crews wrote on Instagram.
Apollo Crews has not been featured on WWE TV as well as he probably should be, according to many viewers. He is regarded as an exceptional wrestler but has not found the success he did two years ago during his reign as Intercontinental Champion.
Apollo Crews is relieved after ditching Nigerian Royalty WWE on-screen character
During the aforementioned title run in 2021, Apollo Crews debuted a new gimmick alongside Commander Azeez. While this is when he became champion and got a notable WrestleMania win over former WWE Champion Big E, Crews was apparently not a fan of the story behind it.
While doing an interview for Metro last year, the former Intercontinental Champion explained that while he did have fun being a heel, it got stale after a point as the creative team did not have much for him. Moreover, he found it difficult to adjust to the Nigerian accent as there was a lot of fan backlash from online trolls.
After staying away from social media altogether, Crews found his footing and established his character. But ultimately, he felt better off after reverting back and moving to NXT:
"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," Apollo Crews stated. [H/T: Metro]
There is a large section of the fanbase that finds Crews' in-ring work incredible, and WWE has not utilized him to his maximum potential. At 36 years old, he still has a lot left in the tank.
What are your thoughts on Apollo Crews? Sound off in the comments section below!