For Apollo Crews, moving to NXT has been a breath of fresh air, and it has allowed him to practically start over.
Crews, a former WWE Intercontinental Champion, returned to NXT in June after his time on the main roster had stalled; he had been competing on WWE Main Event, but he was rarely getting used on SmackDown or RAW.
Speaking with Rick Ucchino for Cageside Seats, Crews reflected on his move to NXT. He noted that, prior to the change, everything had somewhat “stopped” with his run on the main roster, and he was eager for a fresh start, both personally and professionally.
“Everything just kind of stopped, you know? And this kind of happened to me before in my career, where something would happen and then it would kind of stop for one reason or another,” Crews said. “And I just wanted to do more. I wanted to be a part of more. And I thought maybe if I could go back to NXT and kind of recreate myself and essentially almost start over, I figured that would be something good for me personally and professionally as well.”
He went on to describe how working in NXT has brought his passion back. Crews admitted that he became somewhat complacent, but this new chapter of his career has made him hungry again.
“I feel like having this run back down in NXT and going back to the basics, if you wanna say, it’s brought back my passion as well,” Crews said. “And it brought the fan back out in me, you know? For a while there I kind of like stopped watching wrestling and I’d just kind of go to work and do my job and come home and be with the kids. And now it’s like, okay, I have that passion again.
Almost like I’m chasing that dream again,” Apollo said. “It’s a nice feeling because sometimes you chase the dream and you reach it, and then it’s like, okay, where do I go from here? And then you get complacent.””
At NXT Halloween Havoc, Crews will battle Grayson Waller in a Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal Match.
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