Former WWE writer reveals why Apollo Crews' Nigerian accent was approved for television
Former WWE writer Dave Schilling has revealed why Apollo Crews' Nigerian royalty gimmick and accent were approved to be shown on television.
Britney Abrahams, another former WWE writer, recently filed a lawsuit against the company, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and five other backstage employees. Abrahams alleged that there were several inappropriate pitches within the creative team, including Crews speaking with a Nigerian accent.
Schilling explained why the character was greenlit for WWE TV during his recent appearance on In The Weeds with Jeremy Lambert and Joel Pearl. He claimed that it was because of Vince, who thought that the character would go over.
"It's all about what Vince likes," Schilling said. "A lot of these broad caricatures are things that Vince likes. I can't speak to what happened after I left, but I'm sure he thought that Apollo Crews doing an accent was going to get over. You look at the history of WWE, and there are tons of examples of stereotypical characters. This is not a new thing or a new phenomenon." (h/t Fightful)
Crews was born and raised in the United States, but is of Nigerian descent. His parents were both from the Benue State in Nigeria.
As for the precedents, Schilling was likely referring to previous stereotypical WWE characters over the years such as Kofi Kingston, Razon Ramon, the Mexicools, Cryme Tyme, Kerwin White and many more.
Apollo Crews is back on the main roster
Apollo Crews is back on the main roster after getting drafted to Raw. Crews spent the past 10 months in NXT, facing stars such as Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker and Dabba-Kato, who was his enforcer Commander Azeez during his Nigerian royalty gimmick.
Already a former United States and Intercontinental Champion, Crews still has the potential to be a top star. He has improved his mic skills over the years and is certainly in good hands with Triple H at the helm of creative.
WWE has already released a video package of Crews returning to the main roster. It could be a sign that he's in line for a nice run after working on NXT for almost a year.
Who would you like to see Apollo Crews face in his first feud back on the main roster? Share your thoughts in the comments section.