During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Apollo Crews commented on when he realized WWE fans weren’t connecting with him, his new character, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On realizing fans weren’t connecting with his initial character in WWE: “It was so different on the indies. I did these cool, awesome things in the ring, and my work carried me. At the time, I thought that would take me where I wanted. I got to NXT, and I had the chance to be me. Then I struggled to find myself in a new environment [on Raw and SmackDown]. That’s how it’s always been for me. I’m naturally shy and it takes me some time to get familiar with a new situation. That led to me being a generic guy, so people weren’t sure about me. I noticed that when we did live shows. People weren’t connecting with me, so I’ve really worked to build that connection and reaction from the fans.”
On why now is the best time for him to explore a new character: “This is the right point in my career for character exploration. Five years ago, as a performer, I couldn’t have done this, with the character or the accent, or any of it. Now I can. And look at the reactions. People hate it, people love it. That’s pretty cool. I don’t want anyone in the middle.”
