Apollo Crews Says NXT Is The Place For Real Wrestlers Like Himself
NXT star Apollo Crews recently spoke with The Mirror out of London to promote the NXT TakeOver: London special while on the recent NXT U.K. Tour. During the interview, Crews, formerly known as Uhaa Nation, spoke about working with Samoa Joe early into his run in NXT, his thoughts on eventually moving to the main WWE roster, how the late WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes helped influence his new character and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On working with Samoa Joe:
“It’s amazing. It’s not every day you get to be in the ring with somebody of that caliber so to be able to have that opportunity is amazing for me. It’s a chance to show not just everybody else but myself that I can hang on that level. Sometimes you get caught up in Florida, it gets stressful, and like I said you start taking it like it’s an actual job, but being here and working with guys like that… somehow in a weird way you get so relaxed and just let things happen, you know? I think it comes with him being so experienced and coaching me through certain things, the amount of things I’ve learned from him just these last few days has been really helpful. For me it’s a huge opportunity because he is somebody I used to watch before I even got into wrestling. It doesn’t even seem that way now, you see certain guys before you get here, and when you get here they become your peers and your friends, so it’s weird in that way but amazing at the same time.”
On making it to the main roster:
“I wouldn’t say NXT is a stepping stone, by no means. I think everybody has certain things they want to accomplish here and of course the goal is main roster, but when you come here, you come here with things you want to accomplish here in NXT. You get here and things start happening. It’s definitely not a stepping stone by no means. I think for me personally if you’re a wrestler, NXT is where you want to be. From being down at the Performance Center, starting getting on the road more often, travelling to Texas, Brooklyn, Louisville, Sacramento and now the UK, it’s just growing and expanding, and more and more people want to be a part of this and more people are getting onboard. The WWE Network is a major outlet for NXT and when you come to a place like this and see the support we’re getting, it just shows how big NXT really is.”
On Dusty Rhodes being a big help with his new WWE character:
“I would say Dusty Rhodes first and foremost. I got the privilege, opportunity and honour to work side by side with Dusty from the time I came into NXT until the time that he passed. It was cool, I would always go to talk to Dream in the office and end up talking to him for a couple of hours each time I went in there. I would go in and every time he would see me he would say ‘what do you want?’ ‘You know what I think, I think you’re ready, you remind me of me, now get out of my office!’ It would quickly turn into ‘just kidding, just come in and sit down baby’. He first and foremost was somebody who saw something in me. There have been some battles and Dusty has gone in to bat for me on a few things and I will always cherish that, knowing what he meant to me, and never forget anything he said to me.”
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