Apollo Crews challenged Big E for the Intercontinental Title at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event from Tropicana Field.
Big E beat him down in the early going including a spear through the ropes and some splashes on the apron. He was doing so while talking trash. Crews made his comeback.
They went for a small package roll up and it was botched as Big E and Crews clearly had their shoulders down, but the referee said Big E was the winner. Post-match, Crews laid out Big E. WWE didn’t air a replay of the finish.
Four weeks ago, Big E was stretchered out as part of an angle where Crews attacked him with the steel steps. This came after Big E had told Crews that he had already gotten enough chances for a title match.
Two weeks ago, Big E returned to SmackDown where he called out Crews and agreed to give him the title match. When Crews wouldn’t come down to the ring, Big E did an open challenge and beat Zayn. After the match, Crews beat Big E down. After the show, Crews stated that he doesn’t cater to Big E and said he would face him at Fastlane.